We are thrilled to welcome our keynote speaker, Nancy Johnson—a trailblazing storyteller from Chicago’s South Side whose career as an Emmy-nominated journalist and award-winning novelist has earned acclaim from The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, and beyond. A graduate of Northwestern University and UNC-Chapel Hill, Nancy now leads corporate communications for a major healthcare nonprofit, inspiring writers and audiences alike with her dynamic storytelling and transformative insights. Her first book, The Kindest Lie, was a Book of the Month Club selection and a Target Book Club pick. Her second novel, People of Means, was one of People magazine's most anticipated books of 2025 and released in February.

David Corbett is the author of seven critically acclaimed novels: The Truth Against the World, The Long-Lost Love Letters of Doc Holliday, The Mercy of the Night, Do They Know I'm Running?, Blood of Paradise, Done for a Dime, and The Devil's Redhead. His short fiction has twice been selected for Best American Mystery Stories, and a collaborative novel for which he contributed a chapter—Culprits—was adapted for TV by the producers of Killing Eve.

His textbook on the craft of characterization, The Art of Character, was published by Penguin Books in 2013, and Writer’s Digest published his follow-up, The Compass of Character, in 2019.

He has taught online and in classroom settings through the UCLA Extension’s Writers’ Program, Book Passage, LitReactor, 826 Valencia, The Grotto in San Francisco, and at numerous writing conferences across the US, Canada, and Mexico.

He lives in the southeastern corner of the Catskills with his mysteriously patient bride, Mette, and his pathologically adorable dog, Fergus.

Kathryn Craft is the award-winning author of two novels, The Art of Falling and The Far End of Happy, and the author of chapters in Author in Progress and The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing from Writers Digest Books.

Kathryn’s enthusiasm for story knows no bounds. Her 19-year careers in developmental editing and dance criticism have informed the fresh perspective featured in her forthcoming book for writers, Crafting Story Movement: Techniques to Engage Readers and Drive Your Novel Forward (fall 2025).

Kathryn mentors novelists through her Your Novel Year program, is an active member of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association where she served as 2020 Guiding Scribe, and is a regular contributor to top writing blog Writer Unboxed.

Lisa is the author of Wired for Story, Story Genius and most recently, Story or Die: How to Use Brain Science to Engage, Persuade, and Change Minds in Business and in Life.

Her TEDx talk, Wired for Story, opened Furman University’s 2014 TEDx conference.

Lisa spent a decade in publishing, and has been a literary agent, television producer, and story analyst for Hollywood studios.

She served on the faculty of the School of Visual Arts MFA program in visual narrative and, since 2006, has taught in the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program. In her work as a private story coach, Lisa works with writers, nonprofits, educators, and organizations, helping them master the unparalleled power of story.

Julie Carrick Dalton is the Boston-based author of The Last Beekeeper and Waiting for the Night Song, named a Most Anticipated 2021 novel by CNN, Newsweek, USA Today, Parade, and others, and an Amazon Editor’s pick for Best Books of the Month.

A Bread Loaf, Tin House, and GrubStreet Novel Incubator alum, Julie is a frequent speaker on the topic of Fiction in the Age of Climate Crisis at universities, conferences, libraries, and museums.

Her writing has appeared in Chicago Review of Books, Orion, Newsweek, The Boston Globe, Electric Literature, Lit Hub, and other publications.

When she isn’t writing, you can usually find Julie digging in her garden, skiing, kayaking, or walking her dogs.

Therese Anne Fowler is the New York Times, IndieBound, and USA Today bestselling author of multiple novels including Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald, which was adapted for television starring Christina Ricci.

She has been a finalist for the Goodreads Choice Awards and the Southern Book Prize for fiction.

Her articles and essays have appeared in The Week, Harper’s Bazaar, the Telegraph, and more.

Therese earned a BA in sociology/cultural anthropology and an MFA in creative writing, both from NC State University. She lives in Raleigh, NC, with her husband, author John Kessel.

Desmond Hall was born in Jamaica, West Indies, and moved to Jamaica, Queens. He’s the author of Your Corner Dark, and Better Must Come.

He’s worked as both a high school biology teacher and English teacher, counseled at-risk teens from Riker’s Island prison, and served as Spike Lee’s creative director in the advertising business. He’s also written and directed the HBO movie, A Day In Black and White, which was nominated for the Gordon Parks Award, and the theater play, Stockholm, Brooklyn.

