Writing workshop: “Keep Readers on the Edge of Their Seats” at CAN-CON on Oct 13 in Ottawa, ON

I will be teaching a writing workshop on how to create and maintain tension in your story at CAN-CON in Ottawa, Ontario.

WHEN: Friday, October 13, 2017 @ noon

HOW LONG: 2 hours

FORMAT: Lecture with group exercises and hand-outs

COST: $20

REGISTER: CAN-CON website (and take a look at the workshops)

Why take this workshop?

We all want our stories to be page-turners that readers can’t put down.

But have you been getting rejections like “Just didn’t grab me” or feedback saying it “Started too slow”? Do you have trouble figuring out what your main character should do next? Does your story start great and ends with a bang, but gets bogged down in the middle?

This workshop will help.

How will it help?

Tension is more than short, clipped sentences, the “ticking clock” or cutting between scenes. It’s making readers want need dying to know what happens next. This all comes from how you reveal and conceal information, and increase the stakes for your character. It’s not gimmicks, tricks or “on page 14, reveal the conflict” formulas. It’s solid writing techniques that can be used in any genre and any length of story.

What will you get out of it?

We’ll discuss:

How to structure scenes and the overall story so readers will keep turning pages
Techniques to make sure there’s always several things threatening your main character, driving them through the story
The various kinds of antagonists working against your main character, and why they are such a threat
How to keep upping the stakes if your character fails
How to stop using clichés, tricks and gimmicks that actually remove tension from your story

 

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