Spotlight on Wild Rose Press

This workshop breaks down the first page components and allows time for participants to re organize so that they can develop their first page. If there is time a student can read the page made in the class.

Even the most compelling plot and likeable character won't make for a story unless you have a world for it to occur in. How do you go about supplying the details that a reader needs in order to construct their own version of that world in their head and how do you avoid having it conflict with your vision? What are the secrets to making the reading experience truly immersive -- and why do so many of them depend on worldbuilding? Join Cat Rambo for a master class on creating the stage on which your story takes place.

Our keynote speaker for Young Author's Day is New York Times and bestselling author, Jason Reynolds, the 2020 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. Reynolds is the author of thirteen books for young people, including his most recent, Look Both Ways: A tale told in Ten Blocks. 


Join local horror and mystery writer Scotti Andrews for this informative and fun panel, in which investigators and agents from several police agencies discuss actual training, and investigation techniques.

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When we talk about how stories get told, what we really talk about is: Who speaks? To whom (who’s listening)? And, from what distance? Consider the opening line to “Incoming Tide,” a short story in the collection Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout: “The bay had small whitecaps and the tide was coming in, so the smaller rocks could be heard moving as the water shifted them.” You might be surprised to learn that Kevin, the third-person point-of-view character and the story’s protagonist, has just driven from New York back to this small coastal town in Maine with a gun in the back of his VW Bug. Kevin is considering suicide. There is a distant quality to this telling that is detached from suicidal Kevin. How does that happen?
This two-hour master class will include a series of readings, discussions, and practice exercises designed to explore: 1) voice (how to distinguish between world view detached author voice and story limited character voice; 2) narrative distance (how near or far the telling is from the occasion); and 3) psychic distance (how emotionally close to the character the telling makes us feel). The goal of this class will be to develop techniques that will allow you to gain control over how you tell your stories in order to better manage your readers’ journey.
Key take away points:
1) How to distinguish author voice from character voice (and how to know when the use of each is appropriate).
2) How to manage narrative distance (to guide the reader from wide-shot world building into a close engagement with characters struggling under pressure).
3) How to manage psychic distance (to guide the reader’s engagement with your characters from an emotional distance all the way in to their most intimate interior reactions).

Talk isn’t cheap. Powerful conversations can make or break a story and help your characters pop off the page. In this hour, we’ll unpack an arsenal of tricks you can use to cut the flab in your gab and unleash unforgettable communication. Join screenwriter and novelist Damon Suede for an arsenal of nitty-gritty techniques to turn that chatter into conversations that matter.

A manuscript’s first page acts like a little window. Here, we peek into your writing power, your storytelling moxie, your unique voice. Usually, if it’s not working on page one, then it’s not working on page two hundred. The first page has to pop! That’s where purposeful play comes in. In this fun and interactive workshop, writers will learn how to play by using two creative tools. First tool: The Three Magic Hats, a daily warm-up to jump-start a writer’s day. Second tool: The Kick in the Pants. Workshop participants will leap from bestselling authors’ first lines and create a draft of an opening page that pops. The goal of these fun exercises is to not only help writers conquer the blank page but also to help them write an opening draft that will catch the eye of an agent or acquisition editor.

Meet a group of passionate high school readers and writers from Annie Wright Schools in Tacoma, Washington, who have advice on pitfalls to avoid when writing YA characters. These are teenagers who have attended the PNWA conference, participated in NaNoWriMo multiple times, written novels, and have a lot to say about YA literature and the modern teenage experience. Presentation followed by Q&A. They are also available to act as beta readers for your YA novel.