Audiences around the world praise the South Korean television thriller, "Squid Game," as an absolute must-see. But what makes it so engaging? Among many elements, writer and director Hwang Dong-hyuk is a master of crucibles and tension, which are essential for compelling story and propulsive plot. This session methodically breaks down these craft elements in Season 1 for use in your own writing, no matter your genre.

Based on the bestselling video games, "The Last of Us" is an international phenomenon. But the hype is for more than a bunch of zombie mushroom people. This session looks at the exquisite balancing act of Season 1, including how the writing maintains equilibrium in mood, tone, and multiple characters. These are essential craft elements for writers of all genres to keep readers engaged without causing them exhaustion.

Throughout history, the written word has changed minds and soothed hearts in times of upheaval. But many writers feel lost or overwhelmed with possibility when tackling social justice issues in their stories. This session looks at some steps to help pinpoint the social justice focuses in your work, how to portray them on the page, and how to make them part of your character’s lives in effective ways for your reader.

Disney villains, disaster lesbians, and hot trans messes, oh my! In this session, we’ll look at how to write queer characters who are...less than pure and innocent. This includes “good” messy queers, “bad” messy queers, stereotypes, redemption, interiority, productive discomfort, the act of nudging, empathetic antagonism, and mainstream media representations. This is one of my most popular sessions and packs a lot!

Between elections, pandemics, police brutality, climate change, and a host of other difficult situations, I receive this question often: Why bother? What’s the point of being artistic during troubled times? This session looks at science-backed studies, logic-based stances, and perspective from writers who've been through difficulty.

When writing outside of their lane, writers often voice the same two concerns: accidentally hurting the community in question and ruining their careers. This session is one of my most popular, looking at the 3 main steps of due diligence, how to avoid backlash, how to not take up marginalized space, examples of outside writing done incorrectly, and one example of such writing done well to the point of praise.