2024 Colorado Gold Writers Conference

Attending this event?

2024 Colorado Gold Writers Conference

Welcome, writers! If you have any questions about the schedule or the conference at large, please refer to the conference website at rmfw.org/conference or email conference@rmfw.org. To view the conference floor plan, select or click on map from the menu.

1:30pm MDT

Unsilent Screams: Maintaining Voice and POV in Action Scenes

Friday September 27, 2024 1:30pm - 2:20pm MDT

Conference Room II

Don’t let your character lose their voice while running from monsters! We’ll go beyond the basics of good action scenes and delve into how we balance action, narration, and perspective as well as use transitions to keep the momentum up.

Speakers

Kendra Griffin

Author

Kendra Griffin is a professor, developmental editor, and author who has never met a good dog or a good underdog she didn’t love. Kendra has an MA in literature, teaches creative writing for Aims Community College, is a member of RMFW and Borderlands Writers, and edits for Status... Read More →

Friday September 27, 2024 1:30pm - 2:20pm MDT
Conference Room II

Conference Room II

Topic Workshop
Audience Intermediate
Subject Craft
Area Hybrid

2:30pm MDT

Mastering Suspense: Crafting Compelling Narratives Regardless of Genre

Friday September 27, 2024 2:30pm - 3:20pm MDT

Conference Room II

Suspense isn’t just for thrillers—it’s a fundamental element that can elevate any work of fiction or nonfiction. It’s the element in any story that creates mental uncertainty and variable outcomes that turn your readers into addicts, unable to stop turning pages regardless of your genre.

Speakers

LS Hawker

USA Today Best Selling Author

LS Hawker is the author of the thrillers THE DROWNING GAME, BODY AND BONE, END OF THE ROAD, and THE THROWAWAYS. THE DROWNING GAME is a USA Today bestseller and finalist in the ITW Thriller Awards in the Best First Novel category. Her novels have been translated into eight languages... Read More →

Friday September 27, 2024 2:30pm - 3:20pm MDT
Conference Room II

Conference Room II

Topic Workshop
Audience Intermediate
Subject Genre, Craft
Area Hybrid

2:30pm MDT

Kickstarter 101: What is it? And How Can I Use It?

Friday September 27, 2024 2:30pm - 3:20pm MDT

Conference Room III

If you’re a budding (or experienced) author, you may have heard that Kickstarter is one of the best ways to launch a book. And you’ve heard correctly! In this workshop, we’ll explore what Kickstarter is, how it can fit into your author business, and resources for planning a campaign.

Speakers

Caitee Cooper

Author

Caitee Cooper is an author, mom, and chocolate enthusiast who loves all things artsy and outdoorsy. She studied psychology, music, and business management at the University of Wyoming and, together with her husband, has helped start and manage several small businesses, including her... Read More →

Friday September 27, 2024 2:30pm - 3:20pm MDT
Conference Room III

Conference Room III

Topic Workshop
Audience Intermediate
Subject Other

2:30pm MDT

Commercial, Upmarket, or Literary: Analysis of the Differences From Line Level to Marketing

Friday September 27, 2024 2:30pm - 4:20pm MDT

Conference Room IV

It’s often said “you know it when you read it”, but what really is the divide between calling something literary or commercial fiction? And how can you determine if your fiction manuscript hits one or the other, or falls in that coveted space of “Upmarket”?

Speakers

Mira Landry

Associate Literary Agent, Corvisiero Literary Agency

Mira Landry is an associate literary agent with Corvisiero literary agency, currently acquiring upmarket and literary YA and Adult fiction. After a decade building her own business as a photographer, she’s eager to help authors turn their art into a career. As a chair on the Rocky... Read More →

Friday September 27, 2024 2:30pm - 4:20pm MDT
Conference Room IV

Conference Room IV

Topic Workshop
Audience Intermediate

2:30pm MDT

Unleash Your Inner Young Muse: Crafting Middle Grade Magic – A Novel Approach to Writing for Tweens!

