Algonkian Writer Conferences and Novel Workshop Guide to Novel Writing

The primary goal of Algonkian is to provide you with the knowledge it takes to intelligently approach the planning and writing of a first novel. Over the years, we've found that writers who fail to publish all manifest the same self-defeating behaviors. At the opposite pole, writers who succeed also share a few things in common: they understand the market, the art of fiction craft, and just as importantly, their strengths and weaknesses as writers. Also, more often than not, they possess credentials the market is looking for, i.e., they have published short fiction in respected journals, or else their career background provides them with the kind of validity publishers are comfortable with.

If you are tenacious, able to balance heart with mind, and willing to learn, you have a darn good chance of succeeding-because the good news is, agents and editors are starving for new work. Which brings us around to the secondary goal of Algonkian Writer Conferences. The more first-time authors we can get represented by quality agents, and subsequently published, the better it is for us.

By the way, Algonkian method does not support a "feel good" workshop philosophy-it is irrelevant. We all start at ground zero in this business. Algonkian is here to help you understand what will work, and what will not. For an aspiring writer, periods of disappointment are necessary steps leading to productive change. The best antidote is to accept the inevitability, get over it, and move forward.