Reading & Craft Talk: Lilliam Rivera: Worldbuilding in Writing for Young People

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 Dealing in Dreams, The Education of Margot Sanchez, and the forthcoming novels Goldie Vance: The Hotel Whodunit (March 2020) and Never Look Back (Sept 2020). Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Times, and Elle, to name a few. Rivera lives in Los Angeles.