FALL/WINTER 2024-2025
WRITING SUCCESS SERIES WEBINARS
All workshops held from 7:15-9:45 PM ET, Thursday nights on Zoom.
Confirmation details will be sent one week prior to class and repeated the day of the class.
Recordings will be sent to all participants within twenty-four hours of the webinar.
ENTIRE SERIES CAN BE PURCHASED VIA PAYMENT BUTTONS BELOW OR YOU CAN PURCHASE WEBINARS INDIVIDUALLY VIA BUTTONS UNDER WEBINAR DESCRIPTIONS.
ENTIRE FALL-WINTER 2024-2025 WRITING SUCESS SERIES WEBINAR BUNDLE
All 23 Writing Success Series webinars with Donald Maass, Jane Cleland, Alice K. Williams, Lorin Oberweger, Heather Sellers, Henry Neff, Sheree Greer, Grace Burrowes, Leah Henderson, Lyndsey Ellis, Beth Barany, Damon Suede, Jason Sitzes, Adam Marsh, and Lesley Penelope. Almost SIXTY full hours of instruction, plus recordings, handouts, and PDF presentations as offered.
Note: if you sign up after series launch, you’ll receive a link to the recording(s) of any you missed.
DONALD MAASS FOUR WEBINAR BUNDLE
Including POWER REVISION; EVERY PAGE COUNTS; THE ELEMENTS OF NO FAIL OPENINGS; AND ELEVATING SERIES AND STRENGTHENING SEQUELS. See descriptions below.
SEPTEMBER 26, 2024
CHARACTER TRANSFORMATION WITH THE BEATS OF YOUR STORY WITH BETH BARANY
*** REGISTRATION CLOSED - RECORDING AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE ***
In this hands-on workshop with master teacher and working novelist, Beth Barany, we’ll focus on crafting compelling characters and focusing specifically on character transformation and a way you can look at that through the main beats of a story. We’ll bring the power of neurolinguistic programming (NLP) to your characters’ change arc through 5 key story beats to help make your story compelling and unputdownable.
OCTOBER 3, 2024
POWER REVISION WITH DONALD MAASS
*** REGISTRATION CLOSED - RECORDING AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE ***
Too often revision means tweaking, but you can’t tweak your way to perfection. Power revision is a re-imagination, of plot credibility, character complexity, scene layering, prose fireworks and much more. Discover what you’re missing and learn the tools to lift your next draft to a new level in this hands-on workshop.
OCTOBER 10, 2024
WRITING AS RENEWAL: A TOOLKIT FOR RESTORATIVE STORYTELLING WITH LYNDSEY ELLIS
*** REGISTRATION CLOSED ***
Restorative storytelling - writing that centers how people recover from adversity - takes time, care, and forethought. Writing as Renewal: A Toolkit for Restorative Storytelling offers a customized reference guide on cultivating a deep knowledge of story mechanics as it relates to unearthing hard truths that ultimately bring transformation and healing to a community. Learn the essentials to navigate this creative process through a mix of writing exercises, interactive videos/graphics, group discussion, and Q&A.
OCTOBER 17, 2024
TROPE-TASTIC: THE KEY TO GENRE WITH DAMON SUEDE
*** REGISTRATION CLOSED ***
Tropes are the rocket fuel of every genre. Classic story patterns signal the ride ahead so your work writes itself and attracts a passionate fanbase. Whether industry pros or devoted fans, trope addicts crave their faves and one-click accordingly. In this workshop, we'll untangle the scope of tropes and their timeless power to sell a project, shape a story, and grab imaginations. Learn to tap the language that attracts the right audience, streamlines your stories, and leaves them needing more. Whether you like to wing it or bring it, you’ll leave this class with a new handle on harnessing reader expectations for pleasure and profit.
