Taught by Michael La Ronn
Maybe you’ve tried to write a novel without an outline and it ended up in shambles. Or maybe you don’t know where to start.
Drafting a novel with zero outline can feel like navigating a maze in the dark. It’s scary, but it’s also totally doable. Nail this skill and you'll uncover stories you never planned—and readers will hand over their cash for them.
In this in-depth Skills Day workshop, prolific author Michael La Ronn breaks down the discovery-writing method he's used to finish 30+ novels without ever touching an outline.
You'll learn:
• A proven framework for drafting your book with nothing but your imagination
• The exact move to make the moment you hit a wall
• How to silence the inner critic before it derails your momentum
• Editing tips to avoid getting bogged down
Your first outline-free novel is the hardest. After that? Smooth sailing. All it takes is the right playbook.
Taught by Charles E. Gannon
Building a fantasy world may seem less complicated than science fiction, but there are still devils in the details.
Such as: do any of the rules of science apply? If so, which ones? Or is everything the will of the gods? Does magic have limits, and if not, then why can’t wizards do whatever they want, whenever they want?
Fantasy worlds need rules that govern how and why things happen, as well as the limits on what can happen, and when, and under what conditions.
Using the group's own extant or envisioned projects, we'll do a deep dive into where natural laws do and don’t apply, what drives and limits the forces of magic, and how all these factors shape both the physical and social particulars of their worlds.
Taught by Kevin Ikenberry
Outlining becomes easier with a clear grasp of story structure. This course compares ancient and modern structural techniques, showing their similarities and differences in order to simplify outlining. The course breaks down the most common frameworks to make outlining accessible and provide insight to story flow and character growth.
Takeaways:
• Writers will understand story structure history, basics, and methodologies.
• Writers will follow story structure development from ancient epics to modern screenwriting.
• Writers will learn how to apply structure to simplify outlining and understand how proper context is priceless in following structure.
Taught by Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta
Professional mindset, professional behavior, professional career. A three-hour intensive primer on how to rise above the amateurs, be treated as a pro by publishers, the media, reviewers, and build your long-term place in the industry.
Taught by Jonathan Maberry
The short story is exploding and it’s a market constantly hungry for new talent and new voices! Short fiction is a great way to build your writing career and increase your professional income; it can also help you stretch as a writer. Short stories offer more creative opportunities than any other form of writing.
We’ll discuss:
• The short story structure (and its many variations)
• Building compelling characters
• Knowing where to start (and how to end with a punch!)
• Strategies for great dialogue
• Developing a compelling opening hook
• Research for short fiction
• Finding Markets (including places you’d never think to look!)
• Writing for Magazines, Anthologies, Collections, and more
• How Short Story writing can help you write a better novel!
• Short Stories as your ticket to Hollywood!
• Strategies for finding paying markets
• And much more!!
An INFO PACKET will also be made available for PDF download.
Taught by Chris Mandeville
We all want readers to be invested in our stories and keep turning pages. That happens when our characters feel real and our readers care about them. Easy to say, but how do we achieve that?
This workshop offers a fresh take on character-building using four hands-on exercises that help you create a character that feels “human” (whether they’re human or not):
• Analyze: create a character skeleton using character “type” techniques, then flesh it out with traits and behaviors;
• Traumatize: add depth and direction by creating a traumatic backstory event, then add layers by linking this trauma to scars they continue to bear;
• Accessorize: develop nuance and complexity by introducing a specific interest, activity, preference, or quirk, and then building your character’s unique, historical relationship to it;
• Eulogize: gain insight, inspiration, and ideas for crafting a compelling overall character arc by having your character witness their own eulogy
Come with pen/paper or computer to work on your own new or existing character. You’ll leave with a more authentic, multifaceted character your reader will love (or hate), plus the tools to build many more.
Taught by Lisa Mangum
In this hands-on workshop, Lisa Mangum, Managing Editor of Shadow Mountain, will lead the class through several brainstorming exercises to develop characters, define relationships, generate conflict, and finally outline a plot structure. Whether you come with an idea that you have been wrestling with or if all you have is a blank page, you can leave the class with a game plan for your next novel.
Taught by James A. Owen
In this workshop, James will discuss how to bring together all of the elements that make a successful, attractive cover. James will then demonstrate by live workshopping a cover that he’s working on for one of Kevin J. Anderson’s graduate students, as well as up to four covers submitted by attendees.
Anyone wishing to have their cover(s) considered needs to to submit a PDF by no later than January 20 to info@sswri.com with the subject line: "2027 Cover Story Workshop Submission". James will choose up to four to workshop, and will probably comment on several more. No one is required to submit covers, since teaching attendees about what works is the point of the class—but if anyone wishes to, they may end up with all-new covers at the end of the session.
Taught by Jim Butcher
In this workshop, Jim Butcher reviews setup and payoff in storytelling.
Taught by Mary Robinette Kowal
When people struggle to write short fiction, the problem usually begins with the idea. It often leads to a story that is too long, or the beginning of a novel, or so simplistic that it is dull. In this workshop, we'll walk through the process of how to create and structure a short story. You will be given an exercise that builds on lessons taught in session. The class gives you tools to create compelling characters, dialogue, and understand plot structure. During this hands-on workshop, participants will put theory to practice and use those tools to write a short story.
Superstars Writing Seminars teaches writers the business of being successful in the publishing industry. Instructors are chosen from the top of the industry and include International Bestselling Authors, Top Editors, Indie Publishing Platform Managers, and many more. The primary goal at Superstars is to teach you how to have a successful writing career by sharing how those at the top of the industry manage their careers.
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