Writers’ Corner: Classes, Conferences and Contests

March 2011 – Scene CPR: Breathing Life Into Ailing Scenes With Scene Goals, Disasters & Sequels
Presented by Laurin Wittig
Dates: 4 – 31
Deadline: Mar 2
Fee: $16
FMI: http://lowcountryrwa.com/online-workshops/

Course Description:
Revision is where you get the opportunity to craft the story you’ve worked long and hard to draft, but do you know where to start?

• Do you need help with Pacing?
• Do you need help with Characterization?
• Do you need help with Conflict?
• Do you waver over whose Point of View a scene should be in?
• How can you avoid head hopping yet reveal a non-point of view character’s reaction?
• How can you reveal emotion and move your plot forward all in the same scene?
• How can you weave in motivation without slowing down the action of your story?

Laurin Wittig will show you a simple but powerful way to turn your ailing scene into a robust part of your story with scene goals and disasters.

She will also teach you the power of the four stage sequel and how to combine it with your scenes to create a story that keeps your readers turning the pages long into the night.

If you’ve ever written a scene only to have it lie gasping for breath on the page, Scene CPR is just what you need.

Instructor Bio:
Laurin Wittig, award winning, multi-published author of Scottish historical romance novels, has 20+ years of experience in the writing business as an author, a critiquer, and a teacher of creative writing. Laurin has recently republished her backlist books digitally. She also provides professional critiques for both published and aspiring authors through Between the Lines Critiques.

Laurin can be found on-line at LaurinWittig.com, BTLCritiques.com, @LaurinWittig on Twitter, and on Facebook.

You can register for the following on-line class through March 2. Each class is $16.
FMI: http://lowcountryrwa.com/online-workshops/#MAR

March 2011 – How To Design And Teach An Online Workshop, Two Weeks
Presented by Catherine Chant
Dates: 6 – 18
Deadline: Mar 2
Fee: $16
FMI: http://lowcountryrwa.com/online-workshops/

Course Description:
This two-week workshop begins with an overview of why you would want to create and teach an online workshop, and covers these topics:

• Developing a workshop topic
• Identifying your audience
• Designing a lesson plan
• Interacting with your students
• Designing exercises for your students
• Your workshop proposal
• Technical aspects of online teaching (e.g. Yahoogroups)

At the end of this workshop you will have a basic outline of your course and the first draft of a proposal ready to polish and send out to workshop coordinators.

Instructor Bio:
Catherine Chant is a PRO member of the Romance Writers of America (RWA), and a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). Her short fiction and non-fiction work has appeared in RWA newsletters, CharacterS, SchoolArts, MetroKids, Twilight Times, Apollos Lyre, Crochet World, GardenGuides.com and Overstock.com. Her young adult time travel romance WISHING YOU WERE HERE was a finalist in the 2008 Golden Heart® awards. She is currently working a new young adult novel, writing how-to articles for Demand Studios, and offering knitting/crochet advice and instruction at creativemindandhands.com.

A graduate of Boston College, Catherine worked for fifteen years at her alma mater as a computing & communications consultant. She now provides freelance web editing and design services to other writers and clients such as BC’s Lynch School of Education. While working at BC, she designed and gave many training courses on technology subjects. Since joining RWA in 2003, she has served four years as the Workshops chairperson (or co-chair) for FTHRW, an online chapter that offers 12 workshops a year to their 300+ members as well as non-member registrants. Catherine has also been giving her own workshop, MSWord for Writers, to RWA chapters several times a year since 2006 and began giving a new workshop “Principles of Good Website Design for Writer” in 2010.

You can find out more about Catherine at her website: http://www.catherinechant.com

You can register for the following on-line class through March 2. Each class is $16.
FMI: http://lowcountryrwa.com/online-workshops/#MAR

March 2011 – Before You Hit Send: Self-Editing for Published and Unpublished Authors
Presented by Angela James
Dates: 4 – 31
Deadline: Mar 2
Fee: $16
FMI: http://lowcountryrwa.com/online-workshops/

***Limited to 20 Students***

Course Description:
Join Angela James for a three week workshop as she shares some of the common pitfalls she’s seen in submissions and contest entries. This workshop is limited to the first 20 students. Instructions for joining Angela’s exclusive workshop will be sent prior to class start.

She’ll give you:
• Ideas, Tips and Tricks for Polishing and Self-Editing Your Manuscript

Discuss things such as:
• Dialogue Tags
• Whether all forms of “to be” are really evil and
• Just what you’re doing to your life expectancy with your use of that exclamation point

The course, updated and enhanced from its 2010 version, will guide you from the basics of self-editing and grammar in a clear, conversational manner with examples, to more advanced topics such as show versus tