ConGregate Professional Development Lecture Series for Writers

Introducing the ConGregate Professional Development Lecture Series for writers, with lead faculty member Michael A. Stackpole. Additional instructors include John G. Hartness and Gail Z. Martin.

This Professional Development Lecture Series is designed for both new and established writers who are committed to learning more about their craft, with a focus on teaching aspects of writing from the ground up.

NOTE: Due to space constraints, attendance is limited to 50 people

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Series topics include

Plotting
Michael A. Stackpole unravels the mysteries of creating compelling plots. A novel is a huge undertaking, written over weeks or months, and the plot has to hold it all together. From creating an outline to maintaining flexibility, this seminar gives you the insider knowledge that will separate you from all of your peers.

Finding The Story
Michael A. Stackpole takes you through a series of exercises that will let you build a story from the barest spark through twists and turns. He’ll give you several story recipes and show you how you can work from them to create delightfully complex and engrossing stories.

How to Write Urban Fantasy
During the 90-minute session, Gail Z. Martin will introduce you to the fundamentals of urban fantasy writing and provide practical insights that can be applied to your own writing projects. You will delve into the world of urban fantasy storytelling, exploring key elements and techniques specific to the genre. We will guide you through the process of crafting compelling narratives, focusing on aspects such as developing settings and creating memorable characters.

Making the Next Draft the Best
Michael A. Stackpole gives you a tool kit which will allow you to break down your novel, diagnose issues and substantially improve your next draft. He’ll cover the basics from how to know if you want to do one more draft, on through how to produce and package your book for sale. If you think your book isn’t quite there yet, or if you want to make sure everything is working the way it should, this seminar will provide you with techniques to answers to all your questions.

Creating Reader Engagement
There is a difference between stories that readers just read, and stories that pull them in and won’t let them go. In this class, Michael A. Stackpole will share with you sure fire techniques for drawing readers in and keeping them enthralled in the story from beginning to end.

Advanced Characterization
If Characters are king, these techniques will teach you how to establish a dynasty. Michael A. Stackpole reveals the advanced techniques he uses for creating characters of depth, intrigue and humanity, who manage to grow in realistic but seldom predictable ways. You’ll learn how to create the sort of characters that can carry whole sagas and keep readers locked in and waiting for each new book’s release.            

21 Days To A Novel
New York Times Bestselling author Michael A. Stackpole presents his three week program for preparing yourself to write a novel. This set of 21 exercises is broken down to give you everything from character creation to world building, practical plotting devices, dialogue development and character voice creation tools. This program is a practical, kick-in-the- pants place to start your career.         

Crisis Clinic
Writers all hit kinks in the story that sometimes seem insurmountable. In this session people get to describe problems that are killing their stories, and our experts will offer practical solutions and work-arounds for everything from writer’s block to that pesky side character who just ups and wants to take over the whole story. 

Business One
Traditional publishing, independent publishing, small presses, self-publishing...which one is right for you? Do you even have to stick with one style? These days more authors than ever are working in a hybrid model, blending different publishing styles to maximize their career efforts. Writer and publisher John G. Hartness will lay out the pros and cons of all the publishing paths you can follow, and ways to make them all work in your favor.

Business Two
A seminar in all the ways to exploit your property to make some money, along with realistic looks at strategies which don’t make as much economic sense as they appear. (Including exploitation of alt markets (audio, gaming, etc..)

Registration for the Lecture Series is considered an "add on" to your standard convention membership. In other words, you will need a convention membership as well.

Cost for the series is $105.00.

There is an option to buy both your convention membership and register for lecture series at the same time - or, if you have already purchased your membership, you can just purchase the series. Both options are available below.

We ask that you review the basic registration policies and procedures before registering. 

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