Desmond has served on the board of the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids, and was a judge for the Addys, and the Downtown Urban Arts Film Festival.

Named one of Variety Magazine’s 50 Creatives to watch, he’s a graduate of Grubstreet’s Novel Incubator, an MFA level year-long intensive.

Donald Maass founded the Donald Maass Literary Agency in New York in 1980.

He is the author of The Career Novelist (1996), Writing the Breakout Novel (2001), Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook (2004), The Fire in Fiction (2009), The Breakout Novelist (2011), Writing 21st Century Fiction (2012) and The Emotional Craft of Fiction (2019).

He has presented hundreds of workshops around the world and is a past president of the American Association of Literary Agents (formerly AAR).

Randy Susan Meyers is an international bestselling author of six novels; her latest, The Many Mothers of Ivy Puddingstone, was released in 2024.

The Massachusetts Council of the Book has chosen three of her works as Must-Read Books, praising her for a clear and distinctive voice that captivates readers and leaves them yearning for more.

Though her novels explore domestic drama, societal issues, and cultural nuances, informed by her years working with community and governmental agencies, she gained the most insight into family and other politics during her four years as a bartender in a small Boston neighborhood bar.

Meyers is a Brooklyn-Boston hybrid who believes happiness requires family, friends, books, and an occasional NY bagel. She lives in Boston with her husband and teaches at the Grub Street Writer’s Center.

Ray Rhamey is an editor with an eye for what makes a first page of a novel compelling, as evidenced by his popular column at Writer Unboxed, Flog a Pro.

He's the author of Mastering the Craft of Compelling Storytelling, based on decades of editing experience. He's also a novelist with five books currently available, including several in his popular Vampire Kitty-Cat series.

He offers an a la carte menu of creative services for indie authors on his website,

Rachel Toalson writes lots of books. For lots of people–kids, teens, adults, fiction lovers, poetry lovers, essay lovers. People who adore realistic stories or magical realism or fantasy or tales that keep them up at night or make them laugh out loud. She writes the books she most wants to read, which is the best way to entertain herself and her kids and get a little peace and quiet in her excessively loud home.

She’s the author of the middle grade books, The Colors of the Rain, which won the Arnold Adoff Poetry Honor Award in 2018, The Woods, and The First Magnificent Summer, among many others.

She lives in San Antonio, Texas, with her husband and six children.

Therese Walsh co-founded Writer Unboxed in 2006 and is the site’s editorial director. This event marks her seventh managed conference—her sixth for Writer Unboxed.

She is the author of two novels, four self-help books, and hundreds of articles.

She is the editor of a craft book for novelists, Author in Progress, which was written with the team from Writer Unboxed and published by Writer’s Digest, and has worked with several talented novelists as a developmental editor.

Heather Webb is the USA Today bestselling and award-winning author of historical fiction.

As a freelance editor and an adjunct in a MFA in Creative Writing program, Heather has helped many writers sign with agents and go on to sell at market.

When not writing, she feeds her cookbook addiction, geeks out on history and pop culture, and looks for excuses to head to the other side of the world.

To date, her books have been translated to seventeen languages.

Grace Wynter is an author, editor, and workshop facilitator. She has an MBA from Georgia State University and a Professional Certificate in Editing from the University of Chicago. Grace has conducted workshops for organizations such as Writer Unboxed, Wake Up and Write!, Sisters in Crime, and the Atlanta Writers Club, where she is also a freelance editor for their biannual Atlanta Writers Conference. Her editing clients include traditional publishers such as Penguin Random House, Harper Collins, and Hachette, and an array of indie publishers and self-published authors. Grace is the community architect behind Tessera Creatives, an online directory that connects authors and publishers with skilled, culturally competent freelance creatives who provide services for the publishing industry.

When she’s not alternating between the Marvel and DC universes, Grace resides in Atlanta, Georgia. You can connect with her at GraceWynter.com.

Imagine knowing exactly what hooks readers from preschool to age 80, what keeps them turning pages, and why. The answer is a game-changer—especially since the secret to writing a compelling story has very little to do with the surface plot or even “writing well.” We’ll explore what the reader's brain is hungry for, what a story actually is, and why writers are the most powerful people on the planet. Whether you’re just starting out or knee-deep in revisions, understanding these fundamental truths will reshape how you approach your novel.

This session will help you:

• Discover what readers are hardwired to crave in every story they encounter.

• Identify the real reason stories hook us (hint: it’s not about “beautiful writing”).

• Zero in on what your story is really about before you write word one—or before you revise another word.

