Pikes Peak Writers Conference 2025

The Dalai Lama said, "Don't learn Buddhism to be a better better Buddhist; learn Buddhism to be a better whatever you are." I am a writer.

Join author Johnny for discoveries in eastern philosophy with their application to the life of an author with its many disappointments. Sessions include directed mindfulness meditation and lecture on concepts that directly speak to the writer’s journey.

• Day one: Basics - the Four Noble Truths and the Eight Fold Noble path
• Day two: Blocks - The Five Hindrances and the power of RAIN
• Day three: Third Person Limited - Non-Identity and the muse

Each class meets in the morning before regular programming Though classes are meant as a three-day seminar, attendees can come to any of them without prior or later attendance and still get useful information.

A career writing books involves so much more than just writing. As indie authors, you’re expected to make all the decisions around editing, design, publishing, and marketing. While you can start on your own, you won’t go far without a proper team behind you.

But what work should you outsource first? Is it better to spend your money on editing or on covers? When is the right time to hire a virtual assistant? And how can you find these people who can help take your career to the next level?

In this presentation, Reedsy’s Ricardo Fayet will show you how to assemble your publishing dream team and turn your publishing business into a well-oiled machine.

Hook readers and elevate your storytelling skills with a story blueprint based on tropes for genre fiction. This session will define what tropes are (and aren't) and how they can be used in your story. Attendees will learn the expectations and implications of several tropes, how to deconstruct the framework, and how to seamlessly integrate tropes across genres. Dawn Alexander and Jessica Snyder will: - define what a trope is (and isn't) and why they are useful in fiction - deconstruct the framework, expectations and implications of a trope - show you how to utilize them across genres - provide plenty of examples so you can implement them in your own writing.

It's so easy in the digital age to get caught up in the little things, especially when it comes to your career. In this workshop we'll go over sweating the small stuff, handling rejections, and what's better left for the group chat.

Neurodivergent brains are wired differently, so tips for writing don't always work the same for NDs. Often, the standard tips just need to be tweaked to find productive approaches. Learning how to adapt NT methods to your needs can go a long way in helping you find the best way forward so you can stop worrying about how to get things done and start writing.

According to Orson Welles, "The enemy of art is the absence of limitations." In this interactive workshop, we'll explore how ultra short-form storytelling (think a one-minute TikTok video or a 100 word story) can expand a writer's creativity by forcing them to think outside the box—or, more accurately, inside a very small box. We will look at examples of exceptional short-form storytelling in video and in print, discuss strategies for fitting big ideas in small packages, and each write our own tiny tale.

Jenny and Sue shine a light on marketing trends, tips and tricks in a casual setting. Join the conversation and we'll chat about what's working in the industry, the direction digital is taking and how you can get your name and your work out there for readers and the writing community.