February 24, 2018

Lone Tree Library, 10055 Library Way, Lone Tree, Colorado 80124 (303-791-READ)

 

 

9:30-10:00 am Welcome, Announcements

10:00 am-12:00 pm Laura DiSilverio: “No Pain, No Gain: Increasing Conflict In Your Story”

No story moves without conflict.  No characters change without conflict.  It’s at the heart of any storytelling–romance, mystery, mainstream, fairytales–and yet, many writers shy away from it.  We like our characters too much to make their lives miserable.  That attitude can derail our storytelling.  I define conflict as anything and everything that keeps the viewpoint character(s) from accomplishing his or her goal.  I’ll provide techniques for increasing conflict in every scene and across the scope of the story or novel.  I have a five-step process for doing this: 1) defining the viewpoint character’s goals and needs in each scene, 2) providing internal and/or external opposition to those goals, 3) giving the illusion of progress, 4) surprising with disappointment and setbacks, and 5) working with a “What Could Be Worse?” mindset.   I’ll also discuss how creating characters with conflict inherent in their relationships and goals can get your story off to a fast start and keep the conflict humming through what is often the “sagging middle” of a novel.

12:00-1:00 pm Lunch (brown bag or visit nearby restaurants)

1:00-3:00 pm Mark Pfoff: “The Groomer: The Story of Ronald Stanley and Those Who Brought Him to Justice.”

This real case presentation will explore how criminals are caught by law enforcement by using forensic technology. Due to the sensitive nature of the presentation material (which includes sexual assault), this presentation is intended for mature audiences only.

3:00-4:00 pm Board Meeting (all are welcome, location to be announced at the meeting)

Please feel free to come to either the morning or afternoon session if you cannot attend both.

You may RSVP via email (click red button above) or at our Meetup page: www.meetup.com/Sisters-in-Crime-Colorado.

About the Presenters:

A retired Air Force intelligence officer, Laura DiSilverio is the national bestselling and award-winning author of 21 mystery, suspense and young adult sci-fi novels. Library Journal named her recent book, Close Call, one of the Top Five mysteries of 2016, and The Reckoning Stones (2015) won the Colorado Book Award for Mystery. Incubation, the first book of her young adult dystopian trilogy is an Amazon bestseller. A Past President of Sisters in Crime, she lives in Colorado Springs.

website:  www.lauradisilverio.com
blog:  www.careerauthors.com.
FB: www.facebook.com/lauradisilverio

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Mark Pfoff retired from law enforcement in October of 2014 after a 17 year career; the last 10 as a Detective with the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office in Colorado Springs, Colorado specializing in computer related crimes and computer forensics. Prior to
going into Law Enforcement full time in 2003 he was a computer engineer for 22 years.

During his career, he has examined thousands of items of digital evidence to include hard drives, cellular telephones, tablets, flash drives, memory sticks, DVDs, and CDs. His knowledge of technology has been utilized in many major criminal investigations to include financial crimes, kidnappings, robberies, sex assaults and homicides.

Mark has been qualified in court as an expert in computer forensics, cell phone forensics, cell phone technology, computer surveillance systems, police procedures, investigations and child exploitation. He has testified numerous times in both State and Federal court on a wide range of criminal cases to include child exploitation, sex assaults, burglaries and homicides.

He is currently a consultant with Rocky Mountain Computer Forensics working on both criminal and civil cases.

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Please RSVP above. This event is funded and presented by Sisters in Crime-Colorado and is not sponsored by Douglas County Libraries. To request more information, please use our contact form.