All workshops and events will take place at the conference hotel, Marriott Mission Valley, located conveniently at 8757 Rio San Diego Drive, San Diego, CA 92108.
Workshops: Read & Critique
Cold Openings: Your First Five Pages
Leader: Marla Miller
Objective: Most readers can determine if they’re in the hands of a quality writer within the first five pages. Experienced agents and editors require even less. Do your opening pages telegraph the story you’re trying to tell with skill and confidence or spell rejection out of hand? Let’s start at the beginning and find out in this troubleshooting workshop.
The Craft of Feedback – What It Is, What It Isn’t, and How to Use It
Leaders: Melanie Hooks & Laura Perkins
Objective: Learning the craft of writing is important to make your story strong but learning and understanding the craft of feedback is vital to getting your manuscript ready. In this workshop we’ll delve into the heart of giving, receiving, and using feedback. We will cover not only how to make the most of the feedback but how to avoid the pitfalls specific kinds of feedback can cause. We’ll give tips on ways to handle the emotional ups and downs feedback can stir and how to turn those into motivational avenues to get your rewrites and edits done. From agents and editors to feedback groups and friends, feedback can be a thorn-filled jungle or a beacon of light helping your story shine. And we’re here to give you a flashlight.
Early “Bard” Read & Critique (All-Genre)
Leader: Jennifer Silva Redmond
Objective: Sunday 7 a.m. troubleshooting of potentially problematic aspects of works-in-progress.
Query Letter Critique (All-Genre)
Leader: Marla Miller
Objective: Troubleshoot potentially problematic aspects of works-in-progress.
Read & Critique (All-Genre)
Leader: Claudia Whitsitt
Objective: Troubleshoot potentially problematic aspects of works-in-progress.
Read & Critique (Cold Openings: Your First Five Pages)
Leader: Marla Miller
Objective: Most readers can determine if they’re in the hands of a quality writer within the first five pages. Experienced agents and editors require even less. Do your opening pages telegraph the story you’re trying to tell with skill and confidence or spell rejection out of hand? Let’s start at the beginning and find out in this troubleshooting workshop.
Read & Critique (Memoir, Narrative & Straight Nonfiction)
Leader: Cherie Kephart
Objective: In this workshop, be prepared to experience reading and critiquing in a new way. Also, be ready to read aloud, listen intently, and support each other as we elevate our words to a more inspired level. Bring any writing up to five pages you want to work on. If you don’t have anything to share, you are absolutely welcome to join us, since there will be plenty of interesting of ways to participate and learn. While specifically geared toward non-fiction, fiction folks are welcome too.
Rogue Read & Critique (All-Genre)
Leader: Laura Taylor
Objective: Troubleshoot potentially problematic aspects of works-in-progress.
Rogue Read & Critique (Sci-Fi/Fantasy)
Leaders: Melanie Hooks & Laura Perkins
Objective: Troubleshoot potentially problematic aspects of works-in-progress.
Write Like Nobody’s Editing: A Free-Writing Free-for-All
Leader: Judy Reeves
Objective: The Conference offers writers a wide and generous menu of workshops, speakers, panels, critique groups, one-on-ones with editors and agents, opportunities to ask questions, get critiques, take notes, and all manner of writerly instruction, information, and inspiration. But what about actually writing? What about spending time with your laptop or your notebook and just letting ‘er rip. That’s what we’ll do in this writing-practice style Prompt Workshop. I’ll give a prompt and you’ll do the writing in brief, timed, free-write sessions. It’s fun. It’s easy. And there’s no wrong way to do it. You’ll have the opportunity to read what you’ve written aloud if you want, with no critique and no judgment. You’re free to write the worst junk in America or maybe the best sentences you’ve ever written. Either way, you’ll be getting words on the page. Come and join us for this fast-paced, anything goes, free-for-all writing playshop.
Workshops: Craft & Execution
Avoiding Stereotypes, Cliches and the All-Too Common
Leader: Gayle Carline
Objective: Does your world-weary detective fight an uphill battle with his gruff police captain? Does your big-city young woman find true love when she moves back to her small hometown and opens a bakery? Maybe it’s time to think outside these boxes. This workshop will discuss the various ways to take the all-too common and make it special, crafting a unique story that will keep readers engaged.
Car Chases, Fist Fights, and Battles – Oh my!