Friday September 27, 2024 2:30pm - 4:20pm MDT

Conference Room VIII

Bestselling authors like James Patterson, Rick Riordan, and John Grisham are flocking to write MG Books. Learn how it differs from adult books, get past gatekeepers, the essential rules for 8-12 years-olds, the art of choosing the right subject, characters, themes, AND MUCH MORE.

Speakers

Mariko Tatsumoto

Author

Mariko Tatsumoto emigrated from Japan at the age of eight and was detoured from her love of books by becoming the first Asian woman attorney in Colorado. But she found her way back to writing historical novels. AYUMI'S VIOLIN, her Middle Grade novel, and her YA novel, SWEPT AWAY... Read More →

Friday September 27, 2024 2:30pm - 4:20pm MDT
Conference Room VIII

Conference Room VIII

Topic Workshop
Audience Intermediate
Subject Genre, Marketing

4:30pm MDT

Intimacy, Consent & Sex in Fiction

Friday September 27, 2024 4:30pm - 5:20pm MDT

Conference Room II

Are you interested in writing better romantic relationships? In this session, you will learn why love, intimacy, and consent go hand in hand to build healthier, happier characters your readers will care about.

Speakers

Rachael Bush

Author

Rachael Bush published her fourth book, Love on Location, with The Wild Rose Press in 2018 under her pen name, September Roberts. As September, she writes romance that's smoking hot and always happy ever after. As Rachael, she writes the Botany for Everyone series, because everyone... Read More →

Friday September 27, 2024 4:30pm - 5:20pm MDT
Conference Room II

Conference Room II

Topic Workshop
Audience Intermediate
Subject Genre, Craft
Area Hybrid

4:30pm MDT

Keeping It Real: How Much Fiction Belongs in Historical Fiction?

Friday September 27, 2024 4:30pm - 5:20pm MDT

Conference Room IV

If your details are inaccurate, it will affect the reading experience for certain readers. But can’t some details be invented? How do you determine whether to fictionalize or be factual? Writers of historical fiction, mystery/thriller/suspense, or romance set in earlier times, let’s talk about it!

Speakers

Cynthia Swanson

NYT Bestselling Author

Cynthia Swanson is the Denver-based author of the psychological suspense novels The Bookseller (an Indie Next selection, New York Times bestseller, and winner of the WILLA Literary Award) and The Glass Forest (USA Today bestseller and noted in Forbes as being one of “Five Novels... Read More →

Friday September 27, 2024 4:30pm - 5:20pm MDT
Conference Room IV

Conference Room IV

Topic Workshop
Audience Intermediate
Subject Genre

8:00am MDT

Writing Scenes With Multiple Characters

Saturday September 28, 2024 8:00am - 8:50am MDT

Conference Room II

This session will help participants understand how to craft scenes with multiple characters while also building plot and developing distinct character voices. Help your reader focus on your story, not on figuring out who is speaking!

Speakers

Kendra Griffin

Author

Kendra Griffin is a professor, developmental editor, and author who has never met a good dog or a good underdog she didn’t love. Kendra has an MA in literature, teaches creative writing for Aims Community College, is a member of RMFW and Borderlands Writers, and edits for Status... Read More →

Saturday September 28, 2024 8:00am - 8:50am MDT
Conference Room II

Conference Room II

Topic Workshop
Audience Intermediate
Subject Craft
Area Hybrid

8:00am MDT

Unlock Your Story's Inciting Incident

Saturday September 28, 2024 8:00am - 8:50am MDT

Conference Room IV

Do you know the event that kickstarts your story? Do you worry that there isn’t enough tension or conflict? In this workshop, we’ll review techniques to develop an engaging and compelling inciting incident — the crucial scene that serves as a catalyst for your protagonist.

Speakers

Jacquelin Cangro

Independent Developmental Editor & Book Coach

Jacquelin Cangro worked at Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster for more than twenty years. Now, as an independent developmental editor and book coach, she’s reviewed hundreds of novel manuscripts, providing writers with feedback to revise their stories. Her areas of interest... Read More →

Saturday September 28, 2024 8:00am - 8:50am MDT
Conference Room IV

Conference Room IV

Topic Workshop
Audience Intermediate
Subject Craft

8:00am MDT

How to Write Like a Martial Artist

Saturday September 28, 2024 8:00am - 8:50am MDT

Conference Room VI

Writers will learn basics of self-defense, what happens to a body in a fight, and how to write action that moves the scene and doesn’t feel redundant or unrealistic. This class will cover strikes, holds, targeting and basic Jujitsu techniques and how to incorporate them into fight scenes.

