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Our fully accessible, free, virtual Writing Conference is this weekend!! Below is some more information about what to expect from each talk on Day 1 (March 15).
Presentations will be available indefinitely on YouTube but presenters are only available this weekend on YouTube and Discord to chat! On average, these videos run 25-35 minutes; you'll have roughly 15 minutes between each video to take care of necessities and chat.
Friday, March 15
8am Eastern (12pm UTC)
Charlotte Bismuth — Fact Checking
Fact Checking is an investigation; some authors may see this as "fact-establishing" within their text. This talk discusses what it means, what it requires, and how quickly credibility may be lost vs. how painfully it is earned. We'll talk about identifying facts, documenting your process, research options, a process for dealing with uncertainty, and some legal/ethical quandaries (obviously, this is not legal advice) such as telling the truth about bad people, declining to lower the bar, and when to withdraw support for a project.
9am Eastern (1pm UTC)
Jennifer Navarre — Chat With a Kidlit Editor
Jennifer answers questions about the broad range of writing for children. She covers the categories of kidlit, age ranges, the kidlit publishing process (and how that differs from what you might expect), and understanding/interpreting the various kidlit markets.
10am Eastern (2pm UTC)
Nicky Shearsby — Leveraging Social Media
In this presentation, Nicky discusses her journey from owning a business to being a full time writer with a huge following on X (@Nickyshearsby22). Nicky uses her passion for mental health to explore the dark thriller genre as the author of The Flanigan Files.
11am Eastern (3pm UTC)
Kate Erickson - Taming the Blank Page
This hands-on workshop helps you access your creativity to help you over the initial hurdle so you can find your flow.
12pm-2pm Eastern (4pm UTC)
BREAK with optional write-ins in Discord
Come hang out, try a sprint, and chat!
2pm Eastern (6pm UTC)
Elizabeth Bradfield — Chat With Broadsided
Conceptualizing, founding, running, and expanding: this interview with Elizabeth Bradfield discusses the life of an evolving literary publication and what it's like to be on both sides of the publication process.
3pm Eastern (7pm UTC)
Lynda Rush Myers — Writing Practice, Process, Ritual:
imitation is the sincerest form of flattery
For this presentation, Lynda hand-picked her favorite tools, tips, quotes and ideas in an ABC-style explanation of writing process, practice, and ritual. Lynda examines how, what, and under what circumstances writers compose; what’s on, near or beneath their desk, if they have one. She considers how writing routines and habits inform practice and includes tips from Jericho Brown, Sharon Olds, Elizabeth Acevedo, Anne Lamott, Major Jackson, Ocean Vuong, Joy Harjo and others.
4pm Eastern (8pm UTC)
Katie Chambers — The Beauty of Beats and Free Indirect Speech
The use of beats and free indirect speech are two tools every writer should know. They help you with writing elements like showing, not telling; manipulating narrative distance; creating deeper interiority; enriching characterization; creating variety; and playing with tension. Learn what they are and when and how to use them effectively.
5pm Eastern (9pm UTC)
Frances Turner — Claiming Your Voice as a Writer
Frances uses her own experience (anecdotes) and inspirations to discuss where voices come from, the difference between a written and an oral voice, honing your voice(s), and comparing (or NOT!) your voice to others.
Let go of your fear and make your unique voice heard!
6pm-8pm Eastern (10pm UTC)
BREAK with optional write-ins in Discord
8pm Eastern (12 am UTC)
Kate Vacek — What You Can Learn From Writing CNF
Based on her experiences as a writer moving from academic writing to CNF, this talk defines creative nonfiction and its relationship with fiction. Kate explores the process of writing CNF and how the structure helped her develop other writing tools and learn more about herself. She also covers how to stay motivated, work through problems, and find your audience.
9pm Eastern (1am UTC)
Katie Evans — Writing for Middle Grade
Katie will discuss writing for middle grade audiences as well as the challenges of marketing to a demographic that is too young to buy their own books, but also too young to rely entirely on their adults' book preferences!
10pm Eastern (2am UTC)
T.M. Jacobs — Ghostwriting: A How-To
This presentation focuses on what ghostwriting is (and is not), what a ghostwriter does, who might need ghostwriting services, how much money you can earn (or charge) as a ghostwriter, and how to break into the ghostwriting field. T.M. shares some examples from books he's ghostwritten and how this field fully supports his family's nomadic lifestyle.
11pm Eastern (3am UTC)
Judy L Mohr — Hidden Traps of an Online Platform
The internet is part of our world now, but there are so many ways that we find ourselves in trouble. It's time to learn how to build an online platform safely and avoid the various hidden traps. It's about protecting our physical and internet security, along with our reputation as writers.
Join us on Discord to chat. See you soon!
About the author: Theresa is a co-founder of The Writer's Workout, a crime/thriller/horror writer, and a freelance developmental editor at Premier Literary Services. Her works are published in various magazine and journals under a pseudonym.