OCTOBER 24, 2024
THE SECOND DRAFT & BEYOND: STRATEGIES FOR REVISING YOUR NOVEL WITH LESLYE PENELOPE
*** REGISTRATION CLOSED ***
The first draft of any novel is a unique challenge, but getting to that next draft (and the one after that) can tax a writer to their breaking point. In this workshop, you will learn to critically analyze the manuscript you’ve written, identify its weak spots, and develop an organized revision plan. You’ll also get insights on how to obtain and manage feedback on your work and the process towards transforming your draft into a polished novel.
NOVEMBER 7, 2024
FILLING OUT THE CORNERS: CRAFTING CHARACTER ARCS GREAT AND SMALL WITH HENRY NEFF
**REGISTRATION CLOSED**
Everyone knows protagonists are supposed to develop and grow as they forge ahead in their “Hero’s Journey.” But what about the other characters in your story? The antagonists and sidekicks, the colorful locals and strangers on the road? Many writers neglect these lesser players or trot them out like NPCs in a videogame—stock personas whose only purpose is to give the plot a nudge. But what if they could be more? What if these characters had some weight behind them, little arcs of their own to infuse the story and setting with greater depth and realism? In this class, Henry Neff will share a practical approach to ensuring that every character—great and small—has a little arc to call their own. Participants will not only walk away with a more robust cast of players, but probably some new story ideas to boot. Who knows? Maybe you’ll even identify a future star of their very own book or series…
NOVEMBER 14, 2024
MASTERING SUSPENSE, STRUCTURE & PLOT WITH JANE CLELAND
**REGISTRATION CLOSED**
The stories that keep readers up all night share three key characters: they’re suspenseful, well-structured, and cleverly plotted. In this comprehensive overview, you’ll discover how to write tighter, more polished first drafts by focusing on the underpinnings of effective storytelling. Specifically, we’ll discuss how to create spine-tingling suspense by escalating conflict and raising the stakes, choose the structure that’s best for your story, and integrate plot Twists, plot Reversals, and moments of heightened Danger (TRDs) using Jane’s Plotting Roadmap to help build suspense while controlling your story’s pace.
NOVEMBER 21, 2024
POWER UP: HOW DRAMATIC STRUCTURE MAKES YOUR NOVEL COME ALIVE WITH ALLISON K. WILLIAMS
Ready for a big revision? Or plotting a new manuscript? Make it easier—and make your book publishable—with structure. Gain a clear understanding of five key scenes, and how each one propels the action and deepens the meaning of your story. Explore several types of dramatic structure and practice applying them to your own work in short exercises. Learn when to abandon traditional plot points to serve your own story, and how to twist an old trope. We’ll also cover the four key things your first pages must do to hook agents, editors and readers—and a fast, easy way to find out if your book starts in the right place. Then we’ll live-edit participant work to show how to establish your voice, intention, purpose, and story from the very first sentence.
DECEMBER 5, 2024
RIVET YOUR READER WITH HEATHER SELLERS
Many writers have strong language skills—the writing is beautiful. But they sense something might be missing. Other writers start strong but find it hard to sustain a project through to completion. To attract readers, and keep them glued to your pages, it can be helpful take a close look at specific techniques that help you engage the reader’s attention from start to finish. If your work is getting rejected and you aren’t sure why, or if you seek to reach a wider audience, or if you are newer writer simply looking for proven strategies to ensure your writing leaps off the page, this course will help you jumpstart your writing life.
DECEMBER 12, 2024
EVERY PAGE COUNTS WITH DONALD MAASS
Middles can grind, moving the story business along with mechanical effort and lack of spark. Luckily, there are ways to enliven every page, from dialogue twists to subtle reveals to reader misdirection and more. Discover sophisticated ways to make every page worth reading in this hands-on workshop.
DECEMBER 19, 2024
WRITE IT DOWN, WRITE IT OUT WITH SHEREE GREER
Writing is hard enough in and of itself, but add to that life's distractions and demands, and our writing lives become all the more difficult. This interactive workshop focuses on goal-setting, commitment, and accountability as the three pillars of productivity. We'll discuss SMART goal setting, tools and approaches for productive writing sessions, and making accountability an inside job.
