Surrey International Writers’ Conference
October 20, 2017 — October 22, 2017
Sheraton Vancouver Guildford Hotel 15269 104th Avenue Surrey, British Columbia Canada V3R 1N5 get directions
Mary will be at the Surrey International Writers’ Conference in Surrey, British Columbia from Oct 20 – Oct 22, 2017. Get tickets here.
Here’s where to find her:
Friday, October 20
Workshop – Diagnosing Story Problems
11:30am-12:45pm
Tynehead 1
In this workshop, we look at tools to help you figure out where a story has gone wrong, and likely angles of attack to fix the problems. Plot structure, beta readers, and the dreaded writer’s block can all help narrow down the weakness in a story and ultimately fix it.
Panel – Worldbuilding (as moderator)
2:15-3:30pm
Tynehead 2
How do you bring an imaginary world to life? How do you layer the strange and fantastic on the real world in a believable way? Join our panel for a look at building cohesive, immersive worlds for characters to inhabit.
Blue Pencil Cafe Session
3:45-5pm
Fraser Room
Blue Pencil Cafe is an opportunity for you to have your work reviewed by Mary or other professional writers. Chat one-on-one about your work, or ask questions about the knottiest problems you’re facing. Appointments are 15 mins each, signups outside the Fraser Room door daily as available.
Saturday, Oct 21
Blue Pencil Cafe Session
10:00-11:15am
Fraser Room
Blue Pencil Cafe is an opportunity for you to have your work reviewed by Mary or other professional writers. Chat one-on-one about your work, or ask questions about the knottiest problems you’re facing. Appointments are 15 mins each, signups outside the Fraser Room door daily as available.
Workshop – Short Stories: A Proportional Understanding of Pacing
2:15-3:30pm
Tynehead 3
There are a lot of theories out there about how to handle pacing for novels, but how do you do it when you’re constrained by length? It turns out that many of the same rules-of-thumb apply, but in a proportionally smaller space they look very different. Learn how to structure your beginnings, ends, and of course, those pesky middles.
Signing
5:30-7pm
Fraser Room
Book signing and cocktail social.
Sunday, Oct 22
Opening Session – Keynote
9:00-9:55am
Guildford Ballroom
Mary will be giving the keynote address during this session that opens the last day of the conference.
Panel – No Write Way: Talking Process with the Whisky Chicks
10:00-11:15am
Tynehead 2
From idea generation to final draft, writing a novel consists of many stages, and every writer has their own approach to the process. Hang out with Elizabeth Boyle, Susanna Kearsley, and Mary Robinette Kowal, and learn how they each come up with their ideas, create characters, delve into research, and sit down to get those drafts written. Their methods may inspire you to try something new, but they will also prove that there is no one way to write a book.
Blue Pencil Cafe Session
11:30am-12:45pm
Fraser Room
Blue Pencil Cafe is an opportunity for you to have your work reviewed by Mary or other professional writers. Chat one-on-one about your work, or ask questions about the knottiest problems you’re facing. Appointments are 15 mins each, signups outside the Fraser Room door daily as available.
