Event Schedule

Location: Private Suite, Omni Hotel Nashville
Monday Evening – Friday Morning

Includes 6 Workshops, 2 Guest Speakers Sessions, & 1 Writing Lab (with feedback)

Monday — Welcome & Intention Setting

📍 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM

• Welcome Reception (light snacks & drinks provided)

• Opening Remarks

• Attendee Intros: Share name, genre, and current writing project

• Set Goal for the Week

Tuesday —🕘 9:30 AM – 9:00 PM

• 9:30 – 10:00 AM: Continental Breakfast (muffins, fresh fruit, coffee, & tea provided)

• 10:00 – 11:00 AM: Workshop #1 – Emotional Chords: A Resonance Mapping Workshop

  • Workshop Description:
    Great stories don’t just entertain—they move us. In this workshop, we’ll explore the emotional architecture of your manuscript by mapping where it hits the heart—and where it doesn’t. Using principles of story psychology and pacing, you’ll learn how to align emotional beats with character arcs, theme, and tension to create a story that resonates deeply and lingers long after the final page.

  • Think of emotion like music: it swells, it whispers, and sometimes, it falls silent. We’ll help you visually track the emotional journey of your book to identify your strongest chords—and the flat notes still waiting to sing.

  • Includes:
    ✔ A printable “Emotional Resonance Map” to chart your manuscript’s heartbeat
    ✔ Tools to align emotional pacing with story structure
    ✔ Tips for increasing reader connection through vulnerability, contrast, and tone

  • Perfect for writers who want to fine-tune the emotional power of their story and create moments that stick with readers for life.

• 11:15 – 12:15 PM: Workshop #2 - How to Write a Book That Could Only Be Written By You: Unearthing Your Most Authentic, Marketable Story Through Identity Mapping

  • Workshop Description:
    The most unforgettable stories aren’t just well-written—they’re deeply personal, emotionally resonant, and rooted in something only that author could deliver. In this transformative workshop, we’ll guide you through a process of identity and experience mapping to uncover the themes, questions, and perspectives that define your unique storytelling voice.

  • Through guided prompts and reflection, you’ll chart the connections between your life experiences, values, obsessions, and emotional truths—and translate them into powerful story material that resonates with readers and stands out in the market.

  • Whether you write fantasy, memoir, romance, or thrillers, this session will help you identify the beating heart of your work—and build a concept only you could bring to life.

  • Includes:
    ✔ A printable “Identity-to-Idea” Story Map
    ✔ Targeted prompts to uncover hidden narrative gold
    ✔ Examples of bestselling authors who built careers around personal resonance

  • Perfect for any writer who wants to craft stories with authenticity, emotional impact, and a competitive edge.

🕛 12:30 – 2:00 PM: Lunch Break (on your own or with peers)

• 2:00 – 3:00 PM: Workshop #3: Pitch Perfect

• Workshop Description:
  A great pitch doesn’t just summarize your book—it sells it. In this fast-paced, high-impact workshop, we’ll walk you through the essential elements of a magnetic manuscript pitch that captures voice, stakes, and market appeal in just a few sentences. Whether you're pitching to media, agents, editors, or readers, your pitch is the first impression that shapes everything.

• Together, we’ll map out your story’s core selling points—from genre anchors and character motivation to thematic hooks and emotional payoff—and use that map to build and refine your pitch in real time. You'll leave with a clear, customizable pitch you can use in media inquiries, query letters, live pitches, back cover copy, and beyond.

• Includes:
  ✔ A printable “Pitch Map” template to guide your pitch development
  ✔ Real examples of strong vs. weak pitches—and why they work
  ✔ Live revision techniques to polish tone, clarity, and hook

• 3:30 – 5:00 PM: Writing Time

• 5:00 – 8:00 PM: Dinner Break (on your own or with your peers)

• 8:00 – 9:00 PM: Community & Dessert Provided
  

Wednesday —🕘 9:30 AM – 9:00 PM

• 9:30 – 10:00 AM: Continental Breakfast (muffins, fresh fruit, coffee, & tea provided)

• 10:00 – 11:00 AM: Workshop #4 – The Path Between What Was and What Could Be: Mapping Your Character’s Transformational Journey

  • Workshop Description:
    Every unforgettable story is a journey—from who the character was to who they’re becoming. Whether that path is emotional, physical, or psychological, the most powerful narratives are anchored in transformation. In this workshop, we’ll map the terrain of your character’s arc—the milestones, detours, setbacks, and breakthroughs that shape their internal and external world.

