Master Class Schedule 2024
Master Classes take advantage of the fact that we're bringing in some amazing speakers for the conference and make their expertise available to anyone in the community. You do not have to be registered for the conference to register for a Master Class. The classes take place immediately before and after the conference at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco on Embarcadero.
Check-in for all classes will begin half an hour before the classes themselves in the Seacliff Lobby on the Bay Level. You can still register at that time, but your first choice of class may be full so we recommend advance registration.
You may request a refund for cancellation before Jan. 31st, 2024, with a $25 cancellation fee. You may make a request to change classes at least 24 hours in advance by emailing registrations@sfwriters.org. Additional fees may apply. No refunds will be given after Jan. 31st.
ALL MASTER CLASSES ARE LIVE AND IN PERSON AT THE HYATT REGENCY SAN FRANCISCO.
Thursday, February 15, 2024, 9:00 a.m.-noon
$129
Why should I take this class? I’m a prose writer. I’m never going to write a poem! Poetry makes me feel stupid, like I don’t “get it.” It even scares me!
Great question.
You don’t have to like, read or write poetry to use this class to greatly improve your writing. Because a good poem, in any language, is that language operating at its fullest potential. Powerful. Economical. Elegant. Breathtaking. Timeless.
Good poetry is language when it is best designed.
Think of a Lamborghini Huracán. Or a perfectly designed trench coat. Or the most amazing basketball player of all time. This is what great poetry shows us. It’s our language performing at its most efficient, powerful, graceful self.
We should all want this for our prose, whether we’re writing a novel, memoir, flash piece, essay, or thriller. We want our reader to miss their BART stop because they’re reading our novel. We want a friend to text: “I just finished your book, and I’m weeping.” We want to make art and not just stuff.
By learning from poems, we increase our ability to do that.
The world does not need more stuff. More clutter. More noise. The world needs art.
In class, we’ll examine very small examples of 6 different aspects of poetry to see how they can operate in prose: compression, word choice, rhythm, rhyme, sequence, and emptiness. We’ll do small experiments in language together, and have discussion.
In the final hour we’ll look at a 1-page prose writing sample from the first 5 writers who register for this class. I’ll do a live edit in terms of the 6 concepts we’ve just explored. The critique will be positive, specific and constructive. Other class members can sign up for a Free 8 Minute Edit with me offered as part of the Conference.
"Mary Rakow imparts to her students a rare view of the world and the sacredness of language in it. She sets a level of excellence, in both life and writing, that is extraordinary." —Dianne R.
Be Your Own Freelance Editor: Self-Editing Techniques to Make Your Manuscript Shine
With Tanya Egan Gibson
Thursday, February 15, 2024, 9:00 a.m.-noon
$125
You’ve written and rewritten your manuscript, yet it still doesn’t seem…like a published book. It’s possibly even “error-free” in terms of grammar and punctuation, but when you compare the writing, pace, and “feel” of it to your favorite books, you can tell that it’s just not there yet. No matter how creative and intelligent writers are, they often can’t tell why their writing isn’t as tight and clear as it should be, even though they know (or have learned through feedback) that it isn’t at the level it needs to be.
As a freelance editor, Tanya Egan Gibson has found that clients often share a group of habits that hold their writing back. Moreover, some of these writing habits are ones they were praised for in school or work well in her clients’ professions. (The styles of reports, legal briefs, business letters, or white papers, for instance, don’t work for fiction or narrative nonfiction.) In these cases, the clients’ manuscripts end up reading as “Good idea, but the writing isn’t there yet.” So how to get “there”—and quickly?
In this three-hour crash course in editing, we’ll address:
- What kinds of writing habits trip up many people (and perhaps you).
- How to “write tight,” decreasing wordiness and repetition, while simultaneously being clear.
- How to keep writing from calling attention to itself. (Hey, I'm writing! Aren't my words cool?) and how to spot when you are writing “on the nose.”
- How to balance scene and summary.
- How to integrate backstory, background, and factual information/research in ways that seem organic and transparent.
- How to make your sentences and paragraphs flow.
