For all the details click here.
Join us Saturday, April 11, 2026,
for an all-day conference featuring
AMANDA ARISTA
Amanda will be presenting three workshops, two short and one long:
The WRITE Stuff: Tools for prewriting through editing to the right words (@ 4 hours)
Most writers have had that moment when they realize they made a left in their manuscript ages ago and might have to chunk thousands of words and precious hours. But what if there was a way to help your brain build a train-track before the story really got chugging.
Amanda will teach you focusing tools from pre-writing all the way to editing to make sure that your words are all chugging in the same direction. Using brain patterns and tested methods, she will help you get the right words on the page and them polish them up.
* * * * *
Why These Monkeys: Strengthening Heroines and Villains in Women’s Fiction (1-2 hours)
Readers want real, bruised women who shake it off and get back up. They want situations that are tough but relatable. Readers want stumbling, but the grace to keep on walking. It is a balancing act between traumatized and unscathed, between faking it and making it.
During this workshop, Amanda will walk you through her tried and true tips to help amp up the heroine’s character arc, create a logical character wound, and help define the meatier areas to explore in woman’s fiction heroines. To oppose that, she will take you through the strengths your antagonist will need to have and how to create sympathy in both.
and
Down and Dirty Character Development (@ 1 hour)
Why spend months developing a character only to find that it's the wrong character for the story you want to tell? Using this boiled-down amalgamation of three top screenwriting teachers, Amanda will show you how to create a character that will leap off the page with their own backstory, voice, and deep connection to the story you want to tell.
