Escape the Plot Forest 2025
Improve your plotting and storytelling techniques inside this supportive writing community. Register now to join us for five days of substantial and detailed craft training -- for writers of all experience levels.
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You love writing. You love telling stories.
But maybe you find finishing stories harder than you would like, or perhaps you feel like your novels seem to wander off track somewhere in the middle.
That's normal! Plot is a challenge for so many writers.
Whether you are still working on your first book, or you're working hard to make the next novel your break-out success, the best way you can improve your craft is by learning new plotting skills from a wide range of authors -- and getting re-inspired.
Escape the Plot Forest is your expert training program, your five-day creative writing "degree."
Each day of the event contains lessons on planning your novel, from building the foundations of the story to adding in complications like genre-specific plot points, amazing scenes, and compelling characters. The summit will close with talks about building a plan for your writing life and reflecting on everything you've learned.
What you'll get from this summit (explained in 108 seconds):
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The Treasure Hunt!
The summit begins on October 18th.
As you complete the steps of the treasure hunt, you’ll win bonus lessons, discounts, and coupon codes.
The challenges to complete each step are straightforward, and if you need help, feel free to ask in the community forum.
"You have been writing your novel for some time. One day, however, you find yourself trapped in a plot forest..."
Your adventure will begin soon.
Register now to be ready when the hunt begins!
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This five-day summit is 100% free to watch live. But you should also look at the paid pass!
This event is designed to be accessible to a wide range of writers. If you watch each session live, as it airs, you can attend completely for free. No catches. However, after 24 hours, each talk will lock for people on the free pass.
Pass buyers, on the other hand, can watch the replays as often and whenever they want.
So having the pass is the best way to attend this substantial, in-depth event, giving you the best possible benefit to your writing craft (because you can refer to the transcripts and watch the sessions you missed).
In addition, pass buyers will receive an assortment of bonuses from speakers, some of which usually sell, on their own, for more than the pass price: mini-courses, pdf guides, discounts, and additional mini-lessons.
Join one of the most supportive and welcoming communities around
These summits are not just great educational experiences. You'll also join a friendly, low-stress community of fellow writers. In these summits, we agree to support one another, to treat each other well, and to collaborate in the creation of fantastic sessions and interviews. The summit operates according to a firm code of conduct, both offering protection to you and offering speakers a welcoming space to deliver their presentations.
You can read the full code of conduct on this site (it is linked to above): part of my job as host is to steer the atmosphere and mood of the event, hour by hour, so that we stay positive, relaxed, and receptive.
In addition, as your host, you'll see me accept prompts from the speakers, reveal a few of my own writing insecurities and fears: rather than standing above the event, dispensing advice from up high, my goal is to ask the questions you want asked, to prompt the speakers to explain their ideas in even more detail. I am working through some of the same issues that you are in my writing, and, as you'll see, I have found creating this event to be very moving and inspiring for my own creative life.
Your Host
I'm Daniel David Wallace, an award-winning writer and teacher. I spent four years of a PhD researching new ways to help writers like you tell a great story.
My stories, reviews, and essays have been published in great magazines like Tampa Review, McSweeney's Internet Tendency, Air Schooner, and my writing won me awards like the Toni Brown scholarship and the Hodges prizes.
But when I sent my first novel to the big publishing houses, it was rejected. This was a tough experience! And so I designed a way of teaching storytelling that the younger me would have wanted to find, the "character-first" approach.
I'm grateful that this approach has resonated with so many people: 12,000 writers read my newsletter each week.
I am so happy to bring back the Escape the Plot Forest summit for its fifth year and I can't wait to get to know you and all the other participants.
Say Hello To Our Speakers
We couldn't be more excited about our lineup. Which talks will you be checking out?
Ready to learn from the best?
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