Compose Creative Writing Conference 2024

Compose Creative Writing Conference 2024

Connect and create with practicing writers and publishers at Clackamas Community College's annual Compose Creative Writing Conference!

By Isaiah Lee

Date and time

Saturday, May 18 · 10am - 3pm PDT

Location

Roger Rook Hall

19600 Molalla Avenue Oregon City, OR 97045

Refund Policy

Contact the organizer to request a refund.

Agenda

10:00 AM - 10:50 AM

Keynote: Diary of a Misfit

Casey Parks

Casey Parks opens Compose 2024 with a keynote on the writing process and development behind her story, Diary of a Misfit: A Memoir and a Mystery.

11:00 AM - 12:15 PM

Creating Compelling Characters for the Stage

Sara Jean Accuardi

At the heart of every interesting play is an interesting character– but what makes a character interesting? How do we create characters that connect with an audience? Playwright Sara Jean Accuardi wi...

11:00 AM - 12:15 PM

Helling It Slant

Eric Tran

In this generative workshop, writers will read, discuss and write poetry based on mis-heard bits of gossip, English as Second Language, double entendres, and other methods of transforming and transgr...

11:00 AM - 12:15 PM

Making the Invisible Visible

Lauren Kessler

Our buried backstories, the wounds no one sees, the hidden worlds in our midst—as writers in all genres, we can, we SHOULD explore this rich territory. Join this workshop, both generative and instruc...

11:00 AM - 12:15 PM

Pitching Your Graphic Novel, Selling Your Story

Terry Blas

Blas will guide participants through the process of creating a pitch for a graphic novel idea and share how knowing what your story is really about will help your idea be understood and make your pit...

1:30 PM - 2:45 PM

Avoiding Infodump in Speculative Fiction

Joe Pitkin

Infodump is a major occupational hazard in fiction—especially for writers of fantasy and SF. After all your worldbuilding, all your hard-SF research, how do you introduce backstory or technical detai...

1:30 PM - 2:45 PM

Crafting a Cozy Mystery

Paula Charles

In this workshop, cozy mystery author Paula Charles will guide participants through creating characters and setting, as well as choosing a weapon and victim. Expect idea sparks and some writing time.

1:30 PM - 2:45 PM

Writing the Magical, Writing the Real: On Making Magical Stories Believable

Emme Lund

A caterpillar dissolves until it is entirely liquid and then puts itself back together as a butterfly. If we could talk to trees, tap into their roots and fungal networks, what would they say? A fair...

1:30 AM - 2:45 PM

Writing: Aggregating the Raw Material

Emmett Wheatfall

To write skillfully, writers must have the essentials necessary to write. This workshop titled, ‘Writing: Aggregating the Raw Material’ will not cover what is obviously needed in order write (e.g. pe...

1:30 PM - 2:45 PM

VIRTUAL: the things themselves

Daniela Molnar

“The most sensuous poets are the ones I trust the most,” says the poet Jorie Graham, citing the way that a word like “justice” can mean a thousand things to a thousand people while a word like “salt”...

11:00 AM - 12:15 PM

VIRTUAL: How Description Builds Story

Lydia Kiesling

What does descriptive writing do? There’s an idea that description is "only" for painting a picture in the reader’s mind. But what does that picture look like? What is its atmosphere and mood? In thi...

About this event

  • 5 hours

This year's Compose conference will feature keynote speaker Casey Parks and offer workshops on a variety of writing topics from crafting cozy mysteries to graphic novels and speculative science fiction.

Pre-Order Books Here.

Admission: $25 General / $10 for Students.

Keynote: Casey Parks, award-winning journalist and author of Diary of a Misfit: A Memoir and a Mystery, opens the conference at 10:00am.

Location: Most workshops will be held in-person in the Roger Rook building on the Clackamas Community College Oregon City campus. The keynote address and select workshops will be available to attend virtually via Zoom.

Workshops: After the keynote address, participants can choose between five morning sessions and five afternoon sessions covering topics including poetry, mystery fiction, science fiction, graphic novels, playwriting, and composition.

Tickets

Frequently asked questions

I have a question!

Please reach out to Isaiah Lee, isaiah.lee@clackamas.edu, with any questions about the event.

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Organized by

Isaiah Lee