Master Classes

(Preregistration and additional fees required: $40/one class, $65/two)

MASTER CLASS 1 - (Friday, 3:30-4:15 PM)

Crafting a Thriller from Alpha to Omega:
with Michael Palmer
(Limited to 40 participants)

A guide to the main points of building your thriller, from finding your rhino through settling on your McGuffin, to shoring up your middle, and finally to choreographing your denouement.

michael Palmer
Presenter: Michael Palmer
Introducer: Angelo Pompano
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MASTER CLASS 2: (Friday, 3:30-4:15 PM)

Keep It Short: Why Short Stories Still Have a Future –
And How to Write Them
with Michael Cooper (Wiecek)
(Limited to 40 participants)

Techniques for writing a short story (the hook, creating characters, story arc, scene setting in a sentence, snappy dialogue...) and tips on the market and selling into it.

photo of Mike Cooper
Presenter: Michael Cooper (Wiecek)
Introducer: Roberta Isleib

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MASTER CLASS 3: (Friday, 3:30-4:15 PM)

Writing the traditional mystery
with Kate Flora
(Limited to 40 participants)

You wouldn’t take a cross-country trip without a map, yet aspiring writers far too often embark on their mysteries without knowing where they’re going. Bring your ideas, your questions, your roadblocks as we explore the structure of a traditional mystery: your cast of characters, the importance of setting, the plot of your story, writing dialogue, and creating the essential conflict that moves your story along.

kate flora
Presenter: Kate Flora
Introducer: Maureen Walsh

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MASTER CLASS 4: (Friday, 4:30-5:45 PM)

The Creative Brain Workshop
with Shelley Carson
(Limited to 40 participants)

Whether you’re generating an idea for a new character, forcing yourself to get the current chapter finished, or figuring out what to do with that scene that seemed so good when you wrote it last night, getting into the best brain activation state for the task at hand will improve your work and make your writing session more enjoyable. In this workshop, you’ll learn about seven different brain states that are important to the writing process: the Connect, Reason, Envision, Absorb,Transform, Evaluate, and Stream brainsets. You’ll also learn strategies for accessing these brain states and for switching flexibly among them. Shelley Carson is the author of Seven Steps to Maximize Imagination, Productivity, and Innovation in Your Life.

Presenter: Shelley Carson
Introducer: Jan Brogan

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Master Class 5: (Friday, 4:30-5:45 PM)

Character Buildling
with Gerry Boyle
(Limited to 40 participants)

Strong characters are the foundation of good mystery novels. Who cares what happens to stereotypes, cliches, or cardboard cutouts? Gerry Boyle, author of a dozen character-driven mysteries, will lead a discussion of how to avoid the pitfalls that lead to weak characterization, and ways to make your characters more real and compelling. As Boyle says, it just takes a little extra work.

gerry boyle
Presenter: Gerry Boyle
Introducer: Kate Flora

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Master Class 6: (Friday, 4:30-5:45 PM)

Point of View: What’s Best for You?
with Gary Braver
(Limited to 40 participants)

Point of view might be the most important element in story telling. It’s also the most confusing and daunting. How do I tell this story: First person? Third? Omniscient? Selective third? And which characters will be POV characters--just the protagonist? Or the minor characters and villains as well? Bestselling and award-winning author Gary Braver will help answer these and many other questions by first explaining the need to determine just what kind of story you want to tell—whether an internal (psychological) mystery or an external (action-driven) thriller.

gary braver
Presenter: Gary Braver
Introducer: Ray Salemi

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