Leader: Laura Perkins
Objective: Are you fighting with your action scenes? Are they winning? Strap on your armor, and we’ll attack those beasts together. We’ll work on making your action scenes jump off the page, while driving your story forward. Stuff your rucksack with tips for honing logistics and clarity, while keeping the players in motion and emotion bleeding from the pages. We’ll tackle where to start & end, as well as how to sink readers into the action. Bonus: we’ll sneak in ways to plunge sharp dialogue and objects into your characters. Plus, weapons! Bring your action scenes and questions. You will leave with an arsenal for tuning your work in progress.
Constructing Compelling Nonfiction 1: Expository (Open Track)
Leader: Jennifer Silva Redmond
Objective: Discover how to effectively introduce information and backstory. Expository is everything that happens before page 1, as well as all of the information you need to convey on the page. Whether you are writing a memoir or other nonfiction, you need to give your readers just enough info to entice, intrigue, and inform—compelling them to keep turning pages.
Constructing Compelling Nonfiction 2: POV (Open Track)
Leader: Jennifer Silva Redmond
Objective: Learn how to choose the best point-of-view for your book. POV is the gateway to your story, but which POV should you use to most effectively communicate your story? In this hands-on workshop, we’ll explore the practical application–and consequences–of applying first-person POV, third-person omniscient POV, and third-person close POV.
Constructing Compelling Nonfiction 3: Structure (Open Track)
Leader: Jennifer Silva Redmond
Objective: Discover your story’s arc and your book’s optimal structure. Story arc is not just for novels—every book needs a clear structure that takes readers on a journey. Whether readers are reading a memoir, learning to ski, or working on interpersonal relationships, structure helps them follow our lead to the book’s resolution, gaining insight along the way.
Creating Characters that Suck / Screw Up a Lot!
Leader: Gene Desrochers
Objective: Sick of every character being “the best in the galaxy at…”? If you want to write characters who stumble, fart, pick their nose, and wake up too late for appointments … you know, suck … then this is the workshop for you. These characters are meant to bring the reader into the story via relatability, a highly underappreciated trait in many of the best heroes and villains. Characters that suck should not be relegated to comedy. They serve to remind us that even those with great power, also screw up, alot! Not good for those who only like Jack Reacher and Jason Bourne.
The End is Just the Beginning
Leader: Gayle Carline
Objective: If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll never know when you arrive. Every writer has a different process for telling their story, but at some point, they need to know how it ends, and whether they’ve told the tale they intended. This workshop will discuss how to work toward a satisfying ending to your story, and what to look for in your manuscript to ensure it’s a tale told well.
Infusing Micro-Tension Into Your Story
Leader: Claudia Whitsitt
Objective: Micro-tension is achieved on a line-by-line basis. We will delve into not just “how” microtension works in a novel and memoir, but “how to” infuse the small, subtle changes that keep a reader engaged throughout your story.
Into the Deep: Time
Leader: Judy Reeves
Objective: Story is tied to time in a way that is outside the time it takes to read it—a story that takes twenty minutes to read might happen in a period of a minute or twenty minutes, twenty days, twenty weeks, months, years… James Joyce Ulysses takes place in a single day — and the book is nearly 800 pages long. In this workshop, we’ll take a deep dive into the uses and effects of time in writing including how to use flashbacks and backstory while keeping the forward motion of the story. We’ll also discuss when to slow down and when to flash forward and when to take time leaps and the effective use of scene and summary.
Into the Deep: Scene
Leader: Judy Reeves
Objective: The difference between a ho-hum story and a page-turner is the writer’s ability to create dramatic, believable scenes. Scenes are what allow the reader to experience the action at the same time as the characters and to take the reader from outside the story to the interior of the conflict. In this workshop we’ll examine the elements that go into crafting successful scenes focusing on character, plot, and purpose, and we’ll discuss when to use scene and when to use summary, how to get from one to the other, the value of exposition and the power of emotion to keep the reader turning pages.
Into the Deep: Description & Details
Leader: Judy Reeves
Objective: One of the ways to move the reader from reading to experiencing your writing is through the effective use of description and detail. Not enough detail and you’re awash in a sea of generalities; too much description and you must slog your way through seaweed to get to shore. But the right details in the right place and vivid and lively description bring the writing to life and include the reader in the world of the story. This workshop will address the use of specificity in description, character, dialogue, and narrative, and focus on how to select and render the telling detail. We’ll take a look at that old chestnut: how to “show, don’t tell,” and when to telling is important. We’ll practice writing descriptions that move (motion pictures vs. studio portraits and painted landscapes) and the use sensory details to bring place and characters and the story alive.