• Avoid the most common storytelling missteps that bog down drafts and create unnecessary rewrites.

• Tap into the brain’s innate need for narrative to craft a story readers can’t put down.

Knowing why stories work changes how you write them. Let’s ignite that spark.

Every great story begins with a spark—an unsettling experience that refuses to be ignored. But raw experience alone isn’t enough. The best fiction presses into the discomfort, contradictions, and fears that make a moment unforgettable. Through guided exercises, you’ll confront your own resistance, explore hidden layers within personal experience, and reshape them into fiction that crackles with urgency and authenticity.

This 90-minute session will help you:

• Identify moments that provoke you—the ones that won’t let go.

• Challenge your instinct to pull away from personal, emotional, or provocative content.

• Push beyond what happened into what might have, should have, or could never have.

• Mine personal experience for tension, contradiction, and emotional truth.

• Experiment with reshaping memory into fiction.

The stories that matter most aren’t just those we remember—they’re the ones that still haunt us. Let’s go where the fire is.

The first person who must be hooked by your novel is you. That initial spark of curiosity—your personal obsession with the story—is what fuels the entire journey, from first draft to final revision. But how do you know if a story has enough fire to sustain you? How do you choose an idea that won’t burn out after the first burst of inspiration?

In this session, we’ll explore ways to:

• Identify the ideas that won’t let you go—the ones strong enough to last.

• Recognize the difference between fleeting interest and a fire that will sustain your writing.

• Harness your own curiosity as a guiding force, keeping you engaged through every stage.

The strongest stories don’t just start with a spark—they demand to be written. This session will help you find yours.

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What keeps you up at night? The most powerful fiction often stems from our deepest fears—raw, unsettling emotions that demand to be explored. Instead of avoiding fear, what happens when we lean into it, let it consume us, and reshape it into something powerful?

This session will explore ways to:

• Identify your deepest fears and examine how they manifest in fiction.

• Analyze how other writers have transformed personal fear into gripping storytelling.

• Use fear as fuel to create tension, urgency, and emotional resonance.

• Write through your fears with guided exercises that tap into raw, visceral emotions.

• Develop characters who react to fear in complex, unexpected ways.

Transformation happens when we confront what we’d rather avoid.

Writing isn’t just about passion—it’s about sustaining that passion over the long haul. Long hours at the computer, uncertain outcomes, and the emotional weight of storytelling can drain even the most dedicated writers. Add in the demands of daily life, and suddenly, exhaustion replaces inspiration. But burnout isn’t inevitable.

This session will help you:

• Recognize the early signs of creative and emotional burnout before they derail your writing.

• Find a healthy balance between creative output, career demands, and personal well-being.

• Develop strategies to reignite your creative energy when you feel drained.

• Reframe your writing process in ways that feel sustainable and fulfilling rather than depleting.

• Build habits that support long-term success without sacrificing health or joy.

Though our lives may seem unremarkable, they’re often far more fascinating than we realize—yet how much of ourselves should we share on the page? The truth is that the most powerful stories frequently arise from deeply personal origins.

In this session, we’ll:

• Examine what it means to be truly honest in storytelling.

• Consider methods for mining personal experience in your writing.

• Discuss strategies for safeguarding yourself when exploring real emotions and experiences.

• Explore how to transform lived moments into compelling fiction.

What’s the most damaging writing myth of all? It’s that “writing” is about writing—about the words, about being a “wordsmith.” But writing isn’t about writing. It’s about communicating—about what those words are there to convey. That’s why the simplest, most humble words often pack the most profound punch.

In this session, we’ll dive into ten powerful story secrets that pinpoint exactly what you need to communicate in order to captivate the reader—and, just as important, how to get it onto the page. Each insight is drawn from decades of experience working with writers and will help correct the biggest, most common missteps that can cloud even the strongest writer’s voice.

It will help you:

• Bust the most pervasive myths that keep great stories from reaching their full potential.

• Shift your focus from words to meaning—and why that distinction changes everything.

• Zero in on what truly keeps readers hooked (hint: it’s not what most writers think).

• Identify hidden habits that may be holding your storytelling back.

• Burn away the doubts and misconceptions that get in the way of writing the story you’re meant to tell.

Let’s dismantle the myths and make room for the story only you can tell.

Great characters aren’t just shaped by plot—they’re driven by what they fear, reject, and refuse to face. Yet too often, writers hold back, worried that readers will turn away. But the most compelling characters don’t survive fire—they walk through it, and they change.

