The Writer Symposium offers more than 80 in-person panels during GenCon, most of them free to registered convention attendees. We cover a wide variety of topics relating to writing, including craft and business. To register for our events, please go to GenCon’s Event Registration Page. This year’s panels are:
2022 Panels
| Atlanta | Austin/Boston | Ballroom 1 | Ballroom 4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday | ||||
| 09:00 AM | SETUP | |||
| 10:00 AM | Inclusive Language: From ableist language to triggering phrases, what are some problematic language choices? Tanya DePass, E.D.E. Bell | Marketable genres: Nick Martell | Plot It Out: How do you plot out your novel, anyway? Howard Andrew Jones, Jerry Gordon, Bryan Young, David Mack, Steve Diamond (M) | |
| 11:00 AM | The Full-time Myth: Does every writer really want to do this full-time? Jennifer Brozek, Erik de Bie, Jason Sanford, C. S. E. Cooney, Jerry Gordon | Repulsive Appeal: How do we make horror appealing? Maurice Broaddus, Byron Leavitt, Jason Ray Carney, Steve Diamond, S.E. Lindberg (M) | ||
| 12:00 PM | ||||
| 01:00 PM | Pay Rates: How much should you get? Chris A. Jackson, Erik de Bie, Steve Diamond, Chris Bell (M) | Writing Tools: Tools to help organize your writing Katherine Monasterio, Marie Bilodeau, Jason Sanford, Howard Andrew Jones, LaShawn Wanak (M) | Shared Worlds: working with other people within an IP. James Lowder, Jaym Gates, Aaron Rosenberg, Lucien Soulban, R.A. Salvatore | Blurbs: What is a good blurb, where does it go, and how do you get one? Gini Koch, C. S. E. Cooney |
| 02:00 PM | Rated R: Writing Sex Scenes. Jennifer Brozek, Gini Koch, Chris A. Jackson | Tricky Titles: Sometimes, the title is the hardest part: Donald J. Bingle, Carlos Hernandez, C. S. E. Cooney, Nick Martell, Chris Bell (M) | So You Want to Write: Find out how our authors each got started, and what they recommend to new writers: Toiya Kristen Finley, Gregory A. Wilson, Jerry Gordon, Howard Andrew Jones, Steve Diamond, R.A. Salvatore | Maps: the plusses and minuses to having them in your book. Paul Weimer, Patrick S. Tomlinson |
| 03:00 PM | Finding Novels a Home: Jason Sanford | Author Horror Stories: hear about some of our worst writing/publishing experiences. Toiya Kristen Finley, Mary Fan, David Mack | POV Pandemonium: How many points of view does your story really need? Katherine Monasterio, Richard Byers, Gini Koch, Erin M. Evans, Bryan Young | |
| 04:00 PM | Editing Others: Jaym Gates, LaShawn Wanak, Toiya Kristen Finley, Christopher Morgan (M) | Diversifying Existing Genres: How to incorporate inclusiveness in the old sandboxes. Mary Fan | What to Do for a New Release: Erin M. Evans, C. S. E. Cooney, Carlos Hernandez, Chris Bell (M) | Trouble . . . or paradise: Dystopia vs. utopia, which is better/more fun to write and why? Gini Koch, Erik de Bie, Nick Martell |
| 05:00 PM | Objectivity in Reviewing: Being a Friend, Fan and a Fair Reviewer: Paul Weimer, Brandon O'Brien, Katherine Monasterio | Empathy for your Other: Gini Koch, Chris A. Jackson, Richard Byers, John Wiswell | Blank Page Blues: Tips and tricks for getting past that dreaded blank first page Jennifer Brozek, Bryan Young, Toiya Kristen Finley, Jerry Gordon, David Mack | Working with Publishers: What should you know and what can you do to improve the process? James Lowder, Maurice Broaddus, Nick Martell |
| Friday | ||||
| 10:00 AM | Describing the Iceberg: How much detail is too much, and does it vary? Bryan Young, Gregory A. Wilson, Ali Fisher, Christopher Morgan (M) | Back to Pulp: Jaym Gates, Richard Byers: Howard Andrew Jones; Jason Ray Carney, S.E. Lindberg (M) | Anthologies: How to write for them, how to find them . . . and how to put them together James Lowder, Tanya DePass, Maurice Broaddus, Jerry Gordon, Steve Diamond (M) | Course Corrections: Matt Forbeck, Chris A. Jackson, Aaron Rosenberg |
| 11:00 AM | Tie-in Fiction: Matt Forbeck, Richard Byers, Lucien Soulban, Steve Diamond, R.A. Salvatore | Picking Your Path as a Creator: Gini Koch, Gregory A. Wilson, Marie Bilodeau | Spit and Polish: Once you finish your manuscript, what's next? Jennifer Brozek, LaShawn Wanak, Katherine Monasterio, Patrick S Tomlinson, Howard Andrew Jones | Queernorm Worlds: Writing and imagining worlds where queerness is the default: E.D.E. Bell, Brandon O'Brien |
| 12:00 PM | ||||