The Muddle in the Middle
Leader: Robert Yehling
Objective: We have a great beginning. An unforgettable ending is ready to write. So why does the all-important middle portion of stories and books often feel like slogging through quicksand? This session addresses the challenge, and presents proven strategies and techniques for turning that “sagging middle” into a fully ripped Act 2 of your book or story. We’ll look at adding or shedding new light on characters, adding subplots, building surprise scenes, and tightening and quickening pace to make the “muddle” as strong as it began — and support an even better closing act.
Novel Boot Camp (Stand-Alone Track)
Leader: Janis Thomas
Objective: Using concepts from the popular Novel Intensive, the Novel Book Camp combines informative lessons with hands-on writing, beat dissection, and read & critique. Participation is limited and advance sign-up is required prior to the conference. >>Full Details –SOLD OUT
Novel Boot Camp consists of the following sessions:
- What’s it All About, Author?
- The Structure of it All
- Who Comes First?
- The Beats Go On
- We’ve GOT the Beat
- Brass Tacks and Hard Facts
- The End Is Just the Beginning
- Post Mortem
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Plotter to Pantser: Pros and Cons
Leader: Janis Thomas
Objective: Some novelists are best described as plotters. They rarely begin writing until they have outlined their story arc chapter by chapter and feel confident not just about how it will end, but precisely how it will get there. Others are what have come to be known as “pantsers” — a good-natured reference to ‘flying by the seat of your pants.” Pantsers typically begin with the germ of an idea, perhaps a character or an incident, and a fair handle on the conflict — and that’s all they need to send them rushing to the keyboard. That’s not to say that plotters are never taken by surprise or that pantsers never pause to get their bearing. In an open discussion, this session will explore transitioning from one process to the other, and effective methodologies of combing the two successfully.
Prose at the Speed of Light: Writing a Page-Turner
Leader: Robin “R.D.” Kardon
Objective: Want to keep your readers flipping pages well into the night? Have them carry YOUR book around with them to sneak in a few pages wherever they are? Learn how to use key elements to keep your story moving along so that your readers simply can’t put it down.
Setting as Character
Leader: Gene Desrochers
Objective: Does your setting conjure up a feeling in the reader? Or could your setting be any apartment in any city in any country on any continent in the universe? Turn your setting into a character that creates a feeling, then use that feeling to subvert, or intensify what the biological characters go through in the story. Setting pulls them in, and a unique setting that influences the fates and choices of characters will make the reader never want to leave.
Slice of Life: Sculpting Your Memoir’s Story
Leader: Cherie Kephart
Objective: Memoir is a slice of life. It’s about a timeframe or event in which you went through some sort of transformation. Identifying the part of your life you want to share is only one component. How do you then shape your story? How do you decide what to include and what to leave out? Where does it begin? How do you end it (after all, you’re still alive, right)? Lastly, how do you immerse readers in your world? Together we will explore the answers to these questions and more through interactive discussions and exercises. You will leave with concrete tools on how to successfully navigate the common pitfalls and challenges of the beautiful craft of memoir.
Soul Therapy: The Spiritual Side of Writing Memoir
Leader: Cherie Kephart
Objective: Writing a memoir is a journey beyond words. It’s a soulful experience. Enter the unwritten and learn about writing a memoir from a spiritual vantage point. It’s about relinquishing the power your story has over you. By learning to let go of the story that is holding you back, you can craft the story you were meant to tell. In this workshop, we will explore the fears that block us, the truth behind our intentions for writing our stories, how to discover the real message we are communicating to the world, what to focus on, what to let go of, and how this entire experience transforms us.
Supporting Cast: Crafting Purposeful Secondary Characters
Leader: Claudia Whitsitt
Objective: The world in which a protagonist exists is often populated by a variety of characters, each with their own perceived life, or at least their own agenda, even if appearing in only one scene. We’ll explore the tricks of infusing secondary characters with meaningful purpose to bring main characters truly to life.
Using Tarot to Write Your Story & Demystify Your Process
Leader: Amy Fisher
Objective: Story is intrinsic to tarot’s structure, providing we writers a valuable map and storytelling tool — whether you’re working on a novel in progress or envisioning your next creative venture. Join me as we utilize these 78 cards to guide you through each stage of the creative process, from fleshing out an idea to fixing a problem mid-draft. Tarot can help you structure your story, develop your characters, brainstorm story ideas, conquer writer’s block, and breathe new life into existing projects. Tarot and oracle cards are both inspirational and handy for conquering any creative hurdles. Let’s demystify both the tarot and the creative process together in this practical workshop!
