StoryCon

The Plot Thickens: Crafting a Compelling and Well-Paced Plot  

In this workshop we will explore the essential elements of a good plot including pacing, beats, the emotional arc, and transitions. This workshop aims to give you the tools to banish writer's block, eliminate those dreaded saggy story middles, and avoid unnecessary plot detours while crafting a strong, compelling plotline for your story. 

Led by Rachel Linden

Rachel Linden is a bestselling novelist and international aid worker whose adventures in fifty countries around the world provide excellent grist for her writing. She is the author of The Secret of Orange Blossom Cake, The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie and Recipe for a Charmed Life as well as several other novels. The Magic of Lemon Drop Pie was adapted into a Hallmark movie. Currently Rachel lives with her family in a sweet little harbor town in the Pacific Northwest where she enjoys creating stories about hope, courage and connection with a hint of romance and a touch of whimsy. 

Poetry as Memoir: Exploring the Terrain 

Members of this writing workshop will be surprised by the insights they discover as they explore memory’s terrain with the tools of the poet. Our time together will include writing prompts designed to draw forth memories, sensory details, and associative leaps; discussions of engaging poetry models; tips on the writing process; and time to free write, draft, and share written work.

Led by Shari Wagner

Shari Wagner, former Indiana Poet Laureate (2016-2017), is the author of three poetry books: The Farm Wife’s Almanac, The Harmonist at Nightfall: Poems of Indiana, and Evening Chore. With her father, a physician from Huntington and Wells Counties, she co-authored A Hundred Camels: A Mission Doctor’s Sojourn and Murder Trial in Somalia and Making the Rounds: Memoirs of a Small Town Doctor. Her poems have appeared in many literary magazines, including The Writer's Almanac, American Life in Poetry, Shenandoah, and North American Review, as well as in the anthologies, Taking Root in the Heart: A Collection of Thirty-Four Poets from "The Christian Century" and A Cappella: Mennonite Voices in Poetry.  Shari has taught poetry writing in grade schools, high schools, universities, libraries, state parks, historical sites, and senior centers. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from Indiana University and lives in Westfield, IN.