  • Using the language of road trips, rituals, and reinvention, you’ll discover how to chart a journey that feels purposeful and emotionally earned—one that mirrors your theme, raises your stakes, and leaves readers changed right alongside your protagonist.

  • Includes:
    ✔ A printable “Character Journey Map” to track growth, regression, and change
    ✔ Tools for aligning plot with inner transformation
    ✔ Examples of powerful journeys across genres—physical quests, emotional arcs, identity shifts, and more

  • Perfect for writers who want to craft meaningful, character-driven stories that explore what it means to change—and what must be risked to get there.

• 11:15 – 12:15 PM: GUEST SPEAKER: In Conversation with Literary Agent Lauren MacLeod

🕛 12:30 – 2:00 PM: Lunch Break (on your own or with peers)

• 2:00 – 3:00 PM: Workshop #5 – Escalating the Heartbeat of a Story: Mapping Scene-Level Stakes to Shape Pacing and Tension

  • Workshop Description:
    Pacing isn’t just about speed—it’s about rhythm, pressure, and emotional climb. In this workshop, we’ll help you map the stakes of your scenes to identify where your story builds momentum, where it plateaus, and where tension might be falling flat.

  • Using a visual heartbeat model, you’ll chart your manuscript’s rise and fall of risk, urgency, and emotional payoff—scene by scene. By the end, you’ll clearly see how your stakes evolve, where tension spikes (or doesn’t), and how to rebalance the pacing for maximum reader engagement.

  • Includes:
    ✔ A printable “Story Stakes Map” to chart pacing and tension visually
    ✔ Scene-stakes checklist to assess emotional, relational, and plot-driven stakes
    ✔ Tips for creating natural rise-and-fall tension across acts without burnout or drag

  • Perfect for writers who want to master tension, fix pacing problems, and create a compelling story rhythm that keeps readers hooked from first page to last.

• 3:30 – 5:00 PM: Writing Time

• 5:00 – 8:00 PM: Dinner Break (on your own or with your peers)

• 8:00 – 9:00 PM: Community & Dessert Provided
  

Thursday —🕘 9:30 AM – 9:00 PM

• 9:30 – 10:00 AM: Continental Breakfast (muffins, fresh fruit, coffee, & tea provided)

• 10:00 – 12:15 PM: Workshop #6 – The Art of Being Found: Mapping Your Creative Identity Across Platforms and Pitches

  • Workshop Description:
    Your brand isn’t just a tagline—it’s the emotional throughline of everything you create. In this workshop, you’ll identify your core creative brand pillars and learn how to express your authentic voice across pitches, bios, websites, and interviews in a way that feels aligned and true.

  • We’ll introduce a story-first marketing framework that matches your genre, reader promise, and emotional tone—so your platform feels like a natural extension of your work, not a separate performance.

  • You’ll also take a quick “Marketing Personality” quiz to map out the content, schedule, and strategy that works best for you—sustainable, smart, and joy-driven.

  • Includes:
    ✔ A printable “Brand Pillar Map” to define your message, tone, and reader experience
    ✔ A marketing style quiz to help you align strategy with personality
    ✔ Templates for bio blurbs, pitch language, and messaging that grows with your career

  • Perfect for writers who want to market with meaning, clarity, and creative integrity—on and off the page.

🕛 12:30 – 2:00 PM: Lunch Break (on your own or with peers)

• 2:00 – 3:00 PM: Lyrical Writing Lab

• Submit your first page for anonymous feedback from Mary & C.J. 

• 3:30 – 5:00 PM: Writing Time

• 5:00 – 7:30 PM: Dinner Break (on your own or with peers)

• 7:30PM – 9:30 PM: Murder Mystery Party!!! (We’ll send out character cards with costume suggestions & details beforehand!)
  

Friday — Sendoff Session

🕣 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM: GUEST SPEAKER — Jenny Hale, publisher and author