- How to use self-editing at the “line” level to alert you to “bigger picture” (developmental) problems in your manuscript.
This hands-on session will include:
- Discussions of participants’ own works in progress (excerpts and summaries). Participants should bring samples if possible.
- Writing prompts for participants from which participants will produce short responses as examples of tight, transparent, specific writing.
- Examples (created by the instructor) of unedited passages with exercises that allow participants to make them into pieces that are tight, clear, and specific.
You will not only learn to look at your own manuscript with an editor’s eyes, but you’ll find that this process is fun. By the end of this session, you'll understand how to chip away at your manuscript to find the diamond at its center.
Tanya Egan Gibson is a freelance editor, writing coach, and the author of the novel How to Buy a Love of Reading. Her short fiction for adults and young adults has been published in Carve and Cicada and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. She has written for magazines such as The Writer, Parents, and Writer’s Digest, including an article, “10 Things Your Editor Might Not Tell You—But Should."
Zero to Novel in 3 Hours: Assembling the Skeleton so Your Writing Holds Up
With Michael Carr
Thursday, February 15, 2024, 9:00 a.m.-noon
$99
One of the most daunting things about writing a novel is the pre-writing phase. Whether one works via the pantser method or needs a complete outline, there is a lot of initial work to be done before a writer is ready to write the first chapter.
How does one take a germ of an idea and shape the characters, setting, scenes, and larger set pieces into a form that will make a complete novel? In this workshop we will create and organize the essential elements of a story complete with writing exercises to form the bones of a satisfying novel.
Michael Carr represents writers in a variety of genres, with a special emphasis on historical fiction, women’s fiction, science fiction and fantasy, memoir, narrative non-fiction, and popular science. He speaks Spanish and Swahili, and before joining Veritas had professions as diverse as programming simulators for nuclear submarines and owning an inn in Vermont.
Thursday, February 15, 2024, 4:30-7:30 p.m.
$129
Agents and editors are always talking about the importance of voice. But what is it? Can you even identify it in your own work? Every genre has its own unique signatures that readers come to expect, known as voice and tone. These elements make it possible to identify the genre within a few pages and often reflect the personality, mood and spirit of your characters and your themes. Nailing your novel (or memoir's) voice and tone will not only make sure you’re meeting readers’ expectations, but it can increase your chance of publication. Nailing voice and tone goes a long way toward writing memorable characters with page turning stories that readers can’t put down.
This master class will demonstrate these two terms through powerful examples from contemporary fiction/memoir, and explain how to use such things as word choice, syntax, character personality, and more to consciously create them in your work.
Jordan Rosenfeld brings her experience as author of six books on the craft of writing, and three novels, to show you how to infuse a richness of character and the right mood into your book.
WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
- Fiction writers
- Memoir writers
- New and advanced writers
- Writers who want to create compelling, memorable stories
- Writers who want their stories to snag an agent
- Writers who want to take their work to the next level
- Writers who struggle to distinguish their characters
- Writers whose characters tend to sound the same
- Writers who want to nail their genre
- Writers who want to learn precisely what voice is
- Writers who are trying to create a certain mood
- Writers who want their sentences to reflect their themes
Jordan Rosenfeld is author of the forthcoming novel Fallout (Running Wild Press), as well as the novels of the novels Women in Red and Forged in Grace and six books on the craft of writing, most recently How to Write a Page-Turner, the bestselling Make a Scene, Writing the Intimate Character, A Writer’s Guide to Persistence, Writing Deep Scenes and Write Free. Her freelance articles and essays have been published in hundreds of publications, including: The Atlantic, The New York Times, Scientific American, Writer’s Digest Magazine, The Washington Post and many more. She is also a freelance manuscript editor, writing coach and teaches online classes.
How To Write (And/Or Adapt Your Book Into) A Screenplay
{From A Writer Who Has Sold Scripts to Every Major Film Studio}
With Phil Beauman
Thursday, February 15, 2024, 4:30-7:30 p.m.