This 90-minute session will help you:

• Force characters into choices that reveal their deepest contradictions.

• Make characters active participants in their own undoing.

• Push beyond surface emotions to expose raw, unfiltered truths.

• Turn fear into fuel—making characters do what you fear they might do.

• Shape transformations that feel earned and inevitable.

A character’s hidden layers aren’t just for discovery—they’re fuel. Let’s use it.

A compelling protagonist doesn’t just exist on the page—they drive the story forward. Whether it’s an octopus with a unique perspective (Remarkably Bright Creatures), a preacher on a journey of redemption (Southernmost), or a teenager fighting for autonomy (My Sister’s Keeper), strong motivation keeps readers invested.

This session will help you:

• Develop a protagonist whose perspective is gripping and emotionally resonant.

• Use motivation as fuel to shape premise, voice, conflict, and inner arc.

• Strengthen the connection between character desire and reader investment.

• Identify what makes your protagonist unforgettable—and why their story matters.

Readers want to step into a character’s world and feel their urgency. This session will help you craft the kind of motivation that makes that possible.

A great story doesn’t just flicker—it burns hotter with every turn, regardless of genre. The best books and screenplays keep audiences on edge, delivering the kind of "Oh, sh*t!" moments that change everything. Whether it’s a shocking revelation, a twist that redefines expectations, or a character making an impossible choice, these moments don’t just shock—they fuel the fire, forcing the story forward in ways the audience can’t resist.

In this session, we’ll explore:

• What constitutes an “Oh, sh*t!” moment.

• What makes an “Oh, sh*t!” moment truly work—beyond just surprise.

• How to craft these moments so they feel earned rather than gimmicky.

• Where to place them in your story for maximum impact (early ignition vs. late-stage combustion).

• How to escalate tension, forcing characters into deeper conflict and higher stakes.

• Exercises to generate and refine these moments in your own work.

If your story ever loses steam or starts playing it safe, this session will help you turn up the heat.

A novel’s momentum doesn’t come from plot or character alone—it comes from the heat where they collide. When a character’s internal transformation aligns with external stakes, the story gains urgency, depth, and emotional fire. These moments of resonance are what keep readers invested, turning pages, and feeling deeply connected to the journey.

This session will explore ways to:

• Align key turning points in both plot and character arcs for maximum impact.

• Use moments of internal and external friction to propel a story forward.

• Identify where character misbeliefs, revelations, and growth intersect with plot structure.

• Craft scenes that don’t just advance the story—but leave a lasting emotional mark.

A story’s fire is strongest when every element fuels the next. Let’s make sure yours keeps burning.

Every story begins with a spark, but turning that spark into a sustained, controlled fire—one that grows in the right direction—requires deliberate choices from the outset. Without clear decisions on structure, point of view, and scope, the fire may burn out too soon or rage out of control, leading to massive revision later.

This practical workshop helps writers map out their novel’s foundation to build momentum and narrative energy right from the start.

This session will explore ways to:

• Shape your idea into a dynamic story by refining scope, structure, and perspective.

• Harness intuition and logic together in creating your story map.

• Clarify whose story you’re telling, and choose the best point(s) of view and tense to maximize tension and emotional resonance.

• Balance complexity without overcomplicating.

• Lay a strong foundation to minimize major rewrites later in the process.

By the end, you’ll have an actionable writing plan—one that fuels your story’s momentum.

Life doesn’t pause for our writing. Some days sitting down to the page feels practically impossible, especially during seasons when our mental space crowds our creative space. Personal problems, industry upheavals, global crises, a fracturing world—it can all steal our creative energy. So how do we keep creating despite the chaos?

This interactive discussion will explore:

• How to persist with your storytelling even when times are tough.

• Strategies for cultivating writing resilience amid challenges.

• Practical techniques to keep your creative energy flowing.

Shape a creative work that speaks into the fray and leaves a lasting mark on both you and your audience.

A powerful opening means nothing if a story loses its fire. Too often, writers pull back when they should lean in, allowing hesitation to cool momentum. But true escalation isn’t just about speed—it’s about pressure mounting from all sides, choices narrowing, and no easy way out.

This session will help you:

• Recognize when hesitation is dampening your story’s intensity.

• Escalate tension, conflict, and stakes by deepening consequences, multiplying obstacles, and tightening the noose.

• Craft inescapable dilemmas that force characters toward transformation.

• Turn avoidance into action—using resistance, denial, and fear to drive decisions.