JANUARY 2, 2025
THE ELEMENTS OF NO FAIL OPENINGS WITH DONALD MAASS
Bad news: hook opening lines, inciting incidents, sharp voice and saving the cat may stir reader curiosity for a second or two, but their effects fade almost instantly. What is it that actually draws readers deeply into a story, and does so immediately? The hidden elements of highly successful openings are revealed in this hands-on workshop.
JANUARY 9, 2025
LOOK AGAIN: SEEING YOUR WORK WITH FRESH EYES WITH ADAM MARSH
Familiarity with one’s own work is common, but at which point does familiarity lead to blind spots and a lack of fresh perspective? In this webinar, we will explore, via practical exercises, ways to see your own works in new ways by drawing from fields such as cinema, psychology, philosophy, and visual arts.
JANUARY 16, 2025
WHAT THE HECK IS AGENCY? WITH LORIN OBERWEGER
You’ve likely heard the term used by agents, editors, or critique group members, but what—exactly—is character agency? Why is it critical, and how do you make sure your protagonist and other characters demonstrate it? If your character starts out as a reluctant figure, one to whom events are happening, how can you find ways to signal that character’s strength and motivation to the reader? As always, come prepared to work and make important discoveries along the way.
JANUARY 23, 2025
MINI-ME FOR THE WIN: CHILDREN AS REFLECTION CHARACTERS, SIDEKICKS, MENTORS, AND ANTAGONISTS IN OTHERWISE ADULT STORIES WITH GRACE BURROWES
Children tend to be neither seen nor heard in most adult fiction, but the child's perspective is often wise, funny, unexpected, and charming. Because every reader is or was a child, the youngest characters also provide a direct emotional connection for every person who picks up your book. Grace will offer discussion, writing exercises, and examples to help you craft juvenile characters who add depth, humor, and warmth to any genre of fiction.
JANUARY 30, 2025
WHERE TO BEGIN & END: CREATING STRONG OPENING AND CLOSING SCENES WITH LEAH HENDERSON
What pulls a reader in from the very first lines? What holds their imagination long after the last words of a story are read? Strong scenes made up of compelling characters, stirring emotions, and moments of discovery. During this workshop, we will consider how a captivating opening scene piques a reader’s curiosity, introduces characters, conflicts and questions that will guide the rest of the story. While an unforgettable ending, answers questions, resolves conflicts, and often speaks to something larger than simply the story itself. Through understanding the purpose of our stories, we can begin to understand what is needed to draw readers in from the very first page and hold them captive until the very last lines.
FEBRUARY 6, 2025
REACHING THE SUMMIT: THE ART AND SCIENCE OF FINISHING WITH HENRY NEFF
Starting a novel is easy. Finishing is hard. Finishing is what distinguishes wannabe writers from professionals. It is an essential skill and yet finishing is often overlooked—or even omitted entirely—from the checklist of elements a writer must master if they wish to be successful. There is nothing mystical about finishing. It is a discipline that can be developed, a habit that can be ingrained into one’s writing practice if approached with a clear and thoughtful mindset. In this seminar, we’ll break down the stages of writing a novel, pinpoint where writers and stories often fall by the wayside and explore practical ways to overcome these traps and push through to the promised land.
FEBRUARY 13, 2025
ELEVATING SERIES AND STRENGTHENING SEQUELS WITH DONALD MAASS
In your series, why settle for more of the same? Why plateau when sales can grow? Every new title can top the last one but to do so requires not only commitment, but the tools needed to top yourself every time. Sequels likewise can suffer from anemia, but don’t have to. Challenge yourself to go beyond the ordinary in this hands-on workshop.
FEBRUARY 20, 2025
SELLING YOUR STORY: LOGLINES, BLURBS, PITCHES, AND QUERIES WITH DAMON SUEDE
Does your marketing copy earn its keep? Do you struggle with pitches and queries? This workshop tackles the wild, woolly world of loglines, synopses, and blurbs with a hard look at hooks and high concept. Learn to summarize your story’s strongest selling points and explore the way a premise can anchor a project before and during the writing process. We'll unpack the knack of boiling any project into words that close the sale and you’ll leave with a heaping helping of dynamic promo language that sells your stories.