CANCELED
Phil Beauman began his writing career writing for “In Living Color.” He co-wrote “Don’t Be a Menace,” the first “Scary Movie,” & “Not Another Teen Movie.” He was also a writer/Supervising Producer on “The Wayans Brothers” & a Co-Creator/Co-Executive Producer of Nickelodeon’s “Cousin Skeeter.” Recently Phil Beauman Executive Produced his spec script “Soul Santa,” which was the number one rated Christmas movie on B.E.T.
Unraveling the Mystery of GMCs and How to Prepare Pitches That Pack a Punch
With Lynnette Novak
Thursday, February 15, 2024, 4:30-7:30 p.m.
$125
Do you struggle to determine your characters’ goals, motivations, and conflicts? Do you know the difference between internal and external GMCs? Are your stakes high enough? What about pitches? Are they tough to write? While GMCs may seem intimidating and overwhelming, I can help you have a better understanding of what ultimately is the skeleton to your story. Once that’s in place, you’ll see creating a pitch—be it high-concept, elevator, short, or a query pitch—isn’t as hard as you might think. This is a hands-on workshop, so bring pitches to work on in small groups.
Lynnette Novak is an agent at The Seymour Agency and is building her list in several areas: illustrators, picture books, adult nonfiction, thrillers, mysteries, and more. She'd also love to see more diversity and inclusive projects. Prior to agenting, Lynnette spent seventeen years freelance editing. She worked with new and advanced writers, as well as New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors.
$149
Building a brand as an author in today's environment is as overwhelming as it is difficult. As a result, many authors waste valuable time and money doing the wrong things and end up throwing their hands up in frustration. If you want to avoid that confusion and build a personalized, results-driven marketing strategy to grow your brand as an author and thought leader - from positioning to social media to content marketing and beyond - this advanced workshop is the place to be. This hands-on presentation will peel back the curtain and share the most current marketing and social media strategies used to build platforms for some of the world's leading authors and thought leaders. Long-time SFWC marketing speaker and bestselling author Rusty Shelton will share a 10-step roadmap that will empower attendees to own their first impression, leverage the latest social media strategies to grow their audience, build their list, successfully launch their book and build a long-term brand as a thought leader. Attendees will leave the presentation with an online brand audit and a roadmap they can follow to grow their platform in the years to come. This session will include stand-alone labs focused on online brand audit, quiz/email marketing, LinkedIn and beyond.
Attendees will learn how to:
- Build a content strategy for social media that uses less time to make a bigger impact
- Conduct an online brand audit for yourself and make immediate shifts to impact discoverability (i.e. do you need to change your name?!)
- Leverage the new media landscape for success through the earned, rented & owned framework
- Understand the latest trends to use LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter and other social media channels more effectively to drive results
- Create the right content strategy to own the connection with your audience
This is a workshop that values the practical/actionable over the big picture and attendees will be challenged and encouraged to hit the ground running with social media and content marketing. Our discussion will be applicable to both fiction and nonfiction authors. This session is for any writer who wants to go to the next level with their social media and content marketing strategy.
Rusty Shelton first spoke at Harvard on the changing world of PR and marketing at the age of 23. He is a bestselling author, dynamic keynote speaker and successful entrepreneur who has helped lead campaigns for the launch of 35 Wall Street Journals and NY Times bestsellers. He is the co-author (alongside Adam Witty) of The Authority Advantage: Building Thought Leadership Focused on Impact, Not Ego (ForbesBooks, 2023) and Authority Marketing: How to Leverage 7 Pillars of Thought Leadership to Make Competition Irrelevant (ForbesBooks, 2018), which features a foreword from Steve Forbes, and co-author (alongside Barbara Cave Henricks) of Mastering the New Media Landscape: Embrace the Micromedia Mindset (Berrett-Koehler, 2016), which debuted at #2 on the Austin American-Statesman bestseller list.
Rusty speaks to tens of thousands of people every year about how to build thought leadership, navigate the changing media landscape and make a bigger impact. He has been on faculty at more than 20 Harvard Medical School CME courses over the past 15 years and has spoken for YPO, EO, SXSW Interactive, Oregon State University and numerous Fortune 1000 companies.
