The time has come to unveil the full schedule for the Exploring Story Structure event in July! You’ll find the details of all of the panels below, but first, an announcement!
Announcing our Sponsor: Renaissance Press
This Storycrafting Session is now sponsored by Renaissance Press! We are thrilled to be working with this Canadian publisher to bring accessible education to writers all over the globe. Thanks to this partnership, live captioning will be available at this event!
Schedule
This one-day conference will take place on July 3, 2021. All times are listed in EST.
Plot vs Story: Balancing Action and Emotion
Time 11AM – 12PM
Moderated by Steven Savage
Featuring Cait Gordon, Stephen Graham King, Crystal Storm, Jenn Gott
One of the most difficult aspects of pacing a fiction project is balancing the external plot arc with the internal character arc. In this panel, authors will explore how they balance action and emotion when planning their work. They’ll also discuss the nuances of balancing physical movement and emotion in action scenes.
Identifying and Developing Secondary Genre in SFF
Time 12:30PM – 1:30PM
Moderated by Jade Benjamin
Featuring: Katherine Forrister, Celeste Harte, Kellie Doherty, Lex Vranick
While primary or ‘commercial’ genres like Sci Fi and Fantasy set important worldbuilding guidelines and expectations for writers, secondary genres — also known as content or internal genre — are also vital tools for developing vivid and complex stories. Identifying and developing secondary genre(s) can help you understand tropes and reader expectations, navigate the extensive and growing library of existing subgenre labels, and better align the commercial and content potential of your story.
Beyond the Hero’s Journey: Alternative Story Structures
Time 2 – 3PM
Moderated by Mato Steger
Featuring Jade Benjamin, Joyce Reynolds-Ward, Jimi Rodriguez, Jo Ladzinski, Jasmine Gower
The classic Heroic Quest or the Hero’s Journey — also known as the Archplot or Three Act structure — is a well-respected cornerstone of study for writers, but it’s just the beginning! Beyond the Hero’s Journey will discuss alternative plot and structure mechanisms, and how you can use them to more effectively organize the energy of your story.
How to Plot a Series
Time 3:30 – 4:30PM
Moderated by Dianna Gunn
Featuring: Dan Fitzgerald, Mary Kit Caelsto, Sagan Morrow, Samantha Kroese
These authors don’t write stand-alone novels or even trilogies; their series are more than four books long. In this panel, they’ll share how to plot a multi-book storyline while still making each novel a compelling story.
Editors Talk: How to Self-Evaluate Your Story Structure
Time 5 – 6PM
Moderated by Nicole Zelniker
Featuring: Emelyne Museaux, Hannah Van Vels, Jeni Chappelle, Crystal L. Kirkham, Stephi Cham
This panel of editors will share how to evaluate and refine your story structure before sending your work to an editor. They’ll also share some of the most common structure mistakes they see.
Conference Companion
Enhance your experience and support Weeknight Writers events by grabbing the Conference Companion workbook for this event. This printable workbook will help you track important information during the Storycrafting Session: Exploring Story Structure. This includes:
- “Notes” areas for individual panels
- An area to record overall lessons and feelings about the conference
- Questions to help you implement lessons from the conference in your writing practice
These worksheets will help you make the most of the Exploring Story Structure event! Proceeds from this workbook will be used to host, manage, and promote future Weeknight Writers events. Buy your copy today!
FAQ
How much does this event cost?
All panels are free to attend! You won’t spend any money unless you decide to buy the Conference Companion.
How can I participate?
Panels will be run on Zoom using the Webinar function. This means only panelists will be able to share audio and video content. To participate in the Q & A portion of a panel, you can either enter your question in the text chat or by using the Zoom Q & A function.
This is going to be so much fun!!! I’ve attended panels with many of these talented authors before, so you will not be disappointed if you sign up for this round! 🙂