Every book has an element of suspense.  It’s not a matter of jumping out of the shadows and screaming “Boo!” at your readers.  It’s a matter of knowing a secret or two dozen and slowly letting your reader figure it out.  Learn techniques on how to keep your secrets and when to let your reader in.

Kate Gale of Red Hen Press discusses what independent publishers have to offer writers as well as the current trends.  Participants will also explore how the process works and what they need to consider when approaching a press with a book idea or manuscript.

Call it what you will--micro, flash, short-short--this fiction form is brief, tells a whole story, and occupies a growing niche in the marketplace. Learn the basics and follow the evolution of a Flash piece from concept to final product.  Bonus: gain valuable insight into the PPWC On-Site Flash Fiction Contest.  Bring writing materials so you can give Flash a try!

Caryn Weisman, an agent and Ron Cree, one of her very first clients, show you the process that a Young Adult book goes through, from idea to query and all the way to finished product.

A companion workshop that picks up where the Newcomers Orientation leaves off.  If you’re new, you don’t know what you don’t know.  Let us help.

Learn everything about PR from how to create a marketing action plan to tips on self promotion.  Learn how to write timely press releases and how to establish useful media relations.  Using FREE Marketing Resources, you’ll practice how to prepare  for the BIG interview. 

Whether you’re new to the profession or just new to our conference, this is a great place to start.  This is the best time and place to ask all Those Questions.  You know the ones—anything from “What’s an ARC?” to...yeah, you find something that starts with Z.  Learn the lingo, the layout and don’t forget the secret handshake. 

Panel Discussions at PPWC:  
    • Science Fiction & Fantasy: It’s not just light sabers and elves. 
    • Romance and Women’s Fiction: Finding the heart in fiction.
    • Children’s and Young Adult: It’s (not) a small world after all.  
    • Spotlight on Agents:  Who wants what, who bought what, and more.
    • Spotlight on Editors: Everything you ever wanted to know about the attending editors.
    • New Authors’ Panel:  They came, they wrote, they sold!  
    • Spotlight on Mystery Writers of America:  Meet the murderous movers and suspenseful shakers of the Rocky Mountain chapter of MWA.
    • Industry Climate Change:  Forecasting changes on the publishing horizon.  

With compelling examples, award-winning author Linda Rohrbough provides principles for pitching success (including how to manage fear) along with the four things every author must know about their manuscript. Attendees get a quick primer on how to effectively talk about their work.

So, you’re thinking about writing a series? YA, sci-fi, fantasy, mystery series writing tips and techniques.

This is an advanced level craft workshop which uses the works/advice of Robert McKee and John Gardner as the main influences.

Join Kristin Nelson (Nelson Literary) for a discussion of the pros and cons of the fastest growing trend for authors--sending queries to literary agents by e-mail. Get the inside scoop on how to make your e-mail query stand out, what e-mail-specific pitfalls to avoid, and who are the agents who accept them.

Exercises and techniques to break out of the writing doldrums

Whether you're stuck now or preparing for the inevitable, this workshop will help you get on the "write" track, even if you don't know the cause of your doldrums.  The material presented spans all areas of writing--from time-management, to writing environment, to characters and plot.  Get ready for exercises that range from proven classics to the unorthodox and down-right kooky.

Transform a character into a distinct, memorable individual by refining the character’s voice. Learn how an author can subordinate his or her own narrative voice to the persona of the point-of-view character, exposing the attitudes, beliefs, and intelligence unique to that character. This workshop will involve brief writing exercises.