Pikes Peak Writers Conference 2025

New to Pikes Peak Writers? New to writing conferences? New to writing, in general? Here's your chance to ask virtually everything about how to get the most out of your conference experience. There's etiquette, jargon, and a lot more to learn so that you present yourself in the very best light to our faculty and your fellow attendees. Learn what to do and what not to do by folks who have learned from their mistakes. You have questions? We have answers.

If every action has an equal reaction, so should our scenes. That reaction is found in the sequel of our stories. We will cover the three steps of sequel, where is shows up in our scenes, and how it is the key to binding together the deeper aspects of storytelling like character growth, subtext, and theme.

Writers focus much of their development and planning for their next work on their protagonist and often fail to fully develop the "bad guy." Understanding the role of the antagonist, and how to create conflicts with the protagonist, is an essential tool for writers of all genres. This class focuses on aspects of development specifically for antagonists which ensure the antagonist is powerful, committed, and the perfect foil to your protagonist.

Using common drafting tools like outlining and synopses in new ways, learn how to better visualize your novel's pacing and structure to make it an even more engaging read. We will discuss how to group the action by section, character, and theme to better identify weak spots and under-utilized connections, as well as other techniques like timelines and even graphs. This workshop will be ideal for those working in genre spaces.

The desire to be published is more prevalent than ever. A record- breaking number of CEOs, entrepreneurs, business professionals, and aspiring writers from all walks of life dream about becoming published authors but are stumped about which road to publication they would like to travel on. Filled with real-life stories, humor, and practical advice Leticia’s workshop will give aspiring and seasoned authors alike the good, bad, and ugly of these two methods of publication. By the end of the presentation, attendees will have gained the clarity needed to decide whether they have the stomach to take the traditional publishing route with the help of a literary agent or strike out on their own to publish their literary masterpiece.

Think you can avoid world building in contemporary stories? Think again. USA Today Best Selling Author Avery Flynn shares tips and tricks to building a fully imagined contemporary world that will give readers the full experience and keep them coming back for more.

A workshop on getting translated into other languages, including:

• Selling rights vs exploiting them yourself (and tips for both)
• What markets to focus on first (depending on genres)
• Average costs per language (and potentially genre)
• Leveraging AI: yes or no?
• What it’s like to work with a literary translator
• Tips for marketing/promotion in the local market