Speakers

Sarah Reichert

Author

Sarah Reichert (S.E. Reichert) is a novelist, poet, blogger, writing mentor, and herder of cats. She’s the Youth Coordinator for the Writing Heights Writers Association. She is also the webmaster for WyoPoets and a member of Wyoming Writers, Inc. Her Sweet Valley Series, a contemporary... Read More →

Saturday September 28, 2024 8:00am - 8:50am MDT
Conference Room VI

Conference Room VI

Topic Workshop
Audience Intermediate
Subject Genre

9:00am MDT

Wordsmith's Workshop: Mastering Word Choice

Saturday September 28, 2024 9:00am - 9:50am MDT

Conference Room II

Does all your dialogue begin with “Oh” or “Well”? Do you regularly avoid selecting one vivid word by using five vague ones? Have editors told you your prose needs elevating? Your problem may be poor word choices. But do not despair—it’s not fatal. Come to this workshop for the cure.

Speakers

LS Hawker

USA Today Best Selling Author

LS Hawker is the author of the thrillers THE DROWNING GAME, BODY AND BONE, END OF THE ROAD, and THE THROWAWAYS. THE DROWNING GAME is a USA Today bestseller and finalist in the ITW Thriller Awards in the Best First Novel category. Her novels have been translated into eight languages... Read More →

Saturday September 28, 2024 9:00am - 9:50am MDT
Conference Room II

Conference Room II

Topic Workshop
Audience Intermediate
Subject Craft
Area Hybrid

9:00am MDT

Writers Who Read: Language & Grammer

Saturday September 28, 2024 9:00am - 9:50am MDT

Conference Room IV

We’ve all heard that reading improves our writing. But *how* we read is just as important as *what* we read. This 1-hour workshop covers Literary Forensics techniques to analyze language and grammar found in novels, with a focus on discovering techniques we can apply to our own writing.

Speakers

Gary McBride

Author

Gary McBride produces Writers Who Read, a podcast based on the novels covered at Writers Who Read LIVE!, a monthly workshop for writers in Boulder that Gary founded in May 2018. WwR applies Literary Forensics analytical reading on novels published within the past 18 months in order... Read More →

Saturday September 28, 2024 9:00am - 9:50am MDT
Conference Room IV

Conference Room IV

Topic Workshop
Audience Intermediate
Subject Productivity

9:00am MDT

Conflict: The Art & Craft of Toll & Trouble

Saturday September 28, 2024 9:00am - 10:50am MDT

Conference Room III

All stories are about trouble and the toil required of characters to overcome it. Excellent trouble is at 2 levels: the external story that is measurable with a satisfying ending; the internal story based upon fears and motivations that sets this character’s trouble apart from all others.

Speakers

Sharon Migerney

Author

Sharon Mignerey is one of the founding members of RMFW, which has been her writing home since the beginning. She is the author of thirteen novels in romance and women's fiction, and one non-fiction title. She holds an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction. A frequent presenter at local and... Read More →

Saturday September 28, 2024 9:00am - 10:50am MDT
Conference Room III

Conference Room III

Topic Workshop
Audience Intermediate
Subject Craft

10:00am MDT

Back to The Past: Writing Backstory

Saturday September 28, 2024 10:00am - 10:50am MDT

Conference Room II

Backstory can be a powerful tool in fiction, creating empathy with readers. It can also drain the energy from a piece, creating unnecessary complications and confusion. In this session, we’ll look at how to choose details from a character’s past and smoothly incorporate them into your work.

