Conversations and Connections DC 2020: Practical Advice on Writing

Crafting suspense might seem to be the work of writers in various genres—crime fiction and horror most specifically—but all writers (literary too!) can benefit from the tools of the suspense writer. How do you spark your readers’ curiosity for what happens next? How do you tighten tension and escalate conflict to keep those readers turning the page? How can you modulate pacing, navigate reader expectations, and strategize surprise? This session draws on work by writers including Patricia Highsmith, Margaret Millar, Alice Munro, Flannery O’Connor, Scott Turow and more to illustrate various techniques for incorporating suspense into your own work.  

As a writing teacher, professional editor, and a writing coach for two decades, the one issue that comes up frequently, even among experienced writers, is writing love and sex. Overwriting, gross intimate details no one wants to hear, a barely pornographic scene or two, and wildly inappropriate language are among the few gaffes that come up. Writing love and sex is dependent on the development of the character and the sustained creation of tone and voice. It can be beautiful or terrifying, romantic or tense and depends on the content of your story. Consideration of audience also matters. I have seen too many fabulous manuscripts ruined by bad sex and silly love scenes. This workshop will demonstrate what not to do, what you should do, and will guide writers in the tricky development and language of sex, love and all that goes with it. A brief engaging writing exercise will launch the craft workshop. Rules for appropriate discussion will be enacted to create a safe and sane environment for all people. This workshop encourages diversity, all are free to join.

There’s the idea that anyone can write, especially something short, but it takes a special writerly sensibility to write with brevitic empathy, to build resonance in the crucible of a few words, to create dimensional characters who can enthrall and frustrate. Writing the micro (>400 words)  demands that the writer juggle diction and syntax without losing the effect of character, conflict, and setting. How do we create the feeling of story, the movement of narrative, the well-spring of emotion while using the parameters of short word counts?

This generative workshop will take a prompt-based approach to look at different ways to write micro fiction/non-fiction. The prompts will be inspired by fierce and resonate examples from amazing writers who specialize in writing flash and micro stories. We will dig deeper into the writer’s craft decisions and word choices while targeting specific skills we can use to create our own micros. Using these elements of craft, we will create fresh micros full of resonate concision. Having these tools as part of our writing tool kit should enable us to let go of our inner tensions and feel freer to create poignant and exciting micros.

Everyone -- from Madonna to Jay Leno -- has written a children's book. So how hard can it be? We will discuss how to write for specific age groups while not compromising on style, content, and themes. This session will discuss the various sub-genres of "kidlit" and cover the needs in the children's literature market.