FEBRUARY 27, 2025
HEART-CENTERED MARKETING FOR FICTION WRITERS: HOW TO DEVELOP AND SUSTAIN YOUR AUTHOR PRESENCE AND SELL YOUR BOOKS (WITHOUT SOCIAL MEDIA) WITH BETH BARANY
In this hands-on workshop with master teacher and working novelist, Beth Barany, we’ll cover the core principles of heart-centered marketing so you can tailor marketing strategies to your life to sell books to readers and to agents and editors.
MARCH 6, 2025
THE NARRATIVE POWER OF OBJECTS WITH SHEREE GREER
In Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried, objects are both talismans to tools, each object an opportunity to develop character, explore setting, and raise the stakes. In this interactive webinar, we will explore short literary excerpts as we discuss the powerful role objects can play in our fiction and nonfiction and participate in writing exercises to deepen our relationship to the things our characters use, refuse, and treasure within our work.
MARCH 13, 2025
READING LIKE A WRITER WITH JASON SITZES
It’s a given that writers are—or should be—readers. But in addition to entertaining and enriching us, stories can also teach us craft, help us grow our skills, and provide rich examples of how authors accomplish what they wish to accomplish on the page and in the hearts and minds of their audience. In this class, we’ll learn what it means to read like a writer. Using mentor texts, we’ll consider the impact that language has on a reader’s emotional experience; how the elements of a scene create reader investment and anticipation; how plot choices can feel inevitable and yet surprising; and how to read deeply and analytically without sacrificing the fun of it all.
MARCH 20, 2025
FORGED IN FIRE: MAKING YOUR CHARACTER SUFFER FOR FUN AND PROFIT WITH LORIN OBERWEGER
According to Sherrilyn Kenyon, “The strongest steel is forged by the hottest fires. It is pounded and struck repeatedly… The fire gives it power and flexibility, and the blows give it strength. Those two things make it able to withstand every battle…” This is such an apt metaphor for character development—in life and in stories. When we make things difficult for our characters, then throw them into the fire—both in terms of the story’s physical demands AND its psychological/emotional ones—we give them the tools they need to evolve and to ultimately succeed at missions they might have found impossible to carry out at the beginning of the story. In this class, we’ll look at ways to make the best choices for your story by making things worse for your characters, and even worse still. We’ll look at all the possible avenues for conflict—practical, interpersonal, psychological—and how to determine which decisions you make for your character will lead to the most fruitful journeys.
FACULTY BIOS
Beth Barany
Award-winning novelist and international writing teacher, BETH BARANY writes magical tales of romance, mystery, and adventure that empower women and girls to be the heroes of their own lives. She is the award-winning author of the YA fantasy, Henrietta The Dragon Slayer, and of the sci-fi mystery, Into The Black, among others.
Beth has also written books for writers, including Plan Your Novel Like A Pro, co-written with her husband, thriller writer Ezra Barany.
A specialist in world building, Beth runs the podcast, How To Write The Future, and helps writers create positive, optimistic stories, because when we vision what is possible, we help make it so. Learn more about Beth at BethBarany.com.
Grace Burrowes
GRACE BURROWES is the NYT and USA Today bestselling author of 100 (or so) romance and historical mystery tales. She has won Best Book of the Year kudos from Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Book Reviews, and the Apple Book Store. Grace loves to talk craft with writin' buddies old and new and can be reached through her website at graceburrowes.com.
Jane K. Cleland
JANE K. CLELAND’S books on the craft of writing, Mastering Suspense, Structure & Plot and Mastering Plot Twists [Writer’s Digest Books, now Penguin Putnam Random House] both won the Agatha Award. Her newest book on the craft of writing, Beat the Bots: An Author’s Guide to Surviving and Thriving in the Age of AI, will be published in June 2025. Jane has also written fourteen novels in the multiple award-winning Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery series [St. Martin’s Minotaur, with short fiction published by Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine]. In addition, Jane is a contributing editor for Writer’s Digest Magazine and the chair of the Black Orchid Novella Award, presented by the Wolfe Pack in partnership with Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. More information is available at http://janecleland.com.
