2024 Colorado Gold Writers Conference: Full Schedule

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.

4:30pm MDT

Using Project Management to Write Your Novel

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

Conference Room I

Learn how to organize your writing life using skills and techniques corporations spend millions on to complete their projects If you can’t finish your novel, don’t know where to start, or you just want to organize your life like a pro, this class was made for you.

Speakers

A. Z. Sultana

Author

A.Z. Sultana has been writing for ten years. She has a bachelor's in marketing and a master's in library science. She has had over 80 paying jobs (not gigs, actual w2 jobs or under the table) which lends her a wealth of experience in many fields as well as a misspent youth. She is... Read More →

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

Conference Room I

Topic Workshop
Audience Beginner
Subject Productivity
Area Hybrid

8:00am MDT

Deeper Reading for Deeper Writing

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

Conference Room III

Consciously or unconsciously meaning is hidden beneath signs and facades in literature, layered in word choice and focus. Authors can achieve deep depths of intent, layer after layer of meaning, to elevate text to literature. Through example we will explore the possibilities.

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 8:00am - 8:50am MDT
Conference Room III

Conference Room III

Topic Workshop
Audience Advanced
Subject Productivity

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

11:00am MDT

Creativity & The Writer's Mind

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

Conference Room I

This class explores how the brain functions and where creativity comes from. Writers in the class will be given methods and tips to re-open their creative minds and foster a lifestyle that gets them into the chair and blooming with ideas.

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 11:00am - 11:50am MDT
Conference Room I

Conference Room I

Topic Workshop
Audience Beginner
Subject Productivity
Area Hybrid

11:00am MDT

Self-Care For Writers

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

Conference Room VIII

It’s hard to write fun words others will enjoy if you’re not having fun as a writer. We’ll clarify what burnout is and what leads to it as well as how you can climb out of it even at your crispiest. We will also create a plan for how to bring more joy and calm to your writing.

Speakers

Amy Armstrong

Author

Amy Armstrong loves to dabble with ideas and occasionally gets a good story out of her dabbles. She loves to read and serves as a volunteer reader for The Masters Review. Amy managed social media for Pikes Peak Writers and received the Volunteer of the Year Award. She often moderates... Read More →

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

Conference Room VIII

Topic Workshop
Audience Everyone
Subject Productivity

1:30pm MDT

80,000 Words in a Day

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

Conference Room V

Write faster, better. Use dictation to smash your word count goals — with a system that’s proven to work.

Speakers

Nick Thacker

Founder, Book Career In a Year

Nick Thacker is the USA Today Bestselling Author of action-adventure thrillers and mysteries, including the Harvey Bennett Thrillers series. Often mentioned as a cross between Clive Cussler and James Rollins, his stories are written in a fast-paced, punchy style. Nick likes to build... Read More →

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

Conference Room V

Topic Workshop
Audience Advanced
Subject Productivity
Area Hybrid

4:30pm MDT

Neurodivergency & The Creative Process

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

Conference Room I

Some of the best creators have ADHD or ASC/D (Autism). But with different brains come different problems — the common writing ‘rules’ sometimes just don’t work! Learn different ways to work more productively and more often, while falling in love with writing all over again – for neurospicy brains.

Speakers

October K Santerelli

Author

October K Santerelli is a local author from Denver, Colorado. He identifies as queer and disabled, and writes characters that share his life experiences. His works are primarily fantasies, ranging from dark to epic and everything in between. His debut novel, City of Day (Nightfall... Read More →

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

Conference Room I

Topic Workshop
Audience Beginner
Subject Productivity
Area Hybrid

8:00am MDT

NaNoWriMo Success and Beyond

Sunday September 29, 2024 8:00am - 9:50am MDT

Conference Room III

Tips and tricks for succeeding at the challenge of NaNoWriMo that can be applied to any other writing deadlines.

Speakers

Veronica R. Calisto

Author

Veronica R. Calisto (she/her) is an alto, a writer of speculative fiction, and a big nerd. One of those rare Colorado natives, she has a degree in Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology and is a two-time American Idol reject. She is the author of several books, including Diary... Read More →

Sunday September 29, 2024 8:00am - 9:50am MDT
Conference Room III

Conference Room VIII

Topic Workshop
Audience Everyone
Subject Productivity

9:00am MDT

Writing with Chronic Illness

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

Conference Room VII

Chronic illness has a way of making us feel like we aren’t doing enough, fast enough. This presentation will examine mental health while writing with chronic illness, as well as ergonomics and self-accommodations to keep you writing more often and for longer amounts of time.

Speakers

October K Santerelli

Author

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

Conference Room VII

Topic Workshop
Audience Everyone
Subject Productivity

10:00am MDT

How to Endure in Your Writing

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

Conference Room I

The art and profession of writing can be a thrilling creative endeavor. It can also break you. What do you do when your writing dreams don’t come true? What do you do when you feel betrayed by your community and your art? This class will explore the real world issues around being a professional writer.

Speakers

Jason Evans

Author

Jason Henry Evans has been an active member in the Colorado Writing community for over ten years. He has published four novels, including his debut, the Gallowglass, which was released in July of 2019 to much acclaim. He has had a dozen short stories published and has taught writing... Read More →

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

Conference Room I

Topic Workshop
Audience Everyone
Subject Productivity
Area Hybrid

10:00am MDT

Techniques and Tools for the Prolific Writer

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

Conference Room IV

If you want to write more, write better —and balance all that with a life outside of writing—this workshop is for you. An author of more than 100 published novels gives you tips, tools, and techniques for increasing productivity, and balancing the demands of writing with the rest of your life.

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 10:00am - 10:50am MDT
Conference Room IV

Conference Room IV

Topic Workshop
Audience Everyone
Subject Productivity