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Book Pipeline

Book Pipeline connects writers to publishers, agents, and the film industry through competitions and workshops, providing hands-on support to bridge the gap between emerging authors and the industry since 2014.

Script Pipeline

Script Pipeline connects writers with producers, agents, and managers, facilitating over $8 million in sales through competitions and ongoing industry support, helping launch major films and secure high-profile representation since 1999.

Film Pipeline

Film Pipeline connects filmmakers and writers with agencies and executives, focusing on diverse storytelling and playing an active role in developing and promoting projects, reviewing thousands of submissions annually since its launch in 2018.

Raising Emotional Impact by Maximizing Characters and Plot

Recorded

August 20, 2025

Duration

2 Hours

Cost

$35.00

Subject

Publishing

Topic

Craft

Your story may be full of twists, turns, and action-packed adventure. But the truth is, even in the most plot-driven blockbusters and the most traditional mystery, readers and watchers want to follow a character on an arc. Without that internal arc adding emotional resonance, even the most tightly plotted story can become confusing and forgettable.

In this session, Karen Krumpak will discuss the ways plot affects character and vice versa, making the most of your opening scenes to set up later growth, and enhancing your story by adding a character arc at any stage of the writing process.

In addition to writers looking to add affecting character moments to plot-based stories without bogging down the pace, this presentation will also be useful to writers looking to create as much emotional impact as possible while clearly and concisely detailing their plot in a synopsis.

This presentation will cover:

  • Why an internal character arc is essential
  • Unique characters vs. a character arc
  • Understanding how your character changes (or doesn’t)
  • Outlining simplified: a bare bones approach to the internal arc
  • Integrating the internal arc with the external, plot-based arc
  • Adding internal arcs as B plots and C plots
  • Examples of stories that seem to lack a character arc
  • Incorporating the internal arc into the synopsis and query letter
  • Q&A

What attendees have said ...

Karen presented detailed content and good demonstrative examples of concepts presented. Liked the brief pauses to think about my own characters arc in context of concepts presented. Appreciated the recording as it is difficult to listen to presenter to absorb info and take notes at same time.

The simple exercises we were given gave me a completely different way to arrive at who my character was, based on her imperfect environment and how she navigates it. I had a huge AHA moment, and I can't wait to start writing!

Host

Karen Krumpak
Karen Krumpak (she/her) has been helping writers create their best work for over a decade. A former editor with Writer’s Digest magazine and WD books, she now provides editorial services to publishers and independent authors of speculative fiction, YA and middle grade fiction, literary nonfiction, and more. Her goal is to support writers as they […]

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Directing Actors: Practical Tools for Writers and Emerging Directors 

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Improve your writing with deeper insights into the filmmaking process. Directing actors is often viewed as something that happens only after a script is finished and production begins—but understanding the actor process can dramatically improve storytelling long before cameras roll. In this educational session, writer and director Anthony DiBlasi breaks down the fundamentals of working with actors in a way that is accessible to writers, emerging directors, and storytellers at any stage of their career.

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