Lyndsey Ellis
LYNDSEY ELLIS is a fiction writer and essayist with work that has appeared in Kweli Journal, Catapult, Electric Literature, The Rumpus, Joyland, Shondaland, and several anthologies. She has led several creative writing workshops with a focus on craft, publication, networking opportunities for writers, and cross-arts collaboration. Ellis was a recipient of the San Francisco Foundation’s Joseph Henry Jackson Literary Award and Barbara Deming Memorial Fund for her fiction. Her first novel, Bone Broth (Hidden Timber Books 2021), is a 2022 Friends of American Writers Literature Award winner and a first-year read at Maryville University in St. Louis.
Sheree Greer
SHEREE GREER is a writer, artist, teacher, and publisher living in Tampa, Florida. In 2014, she founded The Kitchen Table Literary Arts Center to showcase and support the work of Black women and women of color writers and is the author of two novels, LET THE LOVER BE and A RETURN TO ARMS, a short story collection, ONCE AND FUTURE LOVERS, and student writing guides, STOP WRITING WACK ESSAYS and BADDEST OUT OF YOUR FRIENDS. Sheree has received a Union League of Chicago Civic Arts Foundation award, earned her MFA at Columbia College Chicago, and is a VONA/VOICES alum, Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice grantee, Yaddo fellow, and Ragdale Artist House Rubin Fellow. Her essay, "Bars" published in Fourth Genre Magazine, was nominated for a Pushcart Prize and notably named in BEST AMERICAN ESSAYS 2019.
Leah Henderson
LEAH HENDERSON is a writer, mentor, and teacher. Her critically acclaimed books for young readers have been included on numerous Best Books lists including the New York Public Library, Bank Street College, and the Center for the Study of Multicultural Children’s Literature. They have been American Library Association Notables, Junior Library Guild Selections, SCBWI Golden Kite Award Finalists among other awards. Her books include The Magic in Changing Your Stars, A Day for Rememberin’, Together We March and The Courage of the Little Hummingbird. She has written for the New York Times Book Review and currently writes the Insights column in the journal Voices From the Middle for The National Council of Teachers of English.
Donald Maass
DONALD MAASS is the founder of the Donald Maass Literary Agency in New York. He is the author of THE CAREER NOVELIST, WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL, THE FIRE IN FICTION, WRITING 21ST CENTURY FICTION, and THE EMOTIONAL CRAFT OF FICTION, among other groundbreaking books on writing craft. His pioneering work and writing about the development of authors’ careers has made DMLA a leading agency for fiction writers.
Adam Marsh
Formerly an agent at Reece Halsey North, ADAM MARSH opened Adam Marsh Editorial Services to focus on his passion for storytelling. After receiving his MFA at San Francisco State, he began teaching Creative Writing at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, where he draws from various fields such as cinema, philosophy, psychology, and visual arts to present issues common to storytelling in uncommon ways. Many of Adam’s editorial clients have gone on to publish their works with publishers such as Random House, Bantam Dell, Simon & Schuster, and Harper Collins, along with landing film option deals with production companies such as Ian Levy Productions, Phoenix Pictures, and Our Thing Productions. Adam has taught classes and delivered presentations at numerous writers’ conferences and universities, including the Maui Writers Conference, Santa Barbara Writers Conference, San Diego State University Writers Conference, Willamette Writers Conference, San Francisco State University, Academy of Art University, University of Nevada in Las Vegas, Book Passage in Corte Madera, and Writers Retreat Workshop in Erlanger, Kentucky.
Henry Neff
HENRY H. NEFF writes and illustrates critically-acclaimed fantasy for young readers and adults. His work includes the five-book Tapestry series, Impyrium, and his most recent novel, The Witchstone. A former teacher and Chicago-area native, Henry now lives in New Jersey with his wife, two sons, and a pair of rescue pups. For information on new releases, appearances, and teaching workshops, please sign up for Henry’s newsletter.
