Thursday, July 30, 6 – 7 p.m. EST

This craft talk will focus on techniques in worldbuilding in young adult fiction, whether writing a contemporary story set in a small town or an intergalactic story set in Mars. How do you create a world that rings true without falling in to the common missteps of info-dumping and adding confusion to readers? The craft talk will explore the use of world bibles, generating focused content, and utilizing all senses in descriptions. The talk will also analyze excerpts from young adult novels (contemporary, fantasy, science fiction) and critique the various techniques used. Students will leave with tips in creating setting that forges a realistic connection with readers.

Lilliam Rivera is an award-winning writer and author of the young adult novels Negosye ak rèv, Edikasyon Margot Sanchez, and the forthcoming novels Goldie Vance: The Hotel Whodunit (March 2020) and Pa janm gade dèyè (Sept 2020). Her work has appeared in Jounal Washington Post, Nouvèl Èdikay, ak Li, to name a few. Rivera lives in Los Angeles.