Speakers

Laurie Marr Wasmund

Author

LAURIE MARR WASMUND has worked as an editor, community college instructor, and writing workshop presenter. Her short stories have appeared in magazines such as CIMARRON REVIEW and WEBER STUDIES. She is the author of MY HEART LIES HERE, a novel of the Ludlow Massacre; CLEAN CUT, A... Read More →

Saturday September 28, 2024 10:00am - 10:50am MDT
Conference Room II

Conference Room II

Topic Workshop
Audience Intermediate
Subject Craft
Area Hybrid

11:00am MDT

Focusing Your Audience

Saturday September 28, 2024 11:00am - 11:50am MDT

Conference Room II

Audience focus techniques with brand marketing profesh and novelist, Oliver Blakemore.

Speakers

Oliver Blakemore

Author

Oliver has been writing novels since he was twelve. He’s written fifteen books, and two of them may even be worth reading. He spent four years as a technical writer and six years in brand marketing as a content writer. His credentials include a hard head and nine Honorable Mentions... Read More →

Saturday September 28, 2024 11:00am - 11:50am MDT
Conference Room II

Conference Room II

Topic Workshop
Audience Intermediate
Subject Marketing
Area Hybrid

1:30pm MDT

Marketing Your Book to Success: Before, During, & After Pubilcation

Saturday September 28, 2024 1:30pm - 2:20pm MDT

Conference Room II

Authors know that marketing their books is 100% their responsibility but most don’t have the skillset or knowledge to create a winning marketing plan for their project. In this presentation, Jennifer S. Wilkov, the founder of Your Book Is Your Hook, LLC, will show you how to master the art of determining what belongs in your marketing platform – and what doesn’t – before, during, and after your book has been published.

Speakers

Jennifer S. Wilkov

Creative Consultant, Your Book is Your Hook

Jennifer S. Wilkov is a multi #1 international best-selling award-winning author, producer, an award-winning freelance writer, The Literary Agent Matchmaker™ and a respected book, business and entertainment creative consultant for nearly 20 years. Jennifer was selected as the Error... Read More →

Saturday September 28, 2024 1:30pm - 2:20pm MDT
Conference Room II

Conference Room II

Topic Workshop
Audience Intermediate
Subject Marketing
Area Hybrid

1:30pm MDT

Writer's Who Read: Layering & Symbolism

Saturday September 28, 2024 1:30pm - 2:20pm MDT

Conference Room IV

We’ve all heard that reading improves our writing. But *how* we read is just as important as *what* we read. This 1-hour workshop covers Literary Forensics techniques to analyze language and grammar found in novels, with a focus on discovering techniques we can apply to our own writing.

Speakers

Gary McBride

Author

Gary McBride produces Writers Who Read, a podcast based on the novels covered at Writers Who Read LIVE!, a monthly workshop for writers in Boulder that Gary founded in May 2018. WwR applies Literary Forensics analytical reading on novels published within the past 18 months in order... Read More →

Saturday September 28, 2024 1:30pm - 2:20pm MDT
Conference Room IV

Conference Room IV

Topic Workshop
Audience Intermediate
Subject Other

2:30pm MDT

Successful TikTok Sales

Saturday September 28, 2024 2:30pm - 3:20pm MDT

Conference Room II

TikTok Shop is officially here and people are buying in! Whether you’re a debut author trying to come out the gates swinging, or you have a great backlist to offer readers, the time to start sell books on TikTok Shop is now. Come learn the ins and outs of TikTok shop and how to sell loads of books!

Speakers

Z.S. Diamanti

Award-Winning Author

Z.S. Diamanti is the award-winning author of the Stone & Sky series, an epic fantasy adventure and the result of his love for fun and fantastical stories. His short works have been published in magazines, literary journals, newspapers, and books. He went to college for a very long... Read More →

Saturday September 28, 2024 2:30pm - 3:20pm MDT
Conference Room II

Conference Room II

Topic Workshop
Audience Intermediate
Subject Marketing
Area Hybrid

3:30pm MDT

Editing Beyond "Gut Feeling"

Saturday September 28, 2024 3:30pm - 4:20pm MDT

Conference Room II

Revising your work (or critiquing others’) can be overwhelming. Without specific elements to look for, it’s easy to fall back on our “gut feel,” which is hard to articulate and even harder to trust. Learn to evaluate 17 storytelling aspects to edit and strengthen any manuscript, including your own!

