Friday
Conference Day 1 – Friday, October 25, 2024
7:45 am – 9:00 am
In Person: Registration in Main Foyer
8:15 am – 8:50 am
In Person: Orientation Session: Green Timbers #1
8:00 am – 4:00 pm
In Person: Bookstore is Open – Guildford Foyer
9:00 am – 9:45 am
In Person, Virtual, and Recorded: Opening Session in Guildford Ballroom. Morning Keynote by Kim Spencer.
10:00 am – 11:15 am Workshops
Virtual and Recorded
Often when we think of rhythm, we think of songs or poetry, but all stories have their own rhythm that carries the reader through the page. In this class, we’ll look at how to identify the rhythm of a piece, use (or change) it to suit the story you’re telling, and know when you’ve put one too many em-dashes on the page. Feel free to bring a sentence that "just doesn't sound right" for the Q&A!
In Person, Live-streamed, and Recorded
Join our panel of agents for a wide-ranging and in-depth look at what agents really do. From query to contract and beyond, our agents have a wealth of experience to draw on and are pulling back the curtain to tell you everything you want to know about agenting. What do they look for in new clients apart from a killer book? How do submissions to publishers actually work? How do they know which editors might be the best ones for your work? What red...
In Person, Live-streamed, and Recorded
Back story, what it is and why it matters. For instance, though characters **are** what they **do**, every surprising action has to make sense in light of the character’s back story. The challenge for the novelist is finding “Page One” and then revealing back story without bogging down the front story.
In Person, Live-streamed, and Recorded
Life is a series of special occasions: birthdays, holidays, weddings, political events, funerals, or coming of age traditions. But have you considered how you can use these in your fiction? Special events liven up our day-to-day lives and they can play the same role in fiction. Events allow you to show time passing, deepen the world-building, and show character. This workshop will jump start your thinking on how to integrate events into your...
In Person, Live-streamed and Recorded
Should your story be a book or a podcast, or both? Join expert Pedro Mendes to learn what makes audio a unique and powerful medium for writers to consider adding to their repertoire.
In Person Only, Not Recorded
There’s a famous Billy Wilder quote that says, “If you have a problem with the third act, the real problem is in the first act.” In this workshop, I will teach you how to look at your ending in a holistic way, building those stakes and tension throughout your entire story so that your ending has the most impact.
In Person Only, Not Recorded
Voice is the soul of story. The element that magically pulls us in, often with only a few lines. As writers, we want nothing more than to execute it. But what comes first, creating an unforgettable character or crafting an unforgettable voice? By looking at the delicate dance in the relationship between character and voice, we will explore how elements like rhythm, life experience, and word choice play into creating a distinct character voice that becomes the...
In Person Only, Not Recorded
If you’re an author, and have published a book (whether it be self, traditional, or otherwise), you should be speaking in schools about your writing craft and your experience. Students and teachers alike love to hear from authors, it’s an excellent source of additional income, and gives you more opportunity to sell your books. This session teaches attendees how to reach out to schools, who to contact, what to charge, how to build your presentation/workshops,...
In Person Only, Not Recorded
Writers are often told ‘show, don’t tell,’ but what about ‘feel, don’t just show?’ Writers connect to their readers through their characters’ emotions. In this workshop, participants will learn how to use their own feelings and experiences to evoke emotions in their readers. They will also learn about different types of emotions and the importance of following their intuition.
11:45 am – 1:00 pm Workshops
Virtual and Recorded
Writing a tight and clean query and first page can be tricky if not sometimes confusing. What elements are essential to capturing the attention from the get-go? Bring your first page and/or query and join agent Karly Dizon from Fuse Literary for the First Page + Query Intensive Critique and Editing virtual class to receive feedback on your work. We'll deep dive into the elements that work as well as opportunities to improve.
Note: If you want to remain anonymous,...
In Person, Live-streamed, and Recorded
Worldbuilding isn't just for SFF. Whatever genre you write in, your goal is to immerse your reader in the world of your story. Every detail you choose to include, the ways your characters speak and think and what they eat, the places they inhabit all contribute to creating your story world. Even if your contemporary fiction is set in a well-known, familiar location, the choices you make in writing build a particular version of that place for readers....