Learn more at www.RustyShelton.com, www.ZilkerMedia.com or Books.Forbes.com
Sunday, February 18, 2024, 2:00-5:00 p.m.
Get Known While Writing Your Novel, Memoir or Nonfiction Book!
With Joey Garcia
Sunday, February 18, 2024, 2:00-5:00 p.m.
$129 includes workbook
Who has time to write a book and get on the radar of readers, reviewers, and the media? You do—or you will—after taking this masterclass! Learn how to boost your base of support and connect with readers, journalists and others interested in the central themes of your book. Discover simple ways to accomplish your goals even with limited time. In this session, you’ll get the individual attention you need to identify and begin to incorporate proven strategies tailored for books like yours. Best of all, these techniques work even if you’re an introvert (like the presenter) or if you hate the idea of “selling” your book.
You will learn how to:
- Identify your manuscript’s newsworthy themes.
- Locate and connect with readers and reporters looking for what you write about.
- Craft an author bio that inspires readers and the media to contact you.
- Get national media attention without a huge social media following.
- Think like a media outlet when designing promotional materials for your book.
- Turn your website into a destination for your community of readers.
- Grow your email list so it boosts your brand and platform.
- Leverage interviews (print, podcast, TV) so they inspire more opportunities.
Who will benefit: writers with a work-in-progress; authors of existing books; anyone who hates marketing or “putting themselves out there”; introverts, ambiverts, and extroverts. Bring your laptop or iPad so you can immediately apply what you’re learning during this masterclass. You’ll also have an actionable plan to implement when you leave.
Joey Garcia is a book editor and author platform coach. She helps writers get known while they’re writing a book, so when it’s published, there’s an audience waiting to read it. Joey’s clients have been interviewed by, or have bylines in, The Wall Street Journal, Smithsonian magazine, Ms. magazine, CNN, and The Tamron Hall Show, among others. Joey is the author of When Your Heart Breaks, It’s Opening to Love and has been a featured Relationship Expert in HuffPost, USA Today, Deutsche Welle, KVIE public TV, Global Woman TV Sweden, Australia’s Ticker News and Slate’s Dear Prudence podcast. Her poetry, short stories, and essays have received awards and been published in Calyx, Mslexia, Hippocampus Creative Nonfiction magazine, Writer’s Digest, The Caribbean Writer, and Hypertext. In 2017, Joey established the first-ever literary fellowship in Belize, her birthplace. A professional speaker, Joey has wowed audiences in the U.S., Sweden, and Albania.
Promotional Tactics for DIY Authors: What Too Many Learn the Hard Way, (or not at all)
With Bruce Wawrzyniak
Sunday, February 18, 2024, 2:00-5:00 p.m.
$109
Publicist Bruce Wawrzyniak, who runs the agency Now Hear This, will pull back the curtain on tips and tricks relative to what you think a publisher should or will do for you in promoting your work (hint: they won’t, or, bring your checkbook for “that’s extra”). Attendees of this masterclass will come away with all the knowledge nuggets gathered over the instructor’s years of working with author clients – lessons indie writers won’t learn sitting at home and focusing only on the writing. For example, Bruce will share how easy it actually is to get an in-store author event at a Barnes & Noble. He’ll even disclose how to figure out the email address for any Barnes & Noble store without knowing anybody who works there. Bruce will also teach the attendees how to interest people in something they wrote, say, seven years and not just seven months ago. He will also walk attendees through what to expect when pursuing book reviews. Also included in this masterclass is not only befriending the independent bookstores – in-person and online – but an actual email from an actual indie bookseller of what they like and don’t like to see from writers just like you. And yes, there’s even more. Lots more. Don’t wait (and waste) the years it took for Bruce to gather up all these insights. Attend this very hearty class and arm yourself with tactics for getting yourself and your work out there. (NOTE: This is very different from Bruce’s masterclass at SFWC 2023.)