Speakers

Kelley Lindberg

Award-Winning Author

Kelley J. P. Lindberg writes award-winning fiction for adults and young adults, with stories appearing in literary magazines such as The Baltimore Review and The Citron Review, anthologies such as RMFW’s Bizarre Bazaar and Pikes Peak Writers’ Journey into Possibility, and in the... Read More →

Saturday September 28, 2024 3:30pm - 4:20pm MDT
Conference Room II

Conference Room II

Topic Workshop
Audience Intermediate
Subject Editing
Area Hybrid

3:30pm MDT

Secondary Characters Need Loving Too

Saturday September 28, 2024 3:30pm - 4:20pm MDT

Conference Room VI

Secondary characters complete a cast needed for depth in a novel. Each character has a role to play, often working with or against the main characters. Do they help, impede or motivate, or are they a lesser player? Discover how to develop their roles and relationships for a fun and dynamic read.

Speakers

Peggy Waide

Bestselling Author

#1 Amazon bestselling author Peggy entered her first book in the Colorado Gold. The editor offered a contract. She has published four romances with Dorchester. Montlake now publishes her books. She is shopping an amateur sleuth and a romantic suspense. She’s also been a trainer... Read More →

Saturday September 28, 2024 3:30pm - 4:20pm MDT
Conference Room VI

Conference Room VI

Topic Workshop
Audience Intermediate
Subject Craft

3:30pm MDT

Do "I" or Don't "I"? Using First Person in Fiction

Saturday September 28, 2024 3:30pm - 5:20pm MDT

Conference Room IV

Dramatic and immediate when it’s done right, excruciating when it’s done poorly, the first person point of view should be a tool in every writer’s toolbox. Some popular genres almost demand it. Learn and practice techniques, pleasures, and pitfalls of writing in first person.

Speakers

Carol Berg

Award-Winning Author

Carol Berg writes epic, mythic, and adventure fantasy novels and short fiction under her own name and her pseudonym, Cate Glass. Her eighteen novels have won national and international awards, including four Colorado Book Awards and the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature... Read More →

Saturday September 28, 2024 3:30pm - 5:20pm MDT
Conference Room IV

Conference Room IV

Topic Workshop
Audience Intermediate
Subject Craft

3:30pm MDT

Let's Rewrite a Famous Scene Together

Saturday September 28, 2024 3:30pm - 5:20pm MDT

Conference Room VII

Learn from your heroes. We go into a meticulous study of a single scene from a famous book, interrogating every decision, every word choice, made by the author. Then we see if we can rewrite it.

Speakers

Oliver Blakemore

Author

Oliver has been writing novels since he was twelve. He’s written fifteen books, and two of them may even be worth reading. He spent four years as a technical writer and six years in brand marketing as a content writer. His credentials include a hard head and nine Honorable Mentions... Read More →

Saturday September 28, 2024 3:30pm - 5:20pm MDT
Conference Room VII

Conference Room VII

Topic Workshop
Audience Intermediate
Subject Craft

4:30pm MDT

Heinlein's Five Rules of Writing

Saturday September 28, 2024 4:30pm - 5:20pm MDT

Conference Room II

A discussion of Robert Heinlein’s famous “Five Rules of Writing.” These pragmatic, practical and practiced directives are for the working author and are the very career-enabling tips that steered a blue collar scribbler to becoming one of the seminal voices of his age. But are they still valid?

Speakers

Johnny Worthen

Award-Winning Author

Johnny Worthen is an award-winning, multiple-genre author of novels and short stories.His best-selling science fiction series Coronam, beginning with Of Kings, Queens & Colonies, then Of Civilized, Saved & Savages and now complete with Of Heroes, Homes & Honey, is an epic tale in... Read More →

Saturday September 28, 2024 4:30pm - 5:20pm MDT
Conference Room II

Conference Room II

Topic Workshop
Audience Intermediate
Subject Craft
Area Hybrid

8:00am MDT

Emotional Intimacy in Fiction -- Your Key to Connecting with Readers

Sunday September 29, 2024 8:00am - 8:50am MDT

Conference Room II

The emotional connection between your characters and the connection your reader forms with your characters make the difference between a story readers merely enjoy to one they can’t forget. In this workshop we’ll explore why emotional intimacy matters and how to build it into your stories.

