Gencon Writing Classes

One of the funny things about going to any convention is the number of people who walk up to me and say: “Oh, I didn’t know you were going to be here!” This is especially funny at Gencon because I’ve not missed one since 1981.

So, YES, I will be at Gencon this year.

I will also be teaching writing classes. I’m part of the Writer’s Symposium. Jean Rabe, once again, has organized this fantastic schedule of classes featuring authors like Patrick Rothfuss, Jean Rabe herself, Elizabeth Vaughan, Richard Lee Byers, Anton Strout, Chris Pierson, John Helfers, Donald Bingle, Steven Schend, Brad Beaulieu, Paul Genesse, Kelly Swails, Marc Tassin, Monica Valentinelli, Tim Waggoner and even more. Over 85 different events, many of which are free to attend, and all of which will be very entertaining and enlightening.

All of these classes will take place at the Marriott Hotel, in the Lincoln and Santa Fe Rooms.

My schedule is looking like this:

Signings: I’ll be signing 10-11AM on Friday and Saturday in Author’s Alley in the Dealer’s Room. (I’ll have a few copies of books with me, but they tend to go fast.)

Classes: Thursday at 4 PM I’m teaching Before You Write A Single Word—a talk about all the things you want to do to get yourself set up for success. (Lincoln Room, Marriott) Cost is $8 for 1 hour.

Thursday at 5 PM the class is The Rules of Writing—a talk about the unwritten rules professionals use to make sure our work stands out. It’ll trim three years off your development as a writer. (Lincoln Room, Marriott) Cost is $8 for 1 hour.

Friday at 4 PM I’m teaching a class in Characterization. This goes in depth into methods for creating vivid and real characters. Since characters are the soul of storytelling, your fundamental grasp of Character is critical to success. (Lincoln Room, Marriott) Cost is $8 for 1 hour.

Friday at 5 PM The class is Plotting. One of the things my work is known for is very tight plotting that pulls all sorts of threads together and then twists them up. This class will teach you the methods I use to get those results. (Lincoln Room, Marriott) Cost is $8 for 1 hour.

Friday at 6 PM I’m doing a *Free* reading. I haven’t decided yet what I’ll read, but it will be a fun story. (Lincoln Room, Marriott) Cost is *Free* for 1 hour.

Saturday at 3 PM I’m offering my 21 Days to a Novel class. This class is a can’t-miss presentation of 21 days of writing exercises that will prepare you to write your novel. You’ll have everything in place to make the book work, to find problems that creep in, and figure out how to correct them. (Lincoln Room, Marriott) Cost is $8 for 1 hour.

Saturday at 4 PM I’m teaching a *brand new* class: Edit to Perfection. Okay, so you have this pile of 100,000 words, now how to you get it into shape that will spark that fire in an editor’s eyes? This is the class that will teach you the tricks of the trade to making your book the best you possibly can. (Lincoln Room, Marriott) Cost is $8 for 1 hour.

Saturday at 5 PM I’d like you to join me for Writing Careers in the Post-paper era. This is the lecture that caught all that excitement on Boing Boing. If you want a career in writing, this is a lecture you don’t want to miss. Because I was looking ahead, I was the first author to have books available for the iPhone/iPod Touch via Apple’s Appstore—a full six months before Amazon and Random House followed suit. If you want a look at the future of publishing and how you can position yourself to profit in the coming years, this is an hour you’ll want to spend with me. (Lincoln Room, Marriott) Cost is $8 for 1 hour.

As always, I’ll have disks with me featuring some of my best selling offerings from The Secrets, including 21 Days to A Novel.

I’m really looking forward to the convention this year, and teaching these classes is always a highlight for me. It’s going to be a lot of fun all the way around.