Schedule

“Have you wanted to write for the young?
Come hear a few tips on reaching your audience, to include:
-Choosing your audience
-Writing for your audience’s reading level
-Self Publish or Traditional
-Illustrations: How many is the right amount?”

“Have you wanted to write for the young?
Come hear a few tips on reaching your audience, to include:
-Choosing your audience
-Writing for your audience’s reading level
-Self Publish or Traditional
-Illustrations: How many is the right amount?”

In The Instant Book Show, a writer, an illustrator, and an editor will create and publish a brand new eBook live at Fyrecon! In Step 1, Martin L. Shoemaker will dictate a story live, based on audience prompts, to demonstrate simple techniques to go from concept to story.

Common advice is to cut adjectives, avoid cliches like the plague, and temper your tropes. But is that right? These techniques are the nuts and bolts, hammers and saws of human written communication. While overuse can repel a pinch here and there can seal the deal.

Here is a Fyrecon exclusive: A chance to get a step further on your journey as a writer.

Ever wonder how a story passes from the slush pile at the worldwide Writers and Illustrators of the Future Contests (WotF) to the Judges? First Reader and award-winning author Kary English will be doing the ‘Slush Is ALIVE!’ event to show how your past or future contest entries would do on the slush pile reading. See if you can get past the first reader at Writers of the Future. Fyrecon was able to secure permission for Kary do this exclusive event!

Want to have your story read?

Don’t worry! Submitting your story for ’Slush is Alive’ DOES NOT break anonymity for submitting to the Contest. Our submission system preserves your anonymity.

Space is limited. Reserve your spot now.

Why poetry matters, and how reading and writing poetry can influence your longer fiction.
We will write poetry, and talk about how it can be used to look at your WIP in different ways.

Level up your romance using the secrets found in FSNA Story Cone— Using a configurative character structure apply these empirically proven dynamics, get your writing noticed, write that full blown romance, or spice up that drama!

Got an idea for an anthology? In this class I will cover the basics of how you might make that happen. From developing a viable concept, to raising funds for the project, to working with authors, to putting the book together.

How to use the strangeness of the real world to help you build complex universes with in-depth societies. We will focus primarily on lesser-known physical characteristics of the world and how to adapt them to your work with an eye toward realism and scientific balance.

I’m a programmer. My job is BORING… until things go wrong, everyone panics, and we ride to the rescue! (Or crash and burn.) If you’re going to write about programming, the fun is when it goes wrong. What’s a bug? How do they REALLY happen? Here’s your chance to ask me.

“How long is your story? How long should it be? Where do you sell or publish a story of that length? It’s complicated…
In this session, we’ll look at length requirements for different genres and markets. We’ll also examine techniques for fitting a story to a given length,”

Are your tales flat and lifeless? It’s time to figure out why—let’s jump start your audience’s hearts with predictable emotional response. Join us for an x-ray view into what is and isn’t working and how to get that heartbeat going.

A discussion about the value of writing lots without worrying about the rules or the quality, and how to take that steaming pile of words and cut it down into something that shines.

All poetry is important.
Even bad poetry.
Even if only for the person who wrote it.
Come write poetry with us.

Use stock photos and Photoshop Tools to design effective ebook covers.

The field of professional literary translation is in-demand and potentially lucrative. It is a great pivot or a way to supplement income for neopro and midlist writers fluent in another language. I will talk about the business of literary translation and how to get started.

It’s not just about the gross-out, and it’s not all about description of sensations, either…come learn some ways to make your readers cringe!

Remember when writing was fun? Stage improv techniques can get you out of your head and back into the playful joy of writing. Explore and experience techniques, activities and writing exercises to discover the voice, characters, details, plot points, and dialogue of a story

Have you thought of working as a ghostwriter and telling stories other than your own? It can be a profitable sideline or even career, But how does it work? I’ll outline the process of writing someone else’s story and keeping their voice and how to make the process fun!

The middle of a story is where most of the action happens, but it’s also the easiest place to get bogged down and discouraged! Come and learn dos and don’ts to help you make your middles magical.

The field of professional literary translation is in-demand and potentially lucrative. It is a great pivot or a way to supplement income for neopro and midlist writers fluent in another language. I will talk about the business of literary translation and how to get started.

The field of professional literary translation is in-demand and potentially lucrative. It is a great pivot or a way to supplement income for neopro and midlist writers fluent in another language. I will talk about the business of literary translation and how to get started.

Learn how simple vocal performance techniques can help you solidify your characters and create nuance you never expected. By learning how our characters talk, we can more easily focus in on how they see the world, allowing us to create a more immersive experience.

Sometimes telling is a better choice than showing. Blasphemy, you say? Come hear me out and decide for yourself!

Fiction is a powerful tool for exploring mental illness, yet writers fall into tropey traps that fail to serve their characters and audience. Award winning author & licensed therapist Zack Be will explore mental illness, what it is and isn’t, and how to write it on the page

““Yes, and…” is an improv and theatre game that helps people learn how to think on their feet and build off what the other person said.
Writers can use this concept to flesh out characters and worlds, create conflict, and develop plot twists.
Come prepared to write.”

This class covers all the basics authors new to marketing need to know to successfully market their book. Learn practical tips and get a step-by-step plan of what to do to before, during, and after your book release, including building an author website and social media.

“How to write for teenagers when you haven’t been one (physically) in a very long time.
This class will help you remember the good old days of being a teenager, and help you channel all the agony, angst, frustration, and pain into a realistic, relatable protagonist.”

Good character development requires imagination. Outstanding character development can be achieved through interaction. When your imaginary friends have something to tell you, learn how to make use of those insights to be true to the people you’re introducing to the world.