Speakers

Cindi Myers

Award-Winning Author

Cindi Myers became one of the most popular people in eighth grade when she and a friend wrote and illustrated their first romance novel. It would be another couple of decades before Cindi saw her first novel published, but since then she has published over 100 novels -- historical... Read More →

Sunday September 29, 2024 8:00am - 8:50am MDT
Conference Room II

Conference Room II

Topic Workshop
Audience Intermediate
Subject Craft
Area Hybrid

8:00am MDT

Beyond Romance: Crafting Character Relationships That Win Readers

Sunday September 29, 2024 8:00am - 8:50am MDT

Conference Room IV

This one-hour session will teach the skills to construct dynamic, multi-dimensional connections between characters. We’ll delve into leveraging relationships for plot development, creating suspense, emphasizing the role of dialogue, and establishing connections with readers.

Speakers

Sarah Reichert

Author

Sarah Reichert (S.E. Reichert) is a novelist, poet, blogger, writing mentor, and herder of cats. She’s the Youth Coordinator for the Writing Heights Writers Association. She is also the webmaster for WyoPoets and a member of Wyoming Writers, Inc. Her Sweet Valley Series, a contemporary... Read More →

Sunday September 29, 2024 8:00am - 8:50am MDT
Conference Room IV

Conference Room IV

Topic Workshop
Audience Intermediate
Subject Craft

9:00am MDT

Not Your Mother's Tropes: How to Subvert without Alienating Your Readers

Sunday September 29, 2024 9:00am - 9:50am MDT

Conference Room II

Tropes are the building blocks of literary tradition, but the most exciting works of today are often subversive. Using examples and generative writing exercises, we’ll explore ways to balance reader expectations with innovation, how to make old familiar conventions fresh without alienating readers.

Speakers

Rachel Dempsey

Author

Rachel Dempsey is a writer of horror, mystery and thrillers living in Denver. Her short fiction has been published by Shacklebound Books, Brigids Gate Press, Timber Ghost Press and Twenty Bellows (Pushcart nominated, 2023). She holds a BFA in Drama and English from NYU'S Tisch, a... Read More →

Sunday September 29, 2024 9:00am - 9:50am MDT
Conference Room II

Conference Room II

Topic Workshop
Audience Intermediate
Subject Craft
Area Hybrid

9:00am MDT

Comedy (Seriously.)

Sunday September 29, 2024 9:00am - 9:50am MDT

Conference Room IV

No matter your audience, genre, or format, applying the principles that make comedy writing work can take any project from predictable to un-put-downable! This presentation is geared toward writers of any level of experience, with writing from laugh out loud to deathly dramatic.

Speakers

Christina Allen

Award-Winning Author

Christina Allen (publishing as C.W. Allen) is a Midwestern transplant to rural Utah where she serves as the President-Elect of the League of Utah Writers. She writes long stories for children and short stories for former children. She is also a frequent guest presenter at writing... Read More →

Sunday September 29, 2024 9:00am - 9:50am MDT
Conference Room IV

Conference Room IV

Topic Workshop
Audience Intermediate
Subject Craft, Genre

10:00am MDT

Writing about Trauma Without Triggering the Victim

Sunday September 29, 2024 10:00am - 10:50am MDT

Conference Room II

Reading about violence and sexual assault is difficult for readers. As authors, we hope to draw readers closer to our characters and their pain. But how can we create empathy with our readers without distressing them?In this workshop, we will discuss non-graphic approaches to triggering content.

Speakers

Nanette Gamily

Author

Nanette Gamily’s debut Native American crime fiction novel, CRY FOR THE CHILD, is represented by Josh Getlzer at HG Literary. She’s an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation, a Tin House Finalist, a Regis University MFA graduate, and a guest blogger for Rocky Mountain Fiction... Read More →

Sunday September 29, 2024 10:00am - 10:50am MDT
Conference Room II

Conference Room II

Topic Workshop
Audience Intermediate
Subject Craft, Genre
Area Hybrid