• Push past writing instincts that tell you to pull back.

The strongest stories don’t just burn—they build toward the inevitable.

It is a truth universally acknowledged: You have to hook the reader right out of the starting gate. From the very first sentence, your story must incite that delicious sense of urgency that makes readers have to know what happens next. In other words, they have to feel something. Which makes sense, since all story is emotion based. If we aren’t feeling, we aren’t reading. And what we’re feeling is what the protagonist feels, in in the moment, on the page, as she struggles with the tough decision that every scene forces her to make.

But when we talk about emotion, it’s maddeningly easy to misunderstand what it really is, and thus how to get it onto the page. Emotion doesn’t come from general external “dramatic” situations, nor is it expressed by body language, nor is it about whether a character is happy, sad, angry or really, really cranky. Instead emotion springs from the internal struggle each unavoidable decision forces the protagonist to make. You won’t need to tell us how the protagonist feels, you’ll make us feel it right along with them.

This session will help you:

• Zero in on what emotion really is, as opposed to what we’ve all been taught, and how to weave it seamlessly onto the page.

• Tell the critical difference between emotion and (insert eyeroll here) “emotional.”

• Create the evolving, subjective internal logic your protagonist uses to make sense of what happens, and weigh what she should do about it.

• Zero in on what "Show, Don’t Tell" really means when it comes to emotions (hint: it has nothing to do with “showing” something happening, as if you were watching a movie).

Storytelling is transformational. When your reader feels what your protagonist feels, biologically, it doesn't just move them—it changes them. Let's make sure your story does exactly that—after all, story is the world's first virtual reality, which gives you a scary amount of power.

Habitual behavior is born in moments of helplessness. Much of fiction revolves around characters learning how their habits hold them back, leading to a decisive moment to “change or die.” But behavioral science tells us personal change is not just difficult—it’s nearly impossible. Recent work suggests that true transformation is never based on knowledge alone.

In this presentation and workshop, David Corbett will guide writers through hands-on exercises to:

• Explore moments of personal helplessness and identify the behaviors that emerged as a result.

• Examine how later life events challenged or reinforced those habits.

• Analyze transformation in fiction—how it works and how it avoids cliché.

• Investigate the reality of life-changing decisions—whether chosen freely or prompted by external events—what truly underlies the altered behavior(s)?

• Apply these insights through exercises designed to create more authentic personal change.

We’re sometimes led to believe that either we offer the reader a wrenching moment of earth-shaking transformation or subject them to a tedious sequence of scenes of little perceptible consequence. This is a false choice. Change requires making decisions—and all decisions, properly understood, are dramatic. This session will help develop that understanding.

Dramatic tension ignites when a character’s expectations clash with an entirely different outcome—a moment that can shatter, reshape, or redefine them. This session explores how these unexpected shifts generate the emotional heat that fuels transformation. Through hands-on exercises—participants should bring two scenes to work on and a 1-3-sentence description of their protagonist—writers will:

• Examine how pivotal surprises trigger deep character change.

• Unlock the protagonist’s voice so they can tell you what to write.

• Explore how the “gap” between expectation and reality creates narrative fire.

• Construct values and stakes that ignites meaningful conflict.

• Dissect moments where a character’s trajectory is forever altered.

• Craft tension-rich shifts that reshape both character and reader.

Transformation doesn’t happen in the expected—it happens in the break, the shock, the moment everything turns. Let’s explore how to wield that power.

Revision isn’t just about fixing what’s broken—it’s the art of reimagining your story until it emerges stronger, sharper, and more compelling. This session clarifies the process, from structural overhaul to final polish, and provides practical tools at every stage.

This session will explore ways to:

• Plan your revision strategically, focusing on big-picture structure before micro-level tweaks.

• Distill your novel’s core premise and fine-tune characters’ motivations.

• Stay organized with outlines, checklists, or software as you incorporate changes.

• Evaluate critique without losing sight of your creative vision.

• Refine dialogue and maintain a consistent POV, using read-aloud techniques to catch awkward phrasing.

• Ignite tension from the first line to capture readers immediately.

By the end, you’ll have a clearer roadmap for transforming your rough draft into a novel that resonates with readers.

How does a seasoned writer keep the flames of inspiration burning through the years? Writing isn’t just about discipline—it’s about play. But too often, writers fall into habits, forgetting that experimentation can be a powerful creative force. Pushing against structure, testing new narrative forms, and breaking expected patterns can reignite creative energy and bring fresh momentum to your work.

