BEGINNING Fiction
ZOOM: Delaware Bay Breakout Room
9:15 AM
Ariele Sieling is a Baltimore-based writer who enjoys books, cats, and trees. Her first love, however, is science fiction and she has three series in the genre: post-apocalyptic monsters in Land of Szornyek; soft science fiction with The Sagittan Chronicles; and scifi fairy-tale retellings in Rove City. She has also had numerous short stories published in a variety of anthologies and magazines and is the author of the children's books series Rutherford the Unicorn Sheep. She lives in Baltimore with her husband, a dog, and two cats. Visit www.arielesieling.com for more information. 10:30 AM
11:45 AM
Ted Webber has pursued writing since childhood, and learned filmmaking and screenwriting in college, along with a little bit of physics. His first published novel was a near-future cyberpunk thriller titled Sleep State Interrupt (See Sharp Press). The first book of a trilogy, it was a finalist for the 2017 Compton Crook award for best first science fiction, fantasy, or horror novel. The sequels, The Wrath of Leviathan and Zero-Day Rising, are also out, and he has other books on the way. Webber is a member of the Maryland Writers Association and Poets and Writers. Website: https://www.tcweber.com | 2:15 PM
As writers, we depend on outside stimulation to keep ourselves alert and to generate new ideas. We crave human interaction and contact. We require visual and sensory experiences to keep us from falling into a stifling pattern of inaction and dull familiarity. A year ago, being isolated at home with no outside demands interfering with your writing sounded like a dream. Now, after a year of staying at home, your creative drive has vanished like your plans to visit Europe this summer. And you miss the dynamic energy of being around other writers. This workshop attempts to recharge your creative energies. In this interactive workshop, we will share the techniques we’re using to keep our enthusiasm high and what projects we’ve started, finished, or are planning. We’ll talk about dealing with isolation and depression. We’ll also have some fun with several real-time short writing prompts to send us back to the keyboard with fresh inspiration. 3: 30 PM
Fiction and nonfiction writers always have a clear mental picture of our characters and their actions as we write, but it's easy overlook those images when we're focused on plot or trying to get that first draft finished. This session will offer tips for integrating description into a narrative to help our readers see what we do, without going overboard into purple prose--and without bogging down the action. This session is aimed at beginners, but writers at every experience level are welcome. Pat Valdata is a fiction writer and poet. Her new novel, Eve's Daughters, was published by Moonshine Cove in November 2020. Her other novels are Crosswind and The Other Sister, which won a gold medal from the Arpad Academy of the Hungarian Association. Her poetry book about women aviation pioneers, Where No Man Can Touch, won the 2015 Donald Justice Poetry Prize. Her other poetry titles are Inherent Vice and Looking for Bivalve. A native of New Jersey, Pat has been a Marylander since 1990. She and her husband Bob Schreiber live in Crisfield. Website: www.patvaldata.com.
SESSION SUMMARIES by TRACK Beginning Fiction - Advanced Fiction
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Although setting is one of the least discussed elements of story, it can still make or break a narrative. Writing elegant description can be fun, but it's not always necessary. Similarly, it can be easy to focus on the dialogue and plot, and only bring in setting when you have no other option. So where is the balance and how do we find it? In this workshop, join Ariele Sieling in exploring strategies for crafting a setting with depth and purpose that serves not only as a backdrop for your conflict, but also as an important driver of plot in any genre.
How do you write a solid first page? Join Wilnona and Jade for this session designed to inspire the best first page of your novel, including tips on creating characters, addressing the setting, and creating visuals for the reader. Walk out of the session with your fantastic finalized first page already in hand. 
Wilnona Marie and Jade Dee 
