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2022 PRE-CONFERENCE MASTER CLASSES

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2022 | ONLINE

AVAILABLE AS A CONFERENCE ADD-ON or A LA CARTE

$50 each for JRW Members/$75 each for Non-Members

On Friday, October 7, 2022, we will offer nine pre-conference Master Classes. Each two-hour Master Class, taught by one of our conference guest speakers, takes an in-depth look at a particular topic of interest to writers. We are offering two tracks: Business Tools and The Craft of Writing. Master Classes are offered for an additional cost to the regular conference fees and are open to conference ticket holders and also as an a la carte purchase if you are not able to attend the in-person conference on October 8 and 9 in Richmond, Virginia.

Master Classes will be held via the Zoom platform and will offer participants an opportunity to ask questions and interact with the class instructors. Once registration closes, we will send Master Class registrants the Zoom link(s) to join the Master Classes you have signed up and paid for.

Bonus! Your Master Class registration/ticket will include access to the recording and chat capture following the close of your class.

REGISTRATION

You can make your Master Class selections when you register for the main conference or separately (a la carte) using the same registration form. If you are only registering for the Master Classes, you may bypass any non-applicable questions on the registration form. Classes fill quickly, so don’t delay. You will receive a recording of any Master Class you sign up and pay for, after the class is over, for a limited time–even if you are unable to attend in real time.

9:00 – 11:00 a.m. Eastern

THE NOVEL SELF-EDITING BOOT CAMP

with Author/Editor/Writing Coach KRIS SPISAK

You know your story better than anyone, so the revision process is most powerful when it begins with you. But we\’re not just talking about grammar. Probing your manuscript with specific tough questions, learning how to analyze character depth and story pacing, and following step-by-step revision strategies can transform your working draft into the manuscript you always knew it could be. Plus, Kris will share some of her favorite editing and revision cheat-sheets. Editing is a craft to be learned, and when done well, success follows. Ready to dive in? While this is a fiction-focused workshop, memoir writers would also benefit greatly from this class. 

 

Kris Spisak

Kris Spisak wrote her first three books—Get a Grip on Your Grammar: 250 Writing and Editing Reminders for the Curious or Confused (Career Press), The Novel Editing Workbook (Davro Press), and The Family Story Workbook (Davro Press)—to help writers of all kinds sharpen their storytelling and empower their communications. Her debut novel, The Baba Yaga Mask (Wyatt-MacKenzie Publishing), was inspired by her family’s experience in the post-WWII Ukrainian diaspora. Kris is an active speaker, workshop leader, and fiction editor, who is also on the James River Writers advisory board.

Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Instagram 

IMMERSIVE WORLD BUILDING: Making Your Fictional World Feel Real

with Nebula Award-Winning Fantasy & Science Fiction Author FRAN WILDE

 

Whether you’re brainstorming a new story or refining an epic world, immersive worldbuilding techniques help deepen your narrative’s impact on readers. In this workshop, you’ll join Nebula-winning author Fran Wilde to expand the world of your work in progress (at any stage) with immersive scene prompts, backstory details, and plot deepeners that will help your world feel (plus sound, smell, and taste.) more real. These techniques are also excellent brainstorming tools for new work, so don’t be surprised if you emerge with additional projects. This generative worldbuilding workshop for James River Writers is open to writers at all stages of their work.

 

Fran Wilde

Two-time Nebula Award-winner Fran Wilde has (so far) published seven novels, a poetry collection, and over 50 short stories for adults, teens, and kids. Her stories have been finalists for six Nebula Awards, a World Fantasy Award, four Hugo Awards, three Locus Awards, and a Lodestar. They include her Nebula- and Compton Crook-winning debut novel Updraft, and her Nebula-winning, Best of NPR 2019, debut Middle Grade novel Riverland. Her short stories appear in Asimov’s Science Fiction, Tor.com, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Shimmer, Nature, Uncanny Magazine, and multiple years’ best anthologies. Fran serves as MFA faculty at Western Colorado University (Genre Fiction) and at Vermont College of Fine Arts (Kids and Young Adults) and also writes nonfiction for publications including The Washington Post, The New York Times, and Tor.com. You can find her on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and at franwilde.net.

Website  |  Twitter  |  Instagram

MEMOIR | TURNING MEMORIES INTO TRANSFORMATIONAL STORIES

with Storyteller/Teacher GG RENEE HILL

How have your ups and downs, wins and losses shaped your life? Whether you want to write privately or wish to publish, identifying the turning points and themes in your life is an important first step in memoir writing. In this workshop, participants will reflect on the transformational seasons in their lives and associate stories and themes to each one. We will explore the dynamics of character development and narrative arc, and learn techniques to capture universal meaning through personal experiences. You will come away with a timeline technique to uncover life themes, a story bank of memories to serve as writing prompts, and tips for starting a memoir journaling practice. 

GG Renee Hill

GG Renee Hill is an author and facilitator who believes in the power of storytelling. GG creates transformative workshops that show individuals and organizations how to use emotional intelligence and creative writing to reframe their stories. Through her books and workshops, she advocates for self-care and personal growth through writing, as she provides tools for authentic storytelling and inclusive conversations. She’s currently working on a book of essays about her mental health journey.

Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Instagram 

11:15 a.m.-1:15 p.m. Eastern

POWER UP: STRUCTURING YOUR NOVEL

with Renowned Writer/Editor/Coach ALLISON K. WILLIAMS

In this online Master Class, taught by Allison K Williams, you’ll learn how to turn a messy idea or a floundering draft into a structured, powerful story with engaging characters and a strong hook. You’ll learn techniques to improve your manuscript right away and sustain your enthusiasm through the creative process. Then we’ll live-edit participant work to show how to establish your voice, intention, purpose, and story from the very first sentence.