Voice: Finding Your Unmistakable Own
Leader: Claudia Whitsitt
Objective: How one lays out the plot is not “authorial voice.” Authorial voice is what distinguishes one writer from all others. Comprised of far more than simply sentences containing a subject, a verb, and main clause, voice is prose that speak singularly and almost always immediately to the stranger across a page. Voice pops to attention. In this workshop we’ll focus on how to recognize “voice,” and apply what tools are available to cultivate one uniquely your own.
Where Nonfiction and Novels Meet
Leader: Scott McGough
Objective: Nonfiction — whether a family memoir or the unknown story of World War II combat glider pilots — does not have to be dry and witless. Nonfiction writers of all sorts can learn from our novelist brethren. This class will focus on identifying the DNA of great fiction and how inspired storytelling can elevate nearly every nonfiction writing project. Scott McGaugh will detail the specific process, steps, and mile markers that he has developed in writing 11 nonfiction books, including a New York Times bestseller and another that has been optioned by an L.A. producer.
TBA
Leader: TBA
Objective: TBA
Workshops: Business & Alternative
Acorn Publishing: Exploring the Benefits of Hybrid Publishing
Leader: Holly Kammier & Jessica Therrien
Objective: In an ever-changing industry, hybrid publishing is a new concept. Combining traditional publication expertise and cover appeal with the benefits that come with publishing independently, in this workshop the co-owner of Acorn Publishing will lead authors through the process, from submission to published novel, of cost-effectively self-publishing vetted, quality books under an established collective imprint — Acorn — while enabling them to retain all rights to their work and collect 100% of their profit.
Audio Books: Beyond the Basics
Leader: Melanie Hooks
Objective: Join Melanie Hooks, audiobook narrator, for a unique session that goes behind the scenes on one of the hottest emerging forms of storytelling. Have you wondered whether to explore creating one for your own novel? Whether you’re an indie author, traditionally published, or a hopeful voice talent, Melanie will give you the scoop on how the sauce gets made. Learn a few basic techniques for voice work, what a real studio setup requires, and how/if the work pays off as a voice actor. Just like anything in the DIY atmosphere of books these days, no one way fits all. The live workshop will feature a sample recoding and screen sharing of the software and editing techniques that transform an initial take to polished audiobook.
Battle Plan: Everything You Need to Know Before Going Indie
Leader: Gayle Carline
Objective: There are many reasons to go indie, but impatience is not a good one. Being an independently published author lets you make all the decisions and reap all the rewards — it also means you take all the risks. This workshop covers what it takes to publish your book independently. We will talk about the realities of the costs of both time and money, the pros and cons of various platforms, and the different mindsets an author must adopt in order to see their work released for public enjoyment.
Become Your Own Sensitivity Reader: Eliminating Sexist and Racist Language
Leader: Jennifer Silva Redmond
Objective: It is becoming common for publishers and editors to hire “sensitivity readers” because authors often can’t see what is racist or sexist in their writing. All of us need to be aware of the impact of out-of-date language in our manuscripts, so our characters don’t sound intolerant or bigoted (unless that’s intended). Editor Jennifer Silva Redmond will teach a hands-on workshop to learn how to employ inclusive language; a variety of racial/gender language issues will be discussed, including how to deal with pronouns, especially for non-binary characters.
Editing Explained
Leaders: Cherie Kephart & Laura Perkins
Objective: Don’t panic. Editors aren’t scary monsters waiting to rip your words apart. We’re here to help. We’ve created this workshop to do just that. Sharpen your writing by learning everything you ever wanted to know, and more, about editing — such as: the top ten most frequent pieces of feedback editors give to clients, how to edit your own work, the different types of editors and what they do, and how to determine when your manuscript is ready and for what.
The Emotional Hook: Reeling Readers in from the Start
Leader: Marla Miller
Objective: In this debut interactive workshop, writers will craft one page that hooks the reader. Open with dialogue, setting, conflict, character, theme — or all. We’ll begin with a few ‘opening page’ analyses from notable novels to guide and inspire, workshop members will then be given 15 minutes to write their own opening based on a curated prompt, followed by open critique. Join us for this fun & informative session.
Finding/Creating Your Unique Niche in the Fiction Market
Leader: Amy Fisher
Objective: Niche authoring establishes more authentic relationships with readers, less competition with fellow authors, and the right kind of visibility both online and off. Most importantly, it transforms marketing from drudgery to delight because we’re sharing our books with precisely the people who want to read them! In this workshop we’ll explore how to discern your niche as an author, discover your ideal reader, and devise your personal brand (aka public author persona), as well as learn concrete methods and tricks of the trade to connect with your actual readers every step of your writer’s way.
