We are delighted to present our conference event line-up for WriteOnCon 2021! These are the topics (and speakers) you can expect to see during our next conference, which is taking place February 19-21. We couldn’t wait to share these amazing events with you.
Please note: Events are subject to change or cancellation. A finalized schedule, including scheduled event times and keynotes, will be released two weeks before the conference.
BLOG
- Taking the Sting Out of Rejection by Amanda Rawson Hill
- On-the-Page Family without Resorting to Dead Parents and Only-Child Protagonists by Amanda Sellet
- It’s Okay to Write Slowly by Claire Winn
- How to Create a Strong Second Act by Emily Victoria
- Balancing Writing With a Full-time Job by G. Z. Schmidt
- TBD by Hanna Howard
- Utilizing the Strengths and Weaknesses of First Person POV by Jess Rinker
- Adverbs: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly by Kalena Miller
- The Mechanics of Micro Revision by KayLynn Flanders
- The Carthartic Query Letter by Kristine Asselin
- Honing Your Instincts: Developing a Sixth Sense for Storytelling by Laura E Weymouth
- Building Your Book Research Toolkit by Laura E Weymouth
- Persevere by Sam Taylor
- Visual Editing: Revising Your Story Creatively by Stephanie Winter
FEEDBACK
- Feedback Session: Query by Christina Li
- Feedback Session: First 250 words (YA only, any genre, but esp fantasy, sci-fi, thriller) by Claire Eliza Bartlett
- Feedback Session: First 250 Words by Destiny Soria
- Feedback Session: First 250 Words by Jem Chambers-Black
- Feedback Session: Query (MG/YA novels) by Kristine Asselin
- Feedback Session: Query (Max 300 words, YA/MG/PB) by Natalie Lakosil and Patricia Nelson
- Feedback Session: Twitter Pitch (YA/MG only) by Natalie Mae
- Feedback Session: Twitter Pitch by Stephanie Winter
- Feedback Session: Query (No PB/CB, crime, cozy mystery, suspense fiction, or non-fiction) by Tara Gilbert
GROUP VLOG
- Life Hacks for Writer Parents by Addie Thorley, Chrystal D. Giles, Jennifer Voigt Kaplan, and Melanie Conklin
- Creating a Cozy Writing Space by Liselle Sambury and Reese Eschmann
LIVE BLOG
- Figuring Out Your Novel’s Pacing by Deva Fagan
- TBD by Heather Fawcett
- Juggling a Large Cast of Characters by Lee Edward Födi
- The Gathering Days: How NOT to write by Marcie Colleen
- Writing for Middle Grade by Melanie Conklin
- Top Writing Tools by Rachel Griffin
- Finding Your Voice as a Person of Color by Stefanie Molina
PANEL
- We were All New Writers Once: Growth on the Journey by Alexa Donne, Halli Gomez, and Ronni Davis
- Being Creative When Everything’s on Fire by Alexandra Overy, Amparo Ortiz, Dr. Ellie Cypher, and Janae Marks
- Finding the Story of Your Heart by Alyssa Colman, Amélie Wen Zhao, Heather Kassner, and Z. R. Ellor
- The Forgotten Years: The How-Tos of Writing Chapter Books for 6-8 Year Olds by Anna Staniszewski, Debbie Dadey, and Jess Rinker
- Families and Friends as the Central Relationships of MG by Bitsy Kemper, and Gail D. Villanueva
- Getting a Book Deal on Your First/Second MS (Pros & Cons) by Ashley Shuttleworth, Cyla Panin, and Shelli R. Johannes
- Developing Contemporary Settings by Caitie Flum, Hannah Reynolds, and Jenn Bishop
- Writing Dystopic Fiction When the Real World is Terrible by Carolyn Tara O’Neil, J.Elle, and Maria Ingrande Mora
- Writing True to the Teen Experience by Cassandra Hartt, Jennie Wexler, and Yvette Clark
- Creativity Amidst the Chaos of Parenthood by Chrystal D. Giles, Emma Kress, and Lyndall Clipstone
- Giving Good Critiques by Erin Riha, Kaela Rivera, and Ryan Dalton
- Rom-Com How-To by Gabriela Martins, Hannah Reynolds, and Sophie Gonzales
- Life in the Query Trenches by Hanna Howard, Joanna Ruth Meyer, and Kalynn Bayron
