Writing to the Beat

with Jacqui Castle

Save the Cat and The Hero's Journey are two common methods of beat writing used by both screenwriters and novelists alike. Beat writing is often seen as a middle ground between pantsing and plotting. Instead of a rigorous outline, it provides something similar to a story map - a loose structure to follow that gets your protagonist from the first to the last page, with plenty of room to play in between. In this workshop, we will discuss why these methods have gained in popularity and how they can help us strengthen our stories. Plus, we will have a chance to dive into some beat-writing exercises and get that creativity flowing. 

Using Story to Change the World

with Michael Evans

Michael Evans will be detailing why every story created has value, how creative collaboration can be leveraged to build stories with greater meaning, and ultimately demonstrate why this generation of storytellers (Generation Z) has more opportunities than ever for content distribution and a massive opportunity to make change--and it all starts with YOU.

Environmental Storytelling & Show Don't Tell: How I Learned to Write through Playing Video Games

with Meg Eden

The popular saying goes: “A picture’s worth a thousand words.” With the rapid developments in technology, our storytelling is changing to not just be on the page, but through movies, television, and video games--highly visual mediums. Through the power of images, we can convey a whole narrative in a short space. Games like Deus Ex: Mankind Divided and Gone Home use environmental storytelling to give us pieces of characters’ lives. In this workshop, we’ll discuss examples of games that tell stories through objects, and go into our own writing exercises inspired by video games. 

Who Is My Protagonist?

with Mason Deaver

Join award-winning author Mason Deaver in discovering the wants, desires, and expectations of your protagonist, fleshing out the details of their past, and investigating why they want something and who they will be once they get it. Learn to craft a realistic protagonist you're proud of!

Follow the Flaw

with Brendan Reichs

Learn to craft emotional resonant plots by focusing on what’s wrong with your characters and exploiting those weaknesses to maintain story tension.

Failing Forward

with Scott Reintgen

Scott Reintgen walks through the failures that made him into a successful writer. Every author faces rejections and struggles, but we rarely view those moments as fuel for the fire that gets us to our next goal. Scott will talk about the fact that it's not whether or not you fail that matters, it's what you do next.

Writing Your Way Toward Your People

with Wiley Cash

Writing is such a solitary pursuit, and we often think of writers as artists alone, part of yet apart from the society and time about which they're writing. But everyone needs a peer, and writers are no different. In this talk, Wiley Cash will detail the role that other writers - from friends to mentors to well known authors - have played in his career and his path toward finding himself as an artist within a larger community.

Finding Innovation

with Quentin Bolden

While you may believe your writing career only consists of sitting in front of a laptop 24/7, Quentin Bolden debunks that idea and offers examples on how your writing future can include many other forms of inspiration. Don't quit your day job as long as your day job fuels your storytelling.

Costume Social

with YEW Team

Details coming soon...