Joel Armstrong is content editor and product developer at Our Daily Bread Publishing. His science fiction and fantasy stories have appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction, Daily Science Fiction, and NewMyths.com, and he’s published poetry in Nature and Sufi. Find out more at joeljarmstrong.com or on Instagram @joelarmstrongwrites.
Workshop Title: The Otherworldy Challenges of Editing Speculative Fiction
In this session, learn how to be the best kind of early reader for your speculative fiction author by asking the right questions about their worldbuilding, character and plot development, and social-cultural messaging. We’ll cover the unique aspects of the genre, how to keep your author’s world logical and user-friendly, and how to edit the real-world implications of the book’s social-cultural messaging.
Workshop Title: Editing to Maximize Suspense in Fiction
Whether a book promises a page-turning whodunit, a hate-to-love romance, or a well-timed comedic gag, narrative suspense is a key element of meeting the reader’s needs. In this session, learn how to define narrative suspense, identify different types of suspense, and edit a manuscript to maximize suspense through characterization, pacing, and story structure. Case studies in romantic comedy, mystery, and fantasy will demonstrate how suspense operates differently in different genres.