Speculative writers commonly draw upon Greek, Norse, and other mythological traditions in building their worlds, but Buddhist mythology is only rarely utilized. This is a crash course aimed at helping creators draw upon its rich cosmology and philosophy.

This presentation will teach where and how to connect magic with the story—including plot, characters, setting, and theme—and end with a group exercise to practice the concepts. Attendees will leave the session with tested methods to overcome this common struggle.

Many beginning writers struggle with idea overload and this keeps them bouncing from project to project. This class is focused on explaining how important it is to finish projects. It provides strategies for staying on task and/or effectively balancing multiple projects

Learn how the Dungeons & Dragons alignment system, involving the axes of good/evil and order/chaos, can be a tool to help writers create more meaningful characters and conflicts in their stories. No background in D&D required.

A class about HOW to pitch instead of WHAT to pitch (although we’ll go over that, too). Get tips about how to prepare and present yourself to agents and editors during pitch sessions, as well as live feedback about what makes your pitch work (or not.)

Second person is one of the most universally hated POVs, but there are far more uses for it than many might think. We’ll examine the classic “but no, I didn’t do that!” feeling, and we’ll talk about some ways – effective and ineffective – to make use of this POV.

Writer of romance or horror? What if I told you these two vastly different genres stem from the same reactions and emotions? In this presentation, we’ll look at the similarities, differences, and how to expertly incorporate the best of both worlds into your writing.

Are you intimidated by poetry?
Poetry for the prose writer to enliven your character sketches.
Learn Cinquain and Limerick poetry and how to use it to get a different POV on your characters.
Apply these same principles for overall Worldbuilding.

You’ve heard that search engine optimization (SEO) is important. But what did you need to do? We’ll cover some basic steps you can take right now as an author to improve your website rankings and engage your web visitors in a dynamic way.

Is plot a many-layered onion, a mountain, a heroic journey, a grid, an architect thing, or maybe something to do with a cat–and what about the need for character to trump it all? In this class you will learn how to see the hidden story beneath the surface.

In The Instant Book Show, a writer, an illustrator, and an editor will create and publish a brand new eBook live at Fyrecon! In Step 2, illustrator Jane Noel of Dreamforge will work with Martin L. Shoemaker to identify and create a compelling cover for the new story.

In The Instant Book Show, a writer, an illustrator, and an editor will create and publish a brand new eBook live at Fyrecon! In Step 3, professional editor Mia Kleve of MRK’d Editing Up will work with Martin L. Shoemaker to turn a good manuscript into a great story!

For nearly 15 years Joshua Sky has worked in the comics industry at such companies as Marvel Comics, Disney, Humanoids, Heavy Metal and Mattel. This class will teach students everything he wished he knew on day one of his career.

If you’re a writer, you need to consider who will run your literary estate. Who will manage your work? Sign contracts? Keep your legacy intact? This class will help you with what you must know and do to preserve your literary estate and heritage.

So, you’ve got a villain or antagonist or force of darkness and you want to make them more effective. You might not know exactly what they are yet. Join this class to get in touch with your inner evil by studying true stories of tyrants and made-up megalomaniacs alike.

Meaningful success requires risk, and risk often leads to failure. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be risky. I’ll go over some examples on how to deal with the inevitable failures from taking risks, and how to grow from those challenges.

Family dynamics and intergenerational patterns are crucial to understanding who we are, and by extension, who our characters are. In this class, author and licensed therapist Zack Be will teach you how to build genograms for characters that can reveal rich family patterns!

With the rise of interest in writing, publishing, and the success of Self-publishing, the industry has been flooded with people and companies offering services, classes, and hybrid publishing options. But which of these options are scams? How do you know? Come and find out.

Dive into the realm of imagination and craft universes that echo in the minds of your readers long after they’ve turned the last page. Welcome to our immersive worldbuilding writing class, where we don’t just teach you how to create a world, but how to breathe life into it.

It’s never too soon to keep notes on your world for future stories. World Anvil is a powerful tool for documenting your world AND for sharing content with collaborators and fans. In this class, we’ll explore a World Anvil site and learn how it can promote your book.

In The Instant Book Show, a writer, an illustrator, and an editor will create and publish a brand new eBook live at Fyrecon! In Step 4, Martin L. Shoemaker will demonstrate publishing his manuscript (edited by Mia Kleve, cover art by Jane Noel) as a Kindle eBook.

You jive cats picking up what I’m laying down? Come in, this is Liberty Hall, you can spit on the mat and call the cat a bastard. You can assemble your book with two all beef patties… If you didn’t understand any of this, these pop culture references might be too old.

The world is a vast resource for character development, and all that’s needed in simple observation. In this workshop, we’ll develop those skills of observation through practice, writing opportunities, and critiques.

The world is a vast resource for character development, and all that’s needed in simple observation. In this workshop, we’ll develop those skills of observation through practice, writing opportunities, and critiques.

How fast can you plot a story? Faster than you think, and I am going to prove it to you. We’ll take an idea from the audience, add small ideas for scenes and events, and plot a story in 90 minutes. Join this fun and interactive learning session on plotting quickly.

Dive into “Grammar’s Gray Areas.” Tackle modern language dilemmas from singular ‘they’ to emojis. Ideal for shaping your prose, this class guides you through the ever-changing rules of contemporary grammar, in line with Chicago Manual of Style. Embrace language evolution!

Ever just get stuck for why that ending doesn’t work quite right, or why something in the middle falls flat? Let’s dive into how what you’re saying and how you want the reader to feel can and should affect everything from plot to dialogue to characterization.

5-7-5 or 5-7-5-7-7
Come learn the history of Japanese poetry
And write some bad Haiku.

Intimidated by Photoshop? This will at get you started with the basics of understanding tools, layers, adjustments and selections.

Tips and techniques for organically injecting humor into one’s SF/F writing.