How to Make the Most of the Conference
Leader: Wes Albers
Objective: The vital relationships forged at any given SCWC often extend well beyond the close of any given conference weekend, ultimately resulting in many of our notable publishing success stories. In this interactive overview, learn how to navigate the schedule and best take advantage of opportunities over the conference weekend.
How to Quit Your Day Job
Leader: Anne Cleeland
Objective: A highly successful self-published author, in this presentation Anne explains the various strategies she uses to make writing profitable. The presentation includes advice on how to find your readers online, how to engage them, and what type of stories seem to be the most popular. She also gives a step-by-step explanation of how she goes about self-publishing, and provides an honest assessment of her earnings.
Indie Excellence: Glocalization and the Key to Survival
Leader: Laura Taylor
Objective: Two issues loom large on the Independent Author-Publisher horizon once a writer produces a beautifully written, skillfully edited book and makes it available for purchase: diversification and discoverability. Updated each conference with the latest information, this workshop is geared for writers who wish to globally expand their readership beyond Amazon and gain royalty income from a wide range of sources. >>Details
Making Procrastination and Other Human Obstacles Work for You
Leaders: Kelley Gusich
Objective: Are you dealing with the blank page by starting another load of laundry? Does the thought of writing a whole book send you straight to bed instead of to the typewriter? What if your kid has a baseball game, your boss has another project for you, or you’re just not feeling well? How can you fight that? This workshop offers tried and true methods to combat procrastination, and some you might never have thought of. Activities from backrub circles to character wheels will leave the writer with a boatload of tools to take home and pummel that monster we call The Procrastinator.
Pitch Witches: What’s Your Book About?
Leader: Marla Miller & Jennifer Silva Redmond
Objective: Whether you’re an author-publisher or are querying agents and editors, knowing how to summarize your story in as few words as possible is key to selling it. Commonly referred to as your “elevator pitch,” write it down and bring your best so “Pitch Witches” Marla Miller and Jennifer Silva Redmond can work their “magic” to make it even shine.
Post-Hybrid Press Publication: A Retrospective
Panelists: Laura Engel, Jill G Hall, Anastasia Zadeik
Moderated by Judy Reeves
Objective: The three authors — a novelist with a series (dual time-line with a recurring protagonist that is, in part, historical fiction), a genre/commercial novelist (psychological thriller), and a memoirist — will discuss their individual experiences publishing with a hybrid house She Writes Press; why each eschewed traditional or self-publishing; their role as author/partner; returns on investment; and generally their experience now that they’re on this side of publication.
The Secret Ingredient to Great Writing
Leader: Scott McGaugh
Objective: Research: the foundation of creative nonfiction and often fiction. It informs the structure, the framework, and ultimately the reader’s experience. The better (and smarter) you research, the sooner you can get to the fun part: writing! And your writing will be far more powerful and more efficient because the focus will be on storytelling, regardless of genre. Bestselling author Scott McGaugh will share lessons learned from his 11 nonfiction books. And you won’t want to miss holding what he brought back from a WWII battlefield on one of his research trips and learning how it powered his storytelling.
Talking Truth About Publishing
Leaders: Marla Miller
Objective: Traditional, boutique, hybrid, indie or self-publishing — so many options for the aspiring author to choose from — or resort to. We ask that writers check egos at the door so we can “talk turkey” about the myriad avenues available across the publishing spectrum, navigating them and avoiding pitfalls, finding solutions to overcome obstacles beforehand, and choosing the best path to publish your book successfully. »Full Details
Unconventional Book Marketing
Leaders: Rob Weinberg & Robert Yehling
Objective: In this workshop we will delve into flaws, learn how they deepen and complicate our characters, as well as keep readers rooting for them. Our hands-on workshop will examine your protagonist and antagonist to be sure you’ve used flaws to your advantage to hook your readers and keep them turning the page. Please bring your current manuscript and be ready to examine and discuss.
Panels, Appointments and Events
- Advance Submission One-on-One Consultations
- No-host Mixer
- Post-Hybrid Press Publication: A Retrospective
- Saturday Evening Banquet
- Special Guest Speaker: Gayle Carline
- Special Guest Speaker: Scott McGaugh
- Special Guest Speaker: Claudia Whitsitt