Lorin Oberweger
LORIN OBERWEGER is a highly sought-after independent book editor and award-winning author with more than twenty-five years of experience in publishing. In addition to the workshops she produces with Donald Maass and others, Lorin is a popular instructor at writing conferences around the country. She also has eight traditionally published books (five fiction, three nonfiction), including BOOMERANG, REBOUND, and BOUNCE. Her work has received glowing reviews from the New York Times, USA Today, Kirkus Reviews, and others. Most recently, she co-authored THANK YOU FOR COMING TO MY TED TALK with Chris Anderson, director of the renowned TED organization.
Leslye Penelope
LESLYE PENELOPE is the award-winning author of the Earthsinger Chronicles. The first book in the series, Song of Blood & Stone, was chosen as one of TIME Magazine's 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time. Equally left and right-brained, she studied filmmaking and computer science at Howard University and sometimes dreams in HTML. She hosts the My Imaginary Friends podcast, co-hosts the Ink & Magic podcast, and lives in Maryland with her feline dependents. Visit her online at: http://www.lpenelope.com and join her newsletter for writers at https://myimaginaryfriends.net.
Heather Sellers
HEATHER SELLERS, a Florida native, is the author of two recent poetry collections, Field Notes from the Flood Zone from BOA Editions, a Florida Book Award recipient, and The Present State of the Garden, winner of the Blue Lynx Prize, as well as two previous collections, The Boys I Borrow and Drinking Girls and Their Dresses. Her textbook, The Practice of Creative Writing, is in its fourth edition, Her most recent book is How to Make Poems. She teaches fiction, poetry, and nonfiction in the MFA program at the University of South Florida.
She’s written a children’s book, Spike and Cubby’s Ice Cream Island Adventure, with Amy Young, and published numerous chapbooks, a collection of linked short stories titled Georgia Under Water, and a memoir, You Don’t Look Like Anyone I Know, featured in O, the Oprah Magazine and an O book-of-the month club pick. Editor’s Choice at the New York Times, her memoir was also featured on NPR, the Today Show, Good Morning America, and The Rachael Ray Show.
Jason Sitzes
JASON SITZES has written award-winning short fiction, hundreds of feature stories, and is a ghostwriter for three published business books. He served as Director for the internationally acclaimed 10-day Writers Retreat Workshop for 14 years (founded by Gary and Gail Provost). More than 20 years he’s been honored to serve as an editor and instructor for Writing The Breakout Novel workshops. His favorite interviews are discussing story with the likes of the late Dick Gregory, Paula Poundstone, Dean Koontz, and dozens more. Jason has also worked as a manuscript coach/story development editor for hundreds of fiction and non-fiction writers. He earned his BA in Creative Writing from the Univ of Tennessee studying with southern greats like Michael Knight, Tom Franklin, and Marilyn Kallet.
Damon Suede
Bestselling author DAMON SUEDE has earned his crust as a model, a messenger, a promoter, a programmer, a sculptor, a singer, a stripper, a bookkeeper, a bartender, a techie, a teacher, a director… but writing has ever been his bread and butter. Beyond romance fiction, Damon has been a full-time writer for print, stage, comics, and screen for three decades. He has won some awards, but counts his blessings more often: his amazing friends, his demented family, his beautiful husband, his loyal fans, and his silly, stern, seductive Muse who keeps whispering in his ear, year after year. Get in touch with him at DamonSuede.com.
Allison K. Williams
ALLISON K WILLIAMS is the author of Seven Drafts: Self-Edit Like a Pro From Blank Page to Book and leads the Rebirth Your Book writing retreat series. She has edited and coached writers to publishing deals with Penguin Random House, Knopf, Mantle, Spencer Hill, and St. Martin’s Press as well as hybrid and independent presses. She’s guided essayists and humorists to publication in media including the New Yorker, Time, the Guardian, the New York Times, McSweeney’s, Refinery29, Hippocampus, the Belladonna and TED Talks. As Social Media Editor for Brevity, she inspires thousands of writers with weekly blogs on craft and the writing life.