- A Writer’s Best Friend: Critique Partners and Beta Readers by Intisar Khanani, Jessica S.Olson, and Rosiee Thor
- Writing Humor that Lands by Jacob Sager Weinstein, J. C. Davis, and Kalena Miller
- Illustrations in Picture Books: More than Supporting Cast by Josh Funk, Supriya Kelkar, and TBD
PODCAST
- Writing in Multiple Genres / Age Categories by Akemi Dawn Bowman
- Writing “Lower” YA for 14-16 Year Olds by Amanda Sellet
- TBD by Christina Li
- Building a Plot from an Initial Character Idea by Cyla Panin
- Taking Care of Yourself and Your Mental Health by Emily S. Keyes
- Meditation for Writers by Hannah Carmona
- Developing Character Arcs by J.Elle
- Defining MG vs YA (vs Adult with Young Characters) by Jenn Bishop
- Surviving Rejection by Julie Eshbaugh
- Writing Retellings that Feel Fresh by Kalynn Bayron
- TBD by Kathryn Purdie
- You Have A Story To Tell by Lauren Mansy
- How to Identify Where to Start/End Your Scenes by Lee Edward Födi
- Tips for Polishing Your MS by Liselle Sambury
- Avoiding Tokenism When Building a Diverse Cast by Louisa Onomé
- TBD by Marcie Colleen
- Identifying Bad Habits in Your Writing Craft (Writing Red Flags for Agents/Editors) by Mary Kole
- Contemporary that Tackles “Hard Issues” by Saadia Faruqi
- Letting Your Character make Mistakes without being TSTL by Sam Taylor
- TBD by Sara Holland
- Self-Publishing Strong: Tips for Self-Publishing Success from First Book to Career Author by Sean Fletcher
- How to Know if an Agent is a Good Fit (Both When Querying and at Offer) by Tara Gilbert
LIVE Q&A
- It’s Not Just You: Common Setbacks in Publishing by Alexa Donne
- Pitching for a Win! How to Make Sure Your Query Package is Getting You Noticed in the Right Way by Amber Caravéo and Joanna Moult
- Developing Character Arcs by Caitie Flum
- Breaking in to Chapter Books by Debbie Dadey
- Pantsing like a Pro by Dr. Ellie Cypher
- Working on Your Next Book Before Your First One Comes Out by Gabriela Martins
- How to Keep Writing — Published or Not by Gail Carson Levine
- International Authors can be Published in the US by Gail D. Villanueva
- How to Identify if Your Pacing is Off by Jacob Sager Weinstein
- Reasonable Response Times (Both During Querying and Post-Offer) by Jem Chambers-Black
- Creating Romantic Chemistry on the Page by Jessica S. Olson
- Separating Real-Life Inspiration and Autobiographical Elements from Fiction by Joan F. Smith and Laura Taylor Namey
- Rhyming PBs for ADVANCED Rhymers by Josh Funk
- Components of a Strong First Chapter by Mary Kole
- Open Q&A by Natalie Lakosil
- Agenting in the Time of COVID by Saritza Hernandez
- The Story Arc of a Picture Book by Shelli R. Johannes
- A Deeper Dive into Writing Rom-Coms by Sophie Gonzales
- TBD by Tara Lazar
- Walking the Line with Flowery Prose by Z. R. Ellor
ROUNDTABLE
- Favourite Writing Advice by Addie Thorley, Danielle Bennett, Destiny Soria, and Rachel Griffin
- Write a Letter to Aspiring Author (Pre-Agent) Past-You by Akemi Dawn Bowman, Anna Staniszewski, Jaida Jones, and Sara Holland
- Character Agency in MG by Alyssa Colman, Deva Fagan, Heather Kassner, and Reese Eschmann
- Author Inc: You as a Small Business by Claire Eliza Bartlett, Saadia Faruqi, and Sean Fletcher
- Writing Effective Horror by Lyndall Clipstone
- Learning to Let Go: Finding Joy in Moving on from a Project by Erin Riha, Natalie Mae, and Rosiee Thor
- Should You Write This? Where to Draw the Line when Including Diversity by Halli Gomez, Payal Doshi, Ronni Davis, and Stefanie Molina
VLOG
- Tips & Tricks for Outlining by Alexandra Overy
- Symbolism through Objects, Events, Settings (the Objective Correlative) by Amanda Rawson Hill
- Being Realistic about Pitch Contests and Other “Shortcuts” by Claire Winn
