Fiction Writers: A pre-con workshop you won't want to miss!

A huge draw at this year’s conference will be James N. Frey’s two-full-day pre-conference workshop, “How to Plot Like the Pros.” On Thursday, March 25 and Friday, March 26, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Frey will give attendees the craft information they need to plot with confidence, while at the same time leading them through the practical application of this material.

With Jim's guidance, workshop attendees will jointly build a plot outline for an entire novel.

“The reason I need two days is that it takes me that long to get through the material,” he says. “I use the participants’ input to create a story step by step and discuss the elements as we go. When I do these plotting workshops, people usually get a lot out of them.” Jim has posted testimonials from past students at his web site.

We are able to offer the two-day workshop for $115, which will include a morning coffee/tea station and a box lunch. Workshoppers needn’t worry about missing a moment of the conference, as the opening conference activities begin at 6:30 pm Friday  for those attending a Page Cuts session (more about those in a future post) or 7 pm if you are attending the session on how to pitch to an agent or editor. The welcome reception follows these two activities at 8:30-10 pm. Registration fees for the conference itself have not changed since last year and are noted in the “Quick Facts” sidebar to the left.

Due to the nature of this workshop, Jim has told us that he can accommodate 60-75 participants before his ability to interact with those present would start to diminish. Because we want to promote a quality experience, the conference organizers have established a cut-off number of 60 participants. Because we needed extra room for box lunch choices, you’ll need to fill out separate registration forms for the workshop and the conference this year, and attach separate checks. Registration begins on January 15. That's in 129 days!

In next week's post: an interview with James N. Frey.