Allison K. Williams

Allison K Williams is the author of Seven Drafts: Self-Edit Like a Pro From Blank Page to Book and leads the “Rebirth Your Book” writing retreat series. She has edited and coached writers to publishing deals with Penguin Random House, Knopf, Mantle, Spencer Hill, and St. Martin’s Press as well as hybrid and independent presses. She’s guided essayists and humorists to publication in media including The New Yorker, Time, The Guardian, The New York Times, McSweeney’s, Refinery29, Hippocampus, The Belladonna, and TED Talks. As Social Media Editor for Brevity, she inspires thousands of writers with weekly blogs on craft and the writing life.

Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Instagram

SHORT STORY ESSENTIALS

with Award-Winning Short Story Writer DR. AMINA GAUTIER

Getting a beginning, middle, and end, as well as a character arc, conflict, dialogue, and setting into a short space can be quite the challenge. Award-winning author Amina Gautier will take you through the pleasures and trials of creating lean, short-form work where every word matters. Attendees will have a chance to put tips to the test in a few in-class exercises.

 

Dr. Amina Gautier

Dr. Amina Gautier is the author of three award-winning short story collections: At-Risk, Now We Will Be Happy, and The Loss of All Lost Things. More than one hundred and forty of her stories have been published. She is the recipient of the Blackwell Prize, the Chicago Public Library Foundation’s 21st Century Award, the International Latino Book Award, the Letras Boricuas Fellowship, and the PEN/MALAMUD Award for Excellence in the Short Story.

Website  |  Facebook  |  Twitter 

YOUR BOOK LAUNCH TIMELINE: WHERE TO START, AND WHAT TO PRIORITIZE

with MARISSA DECUIR, President and Partner of Books Forward Publicity and Books Fluent Publishing

Your Book Launch Timeline: Where to Start, and What to Prioritize

Whether you\’re traditionally published, self-published, or something in between, you\’ll want to have a concrete, actionable plan for launching your book into the world, creating the most possible fanfare for its birthday. Promotional opportunities are endless and can feel overwhelming, but having represented over 1,300 books in 22 years, literary publicity firm Books Forward breaks down the tools you need to introduce your book in the marketplace and elevate your author brand. This class will take you step-by-step through a book launch timeline aimed at setting you and your book up for success. You\’ll leave with a printout of action items leading up to the big day, with tips for every budget.

 

Marissa DeCuir

Marissa DeCuir is the president and partner of Books Forward publicity and Books Fluent publishing. As a former journalist, she’s always looking for the best hooks to utilize in author publicity and book marketing and believes in taking a personal and strategic can-do approach to help authors reach their goals. 

Books Forward Website  |  Books Fluent Website 

2:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m. Eastern

THE PHASES OF THE AGENT/AUTHOR PARTNERSHIP

with Literary Agent REBECCA PODOS

The job of a literary agent is to advocate for you, the writer, through all the phases of your career. We act as your first professional editor, make sure the right folks are reading your manuscript for publication, negotiate your book contracts, and much more. But how do you find the best advocate for your work, and what happens next? This session will walk you through all the phases of the agent-author partnership, from query letters to contractual language to career planning, and beyond.

 

Rebecca Podos

Rebecca Podos is a graduate of the MFA Writing, Literature and Publishing program at Emerson College. Her Young Adult fiction is published by Balzer+Bray/ HarperCollins. She is thrilled to represent books by authors like Ashley Herring Blake, Rin Chupeco, Margie Fuston, Felicia Grossman, Sonia Hartl, London Shah, Brianna Shrum, Rebecca Kim Wells, and more. A complete list of her authors’ published and upcoming projects can be found on her website.

Website  |  Twitter  |  Instagram

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

with Novelist/MFA/Professor RYKA AOKI

Three-dimensional characters are essential for capturing your readers and propelling your plot. In this class, we\’ll explore how to create authentic, engaging characters with strengths, weaknesses, desires, and secrets that fully occupy your writing and your readers\’ imaginations. Our time together will include character-building exercises as well as specific tips you can immediately use to round out your character repertoire.

Ryka Aoki

Ryka Aoki is a novelist, poet, musician, and teacher. Her latest novel, Light From Uncommon Stars, was released in Sept 2021 by Tor Press, and is a finalist for the Hugo, Locus, Ignyte, and Mythopoeic Awards. Ryka is also a two-time Lambda Literary Award finalist for her collections Seasonal Velocities and Why Dust Shall Never Settle Upon This Soul. She has an MFA in creative writing from Cornell University, and is currently a professor of English at Santa Monica College.

Website  |  Instagram

PODCASTING LIKE A PRO

with NPR\’S CHIOKE I\’ANSON

As online platforms grow in popularity, writers are migrating to podcasting to help amplify their work, stand out from the crowd, and grow their audiences. Instructor Chioke I’Anson, the Director of the VPM+ICA Community Media Center at Virginia Commonwealth University, will show writers how to use this creative storytelling medium as a platform to add dimension to your work with endless possibilities to teach, inform, and connect with potential readers. Chioke will provide practical, concrete steps to get you started and find your voice, as well as examples that will show you what is or isn’t working in this innovative space.

Chioke I\'Anson

Chioke I’Anson is the Director of Community Media at Virginia Commonwealth University’s (VCU) Institute of Contemporary Art, which provides workshops, training, and studio space for podcast development and execution. He is also a professor of African American studies at VCU. Chioke provides sponsorship/underwriting messaging for NPR and can also be heard on the crowd favorite Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me, where he occasionally fills in as a guest scorekeeper. Mr. I’Anson holds a Bachelor’s degree in philosophy and religion from FAMU and a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of South Florida.

Website