In this session, we’ll explore how to:

• Use structure as fuel, rather than a limitation, to keep your writing dynamic.

• Experiment with unconventional formats—braided narratives, fractured timelines, nonlinear storytelling, and more.

• Find the balance between innovation and clarity so your creativity enhances the reader’s experience, rather than confusing it.

• Push past creative stagnation by challenging yourself to tell stories in fresh, unexpected ways.

• Rediscover joy in writing—so that returning to the page feels like discovery, not just obligation.

Whether you’re in the drafting trenches or revising a familiar manuscript, playing with structure can unlock new pathways and deepen your creative fire. Let’s experiment, innovate, and have fun!

"Tell all the truth but tell it slant —" is the opening line of an Emily Dickinson poem.The very best writing holds a mirror up to reality and reflects truth. This is not easy or without risk, especially given our current political climate. LJ will lead a conversation on finding the courage to uncover our truth and write our most honest fiction.

If readers are too comfortable with the ending, have they really been changed? This session explores what makes fiction unforgettable, provocative, and haunting, from endings that force us to wrestle with meaning to narratives that challenge what we think we know.

This session will help you:

• Craft endings that don’t just satisfy—but disturb, provoke, and linger.

• Use ambiguity, contradictions, or moral complexity to create lasting impact.

• Make readers an active participant—forcing them to question, interpret, or even argue with the story.

• Identify what makes a story unforgettable—and what makes it forgettable.

The most powerful fiction doesn’t just conclude—it won’t let go.

A novel’s setting is more than a backdrop—it’s an active force that shapes conflict, emotion, and transformation. When setting and character interact dynamically, it intensifies stakes and makes a story unforgettable.

This session will explore ways to:

• Engage readers by making setting an active, story-shaping force.

• Illuminate the core conflict through a character’s relationship with their world.

• Infuse setting with tension, immediacy, and emotional weight.

• Identify “hot spots” of unexplored conflict that add depth to your story’s world.

A setting that burns with meaning can change everything. Let’s find the fire in yours.

Succeeding in publishing requires talent, relentless hard work... and luck. But luck isn’t something you wait for—it’s something you prepare for. The key to building a lasting career isn’t just about writing great books; it’s about ensuring you’re ready when opportunity arises.

This session will explore ways to:

• Position yourself for success before you start pitching.

• Recognize and seize opportunities when they arise.

• Develop strategies that align with your personal strengths, goals, and challenges.

• Create an action plan for long-term career growth.

• Turn hard work into lasting momentum.

When opportunity knocks, you’ll be ready—because you put in the work.

Some commentators argue that AI-generated art will only sharpen our awareness of the difference between authentic creation and manufactured imitation. Accepting this as a starting point, how can we identify what is truly original—both within ourselves and our stories? How do authenticity and identity intersect in storytelling?

In this presentation and workshop, David Corbett will guide writers through:

• Distinguishing derivative from authentic behavior—in ourselves and our fiction.

• Examining how habits and cognitive biases render individuals blind to themselves.

• Understanding the role of creativity in shaping identity.

• Exploring the impact of AI on creative expression and the writer’s role in an evolving landscape.

• Engaging in reflective exercises to uncover deeper responses that a reveal a more personal, unpredictable level of emotion.

• Applying these insights to fiction, ensuring characters and stories remain deeply human, authentic, and unique.

As machines learn ever more rapidly to interpret vast amounts of information—including fiction of every kind from every era—and reassemble it pursuant to user cues, knowing what those machines cannot do will distinguish the creative from the imitative. This session will help participants recognize what within themselves and in their work defies the machine mind.

We’re hardwired to come to every story tacitly asking one question: what am I going to learn that will help me make it through the night? We’re looking for inside intel on how to best navigate the unpredictable, scary, beautiful world we live in. As a result, there’s a set of specific unconscious expectations readers have for every story — expectations that have nothing to do with the surface plot or how beautifully the story is written. By decoding your reader’s hardwired expectations – and how to meet them -- you’ll be able to create a story that will rivet readers from the very first sentence.

In this session you’ll learn:

• The truth about the writing myths that are holding you back, and why story trumps beautiful writing every time.

• What it is that actually hooks and holds readers, and how to create the underlying foundation from which a riveting story organically springs.

• One by one, the specific expectations that readers bring to every story, which together creates a set of guidelines that will help you keep your story on track.

• Why, as a storyteller, you are one of the most powerful people on the planet.