| 01:00 PM | Contract Woes: James Lowder, Jaym Gates, Marie Bilodeau, Steve Diamond, Chris Bell (M) | And . . . action! Writing action scenes, and how that doesn't have to mean combat. Mary Fan, Jerry Gordon, Howard Andrew Jones | Who cares, it's magic! Chris A. Jackson, Erin M. Evans, David Mack, Paul Weimer | Getting past Diversity 101 in writing: Carlos Hernandez, LaShawn M. Wanak, Tanya DePass (M) |
| 02:00 PM | Business vs Art: Which one is writing? Or is it both? How do you balance them? Jaym Gates, Gregory A. Wilson, Marie Bilodeau, Brandon O'Brien, Christopher Morgan (M) | My Book Has a Soundtrack: Toiya Kristen Finley, Gini Koch, David Mack | Gamifying Stories and Storifying Games: Jennifer Brozek, Byron Leavitt, Matt John, Lucien Soulban, S.E. Lindberg (M) | Tax Time: Nick Martell, Chris Bell, Steve Diamond |
| 03:00 PM | Writing in Famous Worlds: Bryan Young, Richard Byers, Erin M. Evans, Christopher Morgan (M) | Trope or Nope? Is it ever okay to use a trope? When, why, and how? Chris A. Jackson, Erik de Bie, Carlos Hernandez | Creative Resumes: How to turn your creative talents into corporate ones Jaym Gates, LaShawn M. Wanak, Aaron Rosenberg, Jerry Gordon, Lucien Soulban | Rewriting Inequalities: how (and when) to make your historical fantasy setting more diverse and inclusive Tanya DePass, Mary Fan |
| 04:00 PM | Finding Short Stories a Home: LaShawn Wanak, John Wiswell, Jason Sanford | Writing in 3D: How to make sure your scenes have a feeling of physical space Jennifer Brozek, Gini Koch, Erin M. Evans, Patrick S. Tomlinson | Sword & Sorcery Renaissance: Jaym Gates, Howard Andrew Jones, Matt John; Jason Ray Carney, Paul Weimer, S.E. Lindberg (M) | Your First Kickstarter: Lessons learned from Kickstarting your first book or game: Matt Forbeck, Chris Bell, Sandra Tayler, Tanya DePass (M) |
| 05:00 PM | Self-Publishing 101: Dos and don'ts as you set out to self-pub your book. Chris A. Jackson, Marie Bilodeau, Chris Bell (M) | Hang with Authors: A chance to hang out and ask what YOU want to ask. Bryan Young, Matt Forbeck, David Mack | Landing Your Character Arcs: Katherine Monasterio, Erin M. Evans, Gregory A. Wilson, Bryan Young, Nick Martell | Trunk Novels: Erik de Bie, Patrick S. Tomlinson |
| Saturday | ||||
| 10:00 AM | Q&A with R.A. Salvatore | |||
| 11:00 AM | Local Flavor: How to write believable locations, both real and fictitious Donald J. Bingle, Chris A. Jackson, Erin M. Evans, Jerry Gordon, R.A. Salvatore | Social Media Basics for Writers: Gregory A. Wilson, Patrick S. Tomlinson, Jenifer Rosenberg, Marie Bilodeau | From Fiction to . . .: Writing in other industries: Jaym Gates, Matt Forbeck, Toiya Kristen Finley, Lucien Soulban | Supplemental Materials: when does a book need a glossary, cast list, world guide, etc.? Paul Weimer, C. S. E. Cooney, Nick Martell |
| 12:00 PM | ||||
| 01:00 PM | When One Book Becomes Many: Patrick S. Tomlinson, Jennifer Brozek, Marie Bilodeau | Submitting Your Work: Bye-bye, SASE! Modern methods of submitting work, the good and the bad. Howard Andrew Jones, Jason Sanford, Carlos Hernandez, Steve Diamond | Gamifying Stories and Storifying Games II: Toiya Kristen Finley, James Lowder, Matt Forbeck | |
| 02:00 PM | Quiet Fantasy: What are the stakes in a low-violence story? Brandon O'Brien, Gini Koch, Karen Bovenmyer | Game Writing Tropes You Can Use in Your Prose: Toiya Kristen Finley, Matt Forbeck, Gregory A. Wilson, Lucien Soulban | Working with Editors: What should you know and what can you do to improve the process? LaShawn Wanak, Katherine Monasterio, David Mack, Patrick S. Tomlinson | |
| 03:00 PM | NFTs and the future of fiction. Can writers benefit from trying to introduce NFTs into their fiction writing? Gini Koch, Lucien Soulban, Jason Sanford, Chris Bell (M) | Ghost Writing, Pros and Cons: Donald J. Bingle, Aaron Rosenberg, Marie Bilodeau | Know Thy Weapons: Richard Byers, Chris A. Jackson, Patrick S. Tomlinson | |
| 04:00 PM | Imagining Alternate Futures: How to extrapolate a future for your setting Gini Koch, Donald J. Bingle, Paul Weimer, Jason Sanford | Freelancing, Hustles, and Side Gigs: Toiya Kristen Finley, Katherine Monasterio, Marie Bilodeau | ||
| 05:00 PM | Continuing a Legacy: Christopher Morgan, Aaron Rosenberg, Ali Fisher | Defining Traits: How to distinguish one character from another without overdoing it: Jennifer Brozek, Erin M. Evans, Jason Sanford, David Mack | Using Afrofuturism to Create Real World Change: How local writers are applying their art to real-life worldbuilding: Tanya DePass, Maurice Broaddus, Corey Ewing, Januarie York, Tatjana Rebelle | Sword & Sorcery Pastiche: Howard Andrew Jones; Matt John, S.E. Lindberg (M) |