- TBD by Danielle Bennett and Jaida Jones
- The Power of Hope: Using Psychological Theory to Help Our Hearts… and Our Writing by Emma Kress
- What Getting a Book Deal Will and Won’t do for Your Writing Career by Hannah Carmona
- Tackling a Revision without Breaking Your Novel by Joanna Ruth Meyer
- Putting in Your 10,000 Hours / One Million Words (i.e. Practice) by Julie Abe
- From Finished Draft to Published Book — Soaring Over All the Hurdles by Julie Eshbaugh
- How Much Description is Enough by Kaela Rivera
- Figuring Out Who to Query First / Next by Katya de Becerra
- Get Inspired by Your Favorite Published Books by Katya de Becerra
- Learning to Embrace the Wait by Maria Ingrande Mora
- TBD by Reese Eschmann
- A Writer’s Online Presence — What, Why and How by Shannon Doleski
- Surviving as a Shy Author When You have to Self-Promote, Present about Yourself/Your Books, and/or do School Visits by V.T. Bidania
WORKSHOP
- Writing a Novel, Step-by-Step by Amélie Wen Zhao
- Using Worldbuilding to Shape your Characters by Carolyn Tara O’Neil
- Starting Your Writing Career in Fanfiction by J. C. Davis
- Get Inspired by Your Favorite Published Books by Katya de Becerra
- The Possibility of Poetry: Considering Verse in MG and YA Fiction by Megan E. Freeman
- Rethinking Rejection: Revising Our Relationship with ‘No’ by Megan E. Freeman
CONVERSATION
- Future Innovations: Thinking Outside the Box for Sci-Fi Technology with Beth Revis and Rosiee Thor
Not sure what the event types are? Here’s a quick guide.
BLOG EVENTS
Each year we offer a broad selection of posts covering a diverse range of topics pertaining to writing craft, career, and the publication process. These are pre-scheduled to post at half-hour intervals throughout the conference.
VLOG EVENTS
A subtitled video event that lasts 5-15 minutes. These are pre-scheduled to post at half-hour intervals throughout the conference.
GROUP VLOG
New this year, these events will feature very short vlog contributions from multiple speakers, compiled and presented as a single video.
LIVE BLOG EVENTS
These are blog posts where the event speaker commits to being available for the one-hour window after the post goes live in order to answer questions left in the comments section in realtime – like a live chat with attendees.
ROUNDTABLES
These are blog posts where multiple speakers share their thoughts on a topic by answering a series of questions.
PODCASTS
These casual and conversational interviews are recorded with one of our team members. These are audio-only (no video), but we do provide a transcript.
FEEDBACK SESSIONS
These events review pitches or pages submitted by attendees, offering first impressions and feedback about what works and what doesn’t. In the past these were limited to agents, but this year we are opening to authors and editors, too, recognizing that all professionals have valuable insight to offer attendees.
NOTE: These were previously held live and called “pitch sessions”, but this led to some confusion in expectations among attendees.
LIVE Q&A
These sessions take questions from attendees on a designated topic. Usually the speaker will introduce the topic for 5-10 minutes while questions come in.
LIVE PANEL
These multi-person events operate like the Live Q&A events, taking questions from attendees on a designated topic.
LIVE WORKSHOP
These are craft-development sessions that allow attendees to work alongside an industry professional in a virtual classroom-like setting. Most will involve a component of attendee involvement/interaction.
Not signed up to attend yet? You can register right now!
We can’t wait to see you February 19-21, 2021!
Disclaimer: All events are subject to change.