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Bruce Wawrzyniak has run Now Hear This, Inc. since 2004. A publicist who has worked with clients nationwide, he has gotten results for individuals from author to actress to filmmaker to recording artist to entrepreneur to small business owner. His career includes working for a National Hockey League team and in the Olympic Movement. He also has been podcasting every week since February 2014 and is a national speaker.
Why You Should Consider Becoming Game Writer (and how you can start making a game TODAY)
With Camille Baumann-Jaeger
Sunday, February 18, 2024, 2:00-5:00 p.m.
CANCELED
Camille Baumann-Jaeger has credits with game studios ComfyComputer, DreamToaster, and collaborated on pitches with Polyknight Games. She holds an MS in Computational Design from Carnegie Mellon University, where she focused on the intersection between game narratives, embodiment, and virtual avatars. She is currently working with a Game Director at Serenity Forge to make her YA dystopian SF novel into an action RPG.
Finding and Working with a Literary Agent - Query Letter Workshop
With Andy Ross and Laurie Fox
Sunday, February 18, 2024, 2:00-5:00 p.m.
$99
If you are seeking to get your book published, the first step is usually finding an agent to represent you. This class will lead you through the process of finding the right agent for you. We will discuss how to decide when your book is ready for submission, how to do research on agents, writing effective query letters, preparing book proposals that are convincing to agents and publishers, and describing the work of the agent in negotiating a contract. In the process, we will have a lot to say about the culture and business of publishing.
The first hour, we will have a query letter workshop. In this workshop, we will discuss the elements of a good query letter, and how to write one that will grab the attention of the agent. In advance of this class, prepare a draft query for the book project you are working on. Don’t worry about whether it’s good or not. That’s what this class is for. We will workshop selected queries.
Andy Ross was the owner of Cody’s Books in Berkeley from 1977-2007. Andy works in a range of genres including narrative non-fiction, journalism, history, current events, literary and commercial fiction, and teen fiction. Authors Andy represents include Daniel Ellsberg, Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, Susan Griffin, and Fritjof Capra. He is the author of The Literary Agent's Guide to Writing a Non-Fiction Book Proposal.
The Dynamic Power of Language (+ HEART)
With Leslie Kirk Campbell
Sunday, February 18, 2024, 2:00-5:00 p.m.
$99
How to Get Your Writing to Light Up in the Slush Pile in Paragraph One!!
We often hear about Plot, Characterization, and Point of View in fiction. But what about language, the medium itself? In this master class, you will experience the thrill of precise, original image and metaphor, see how a sentence’s power results from a writer’s keen attention to the unusual detail, discover ways that language is music – an orchestration of rhythm, rhyming (of words, images and ideas), and dynamic sound texture. You will receive inspiring handouts, have the opportunity to try out the teachings with short in-class writings, and gain tools that will enrich and enliven your prose in any genre.
Leslie Kirk Campbell’s short story collection, The Man with Eight Pairs of Legs (Sarabande Books), won the 2020 Mary McCarthy Prize for Short Fiction, is a 2022 Women’s National Book Association Great Group Reads Selection, a 2022 Foreword INDIES Winner, and finalist for American Book Fest's Best Book Awards. Individual stories have won first place awards in multiple literary magazines. The author of Journey into Motherhood (Riverhead), Campbell teaches at Ripe Fruit Writing, a creative writing program she founded in 1991.
Children’s Picture Book Writing: How to Play by the Rules (and Have Fun Rebelling)
Instructor: Monica Wesolowska
Sunday, February 18, 2024, 2:00-5:00 p.m.
CANCELED
Monica Wesolowska is the author of two children’s picture books, Leo + Lea (winner of an SCBWI Crystal Kite Award) and Elbert in the Air (praised by The New York Times as “effervescent…whimsical and relatable.”) She’s also written for adults, including the memoir Holding Silvan: A Brief Life which was named a “Best Book of the Year” by The Boston Globe and Library Journal. A creative writing instructor for over two decades, she teaches at Stanford Continuing Studies, UC Berkeley Extension, Left Margin Lit, and elsewhere. She also works one-on-one as an independent editor.