Story Issues with Jen Graybeal

Sometimes it’s the little things that block progress and sometimes there’s a boulder on the path. Whether you are developing big story elements or identifying the small details that make the story special, there’s nothing quite like the frustration of knowing something is missing. Let’s dive into the science of frustration, how to triage a scene that isn’t working and the best way to brainstorm solutions. This session includes time to dissect real issues facing the participants.   

Jen Graybeal (she/her) is dedicated to empowering authors through encouraging feedback, collaborative problem solving and gently-applied tough love. In eight years of coaching, workshops, and editing projects, she has helped over a thousand romance authors create stories they are proud of and businesses that align with their individual vision of success. Jen has a degree in English, an ever-expanding TBR pile, and a furball assistant that is usually on her lap. Visit her website for client testimonials at  www.jengraybeal.com or follow her on Instagram, Threads, and TikTok: @JenTheEditor.

Tropes: Cliche or Tool?

Presenter: Teresa Carpenter

In the writing world tropes are sometimes dismissed as being cliche or, horror of horrors, as commercial. You bet your booty they are. Tropes are cliches because they work. They are plot themes that readers have proven are favorites. And much as we writers like to think of ourselves as creative and artistic, we also want to make money doing it. Which means using tropes to sell our work, in our plotting, in our titles and in our blurbs. In this workshop we will identify some of the leading plot tropes, outline the reader expectations of those tropes and explore other trope tools that will assist in plugging plot holes. I invite you to strap on your writer's toolbelt and prepare to sharpen a much used tool.