Each year this conference offers a slew of online and seated workshops, get-togethers, writers’ retreats, and most importantly, support and outreach to writers of all ilk. To my delight, the PennWriters organization along with its online workshops and yearly conference has become a cornerstone in my work as a writer, instructor, and yes, as a writing student, too (do we ever stop learning?).
Pittsburgh Airport Marriott
Pittsburgh, PA
May 16 – 18
Conference Registration
The annual conference brings together writers from all over the region (not just Pennsylvania) with exceptional guest speaker keystone addresses, workshops for all levels, writing contests, and more. This year, I’ll provide the following workshops at the conference:
Friday, May 16th: The Psychology of Tropes – Why Certain Story Elements Resonate
with DJ Stevenson
This workshop delves into the psychological and emotional reasons why certain tropes persist and how writers can use this understanding to create more impactful stories. By the end of the hour, participants will have a basic grasp of the psychological principles underlying common tropes and how to leverage these for emotional resonance. Participants will leave with a framework for analyzing tropes in terms of their emotional appeal, helping them choose and adapt tropes more effectively in their writing.
Saturday, May 17th: Anatomy of a Scene – From Structure to the Dramatic Beat
This intensive workshop dissects the art of crafting powerful scenes, focusing on both overarching structure and minute-by-minute beats. Participants will learn to identify a scene’s essence and deliver it compellingly, while mastering the use of dramatic beats to reveal character, enhance conflict, and drive the story forward. Through lecture, analysis, and hands-on exercises, writers will explore scene components like goals, conflicts, and outcomes, then drill down to the beat level. Practical activities include scene dissection, beat-mapping, and collaborative scene/sequel-scene challenges. Applicable to both prose and screenwriting, this workshop provides a comprehensive toolkit for elevating any scene. Writers will leave with strategies for scene analysis, beat sheets for future use, and techniques to sharpen tension and pacing. By understanding both the macro and micro elements of scene construction, participants will be equipped to transform good scenes into unforgettable ones.
Sunday, May 18th: Master Conflict – The Storytelling Engine
Conflict is the beating heart of every compelling story, vital to all forms of narrative writing. This intensive one-hour workshop explores how conflict drives plot and character development, delving into the five key elements of story structure and six major types of conflict. Participants will engage in hands-on exercises, mapping conflicts in their own stories, creating escalating obstacles, and exploring character reactions to conflicts. Writers will leave with a conflict checklist, techniques for weaving multiple conflict types into a narrative, and strategies for revealing character through conflict. Suitable for all levels and mediums, this workshop equips writers with tools to craft engaging narratives and fully realized characters, elevating their storytelling through the strategic use of conflict.
Pittsburgh Airport Marriott
Pittsburgh, PA
May 16 – 18
Conference Registration
2025 Workshop Schedule
- February: The Idea Factory: A Genre-Hopping Writing Workshop
- April/May: First Draft Forward Screenwriting Workshop
- 2025 Annual PennWriters Conference – Multiple Workshops
- July: From Page to Screen – Crafting Visual Stories
- September: Script Surgery – The Art of Precision Rewriting
- November: The Things They Carry