Gaming + Writing

SHORT NOTICE ALERT: If you’re interested in writing for games, there’s a two-day retreat starting 31 March in Newberg, Oregon.

Register today for this intensive workshop organized by SOMA Games.

With a combination of group and individual sessions, assignments, and feedback specific to your projects, this two-day retreat will help you learn to start your writing career with the help of seasoned professionals

Better, Faster

If you’ve not yet encountered Becca Syme (who’ll be at IWG’s 2023 Idaho Writers Conference, by the way), you have not yet been introduced to a paradigm shift that could have you completely rethinking how you’ve been doing things all along (and why they haven’t worked out as you’d hoped).

The 2023 Publish Better-Faster Digital Conference will take place Friday through Sunday, 3-5 March, and as it sounds, will be entirely online. Recordings will be provided if you get overwhelmed with all that’s on offer. Read more, in detail, here — and register today.

Day One

  • The Gold Rush is Over: Publishing Landscape Post 2023
  • How Strengths Get In Our Way
  • Scalable and Sustainable Businesses
  • Sustainability Archetypes

Day Two

  • How Strengths Impact Advertising
  • How Strengths Impact Promotion
  • Marketing for 2023
  • Write to Market Archetypes

Day Three

  • What’s Holding You Back?
  • Conquering Mindset For More Success
  • Conclusion (Next Steps)

All killer. No filler.

That’s the tagline for the 4 March “Make Crime Pay” event organized and presented by Writing Magazine (UK).

This is an all-day event with options for workshops-only or interviews-only, or both, for £30 and £50, respectively.

Author interviews include:

  • John Connolly, MJ Arlidge, Shari Lapena, Gytha Lodge, BA Paris, Adele Parks, Liz Nugent, and Cath Staincliffe.

Workshops and Panel Talks include:

  • Paul Finch, Susi Holliday, Louise Jensen, Tom Mead, John Sutherland, and Roz Watkins

As the schedule is 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. GMT, you’ll be relieved to know that all ticket holders will receive a recording of the event.

Cheryl Strayed, Keynote Speaker

Willamette Writers have announced the keynote speaker for their 2023 Willamette Writers Conference, 2-6 August. Registration opens 1 March.

Cheryl Strayed is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, which has sold more than 4 million copies worldwide and was made into an Oscar-nominated major motion picture.

And she hasn’t stopped there. Read about what she’s been doing since Wild.

Access to the conference is available both in-person (in downtown Portland) and online.

Their theme for this year is DREAM BIG.

Fantasy Writers – Free

ProWritingAid, the makers of that great self-editing software, is continuing its trend of periodically offering free online classes for specific genres. For 27 February through 2 March, the focus will be on FANTASY.

Replays are available on-demand for a week after the event. Did I mention that it’s free..?

This event offers a lot including

  • Live interview with bestselling author R. F. Kuang (Babel)
  • Jessica Brody of (Save the Cat! Writes a Novel)
  • Workshops on outlining, writing, and editing your fantasy story
  • Networking events to get to know other fantasy writers

Learn more and register today.

Suspense Voice & Theme

Mystery Writers of America (Northwest Chapter) is presenting a full-day mini-conference 11 February. It’s online, and available to nonmembers as well.

Tickets are available via Eventbrite – $10/members and $20 for nonmembers.

Agenda includes
  • Increasing Pace & Suspense with Intentional Rewrites, presented by Elena Taylor
  • Writing Essentials: Voice & Theme, presented by Briana Lane

Read more about the courses and the presenters on the Eventbrite site.

Idaho Mystery (etc.) Writers…

Do you write mysteries, suspense, crime fiction, thrillers? You are heartily invited to join us, sisters (and brothers)!

An Idaho chapter of the international crime-writer’s association, Sisters In Crime, is in the process of forming. Our first meeting will be in Boise one week from today, on 12 January (5-7 p.m. MT).

Meetings will be in Boise every other month. Check out their website, IdahoSinC.com, for more information.