In Person, Live-streamed, and Recorded
Women’s stories are peopled with women—a sisterhood of best friends, mentors, mothers, and tricksters, and through an understanding of the archetypes and inherent framework of each, we can imbue our characters with larger than life, page stealing qualities readers will recognize and adore.
In Person, Live-streamed, and Recorded
Whether it's a movie or a book, romantic comedies are all the rage. From the heartwarming romance to laugh-out-loud moments, it’s no wonder these stories are only growing in popularity. In the class, we will learn the classic rom-com beats from the adored meet-cute to the dreaded third act break-up, how to create a cast of characters the leave your readers wanting more, and of course, how to write a successful rom-com no matter your heat level.
In Person, Live-streamed, and Recorded
From a small town to a big city to a made-up world, where we set stories influences the characters, plot points, themes, tone, and atmosphere. In this workshop, we’ll discuss various types of locations, look at examples in different book genres, and pinpoint ways to make the locations of your novel come alive. We’ll also work through a live example of making a location come to life.
In Person Only, Not Recorded
Do you have story ideas swirling in your head but don't know where to begin? This workshop will be your roadmap! Learn how to transform your ideas into captivating short stories. Learn to craft a "Thumbnail Sketch" giving your narrative focus and direction; master the Beginning, Middle, and End to structure your story for maximum impact; develop your protagonist by identifying your main character's motivations and fears.
This workshop is perfect for...
In Person Only, Not Recorded
It seems like only yesterday that social media wasn't an absolute wasteland of terrible people saying terrible things all the terrible time. But that was like a decade ago and that time is not coming back. So what do we do? How do we stay connected to our friends and colleagues in the writing world when everything seems so transient and conflicted? Is it time to start a newsletter? Will the once-dominant platforms just disappear one day? What can writers do...
In Person Only, Not Recorded
Food touches on every important part of our lives, from health and our environment, to our economy and culture. Join Globe and Mail journalist and Chop Suey Nation author Ann Hui to learn about food writing that connects with the world around us.
1:00 pm – 2:15 pm
In Person: Meet and Greet Luncheon, Guildford Ballroom (Full Conference Attendees Only)
Virtual: Meet and Greet Luncheon, Virtual Conference Zoom Bar
2:30 pm – 3:45 pm Workshops
Virtual Only, Recorded
CW for crime, violence, sexual assault
“This suspense is terrible. I hope it will last.” –Oscar Wilde
What makes a novel addictive, or unputdownable? The best fiction has us racing through, breathless, and these books are not always thrillers. Some of the most successful literary fiction employs suspense in innovative, intentional ways. This course is for writers who would like to learn more about building suspense through various techniques; we will read and...
In Person, Live-streamed, and Recorded
Writing for kids and teens can be as crazy-making as it is inspiring. Join moderator kc dyer as she and this panel of amazing writers and agents talk about the tips and techniques of capturing kids’ imaginations, and the best ways for you and your work to catch the eye of potential publishers. Bring your questions!
In Person, Live-streamed, and Recorded
Whether you’re tackling a timeslip or simply a series of flashbacks, the technical challenges of interleaving multiple sets of main characters, multiple plots, and multiple story arcs stay the same: how do you switch back and forth without losing the readers' interest, or being confusing—and how do you bind all the stories together to strengthen your themes? We’ll look at the range of rewards that this much bigger canvas can offer a story.
In Person, Live-streamed, and Recorded
A generative workshop on physical writing. Humans may feel out of control of our bodies sometimes. In healthcare, we may feel doctors tell us to take medicine we don’t want to take or have surgeries we don’t feel we need. In life, we face aging, illnesses, injuries, assault, trauma, pregnancy, abortion, joy, chronic pain, deep belly laughter. Our bodies tell stories about our lives, and they allow other people to tell stories about us. People often...
In Person, Live-streamed, and Recorded
Stuck on structure? Does thinking about act breaks make you feel disconnected from your story?
In this workshop, Cara will present an alternative way of approaching your story arc and keeping
your readers interested. Informed by script-doctor David Baboulene’s theory of knowledge gaps
and other formal approaches to literature, we will explore a technique that uses the readers’
curiosity to draw them through the story. We will ask what kind of...
In Person Only, Not Recorded
“Multiracial Americans are at the cutting edge of social and demographic change in the U.S.—young, proud, tolerant and growing at a rate three times as fast as the population as a whole.” Pew Research.
