Forces to Be Reckoned With: Crafting Factions

Whether you're writing gritty sci-fi or epic romantasy, pitting factions against each other can yield compelling conflict and intense drama. But how do you come up with believable in-world groups with aligning, competing or mutually exclusive goals? Join Valerie Valdes for a presentation on techniques for creating nuanced alliances and rivalries, including character and worldbuilding strategies to help organically integrate clubs, cliques, and cabals into your narratives.

About the Instructor:

Valerie Valdes is co-editor of the award-winning Escape Pod science fiction podcast, as well as the author of the Chilling Effect trilogy and the forthcoming space fantasy novel Where Peace Is Lost. Her short fiction and poetry have appeared in Uncanny Magazine, Nightmare Magazine and several anthologies. She is a graduate of the Viable Paradise workshop and has taught classes and given lectures for Clarion West and Georgia State University, among others. She has also served as a Municipal Liaison for National Novel Writing Month since 2006. She lives in an elaborate meme palace in Georgia with her husband, children and cats.