Days 3 & 4

The Writer's Workout
48 minutes ago
4 min read

Here's what's happening at our conference on Wednesday and Thursday.

All of these talks will be available on our YouTube channel AND through our Conference page this year. I'll also link them in Discord as they premiere, where you can watch them while chatting with a few awesome presenters!

Day Three: Wednesday, March 25

The Developmental Edit

with Dakota Nyght

9 am Eastern, 1 pm UTC

You've finally typed those two little words: "The End." Congratulations! Now it's time to tackle revisions, but where to start? In this talk, we’ll look at the process of a developmental edit, what your editor focuses on, and how to apply a similar analytical lens when evaluating your own work. Asking yourself these questions can help guide your revision process and, later, help you get more value out of a paid developmental edit. This talk includes common manuscript errors and the cons of using AI.

What Is Speculative Fiction?

with MJ Huntsgood

11 am Eastern, 3 pm UTC

In this fun and informative presentation, author MJ Huntsgood explores the wild worlds of speculative fiction and how it pertains to real life. Far from “escapism,” speculative fiction holds a mirror up to the world we live in. This video offers tips on how to get started writing science fiction, fantasy, horror, and other speculative genres, both in short story and novel form. Huntsgood also explains why speculative fiction is open to all writers. So watch this video—then give it a shot!

Balancing Your Voice & Market Needs in the Kidlit Journey

with Danielle Render Turmaud

1 pm Eastern, 5 pm UTC

The writing/kidlit journey is a beautiful and wild ride! One full of many ups and downs. And amidst those ups and downs, the balancing act of using our creative voice and the needs of the market can be challenging. But it is a skill that we can develop throughout our career! In this presentation, Danielle Render Turmaud, PhD, kidlit author and therapist, will discuss the balancing act of maintaining our unique author voice/vision while navigating an ever changing (and at times picky) market.

Break: 3 pm Eastern, 7 pm UTC

The Lure of Lore

with Deb Lerew

5 pm Eastern, 9 pm UTC

In this talk, Deb explains how to use different types of lore to flesh out your narrative. From family lore, with genealogy and anecdotes, reunions, pictures and stories, to local lore with news, human interest stories, and local rumors, she has so many amazing tips! Add a dash of popular (or not-so-popular) legends, tales, fairy stories as inspiration to bring your setting to life.

Writing Epic Fantasy

with Autumn Kaufer

7 pm Eastern, 11 pm UTC

In this talk, Autumn provides a comprehensive view of her path to publication. She discusses how writing can save lives and how easy it is to start with a short story and end up with an eight-book epic fantasy series (oops!). Learn about the steps in the publishing process, how to use your own experiences to flesh out your fantasy world, and how to blend reality and fiction in a world you create.

Day Four: Thursday, March 26

Writing a Dual Timeline

with Alexandria Faulkenbury

9 am Eastern, 1 pm UTC

Author Alexandria Faulkenbury teaches you how to maintain reader interest with a dual timeline, emphasizing that both timelines need their own arc, motives, goals, and strong characters. It’s like writing two books in one. She explores the pros and cons of using differing points of view and perspectives between timelines and using different tenses for each timeline. You’ll learn how to create clear, parallel scenes between timelines, how to weave timelines, and how to link them so they work together.

Microfiction: Big Benefits from Small Writing Projects

with Bruce Buchanan

11 am Eastern, 3 pm UTC

Bite-sized fiction is perfect for a culture used to scrolling social media. Microfiction can help writers of longer prose sharpen their skills and earn confidence-boosting publication acceptances. This talk addresses the types of microfiction, the benefits of writing short-form fiction, and some tips on how to approach it. Added bonus: ideas about where to get published!

Numbers Meet Your Novel: A Quantitative Way to Self-Edit

with K.M. Hasling

1 pm Eastern, 5 pm UTC

As writers, we pour our hearts into lovable characters, enticing plots, and beautiful prose. Sometimes we're too close to see the patterns that a quantitative analysis can reveal. In Numbers Meet Your Novel, K.M. Hasling exposes blind spots through page analysis, multi-mediums, and key inflection points.

Break: 3 pm Eastern, 7 pm UTC

Tricky Grammar Tips

with Cyndi Sandusky

5 pm Eastern, 9 pm UTC

Quick quizzes on tricky grammar followed by definitions, tips on remembering, and answers, along with some fun examples of common grammar faux pas.

Building Author Websites

with Emily Rae Russo

7 pm Eastern, 11 pm UTC

Learn about how to build your own dazzling author website. Emily covers the benefits of having your own author website, branding, positioning, purpose, and using this space to showcase your personality. Learn what to include (even if you’re not published yet), explore the platforms, and find out what makes a website great.