Have you wanted to write more diverse characters but you’re afraid of making a mistake? Eliana is going to give you the basic tools to write characters from different racial backgrounds without falling into many of the common pitfalls that create caricatures...
In Person Only, Not Recorded
Truth can be a matter of perspective. In this workshop we’ll discuss the various options for multiple point of view (POVs) and explore how the use of the POV shapes the story. From creating twists, exploring characters, and increasing tension, multiple POVs could be what your manuscript needs to keep readers turning pages.
In Person Only, Not Recorded
2024 marks 40 years since Michael Slade published the 1st thriller in his Mountie Noir Series. The climactic novel is written and in production. In this workshop, Slade will discuss the tricks of the trade to keep a series fresh, original, and thrilling.
Caution: Michael Slade is a criminal lawyer who specialized in murder cases involving the law of insanity, and writes that into his books. He discusses the world based on his experience. As BC’s senior...
In Person Only, Not Recorded
Phenomenal novelist Ben Okri notes that it is the questions writers ask “about reality, about being alive, about being human” that not only drive our work but connect it to others in the world. In this workshop, we will begin with our current curiosities and, through an interactive collage and writing process, invite our obsessions to reveal/affirm themselves to us, bringing us closer to the essential questions that can drive a lifetime of creative questioning...
4:15 pm – 5:30 pm Workshops
Virtual Only, Recorded
Writing historical fiction is a great way to introduce readers to past times and eras, in a more accessible way, providing an immersive experience. For the writer, whether history forms one of the main elements of your book, or is more of a backdrop for your stories – researching history often presents a barrier. How do you make sure you have the right level of detail in your book, whether it’s set in a highly written-about era, like World War II – or in a time and...
In Person, Live-streamed, and Recorded
What makes an agent sit up and take notice in the first pages of your novel? And what makes them slow down, disappointed, when they get halfway through reading a full? Join our panel of agents for a discussion about irresistible hooks that make them want to read your book, and what you can do to help avoid the dreaded sagging middle.
In Person, Live-streamed, and Recorded
Whether we are writing fiction or non-fiction, we put a lot of ourself into our work. How much of your own experience goes into your writing for others to see? And how do we walk that line between being authentic, and protecting our privacy? How do we stay vulnerable and use all of that great emotional depth while still feeling safe enough to share what we've created? We'll talk about where the line is for you, and delve into some strategies that...
In Person, Live-streamed, and Recorded
Is horror a literary genre on its own, a set of tools that can be used to heighten other genres, or both? This talk will break down the diegetic structures of multiple horror subgenres, examine the usage of common tropes and techniques, and discuss the subversion, reversal, and metamorphosis of horror in other genres and media.
In Person, Live-streamed, and Recorded
When people think about food and writing, they likely think of nonfiction, such as food memoirs, critical essays, and cookbooks. But the seemingly mundane act of eating can add so many layers to your story when done well. Just like sex scenes and fight scenes, eating scenes are a way to move along the plot, incorporate sensory detail, develop the world, and tell you more about the characters and their relationships–with food, with themselves, and...
In Person Only, Not Recorded
Diana Gabaldon has never read THE NEVER-ENDING STORY, because she thinks a good story really ought to have an end. But what's a good ending? Can a story have more than one? Scenes, chapters, sections, books...a good story has multiple endings within itself, and an ending isn't always The End.
In Person Only, Not Recorded
“Plot-driven” and “character-driven” are often positioned as opposing methods of fiction writing. But why do these approaches to narrative need to be in opposition? This hands-on workshop takes participants through exercises designed to create compelling and plausible plots using detailed character creation. Whether participants are at the start of a writing project, or somewhere in the murky middle, this approach can help jumpstart new ideas and perspectives...
In Person Only, Not Recorded
This workshop will focus on how three building blocks - metadata, mailing lists, and author websites - can lay a strong foundation for your indie publishing career. Whether you're just starting to write or polishing your finished manuscript, we’ll look at why these elements are key to building your brand and connecting with readers.
In Person Only, Not Recorded
Whether we’re feeling the weight of traumatic world events or experiencing grief from personal loss, there are times even words feel inadequate. How can poetry help? Like the power of a good cry, pouring our messy and overwhelming emotions into the poetry of lament offers both release and distance, giving us a safe way to explore, process, and move further along the path to healing. We’ll practise a simple approach to writing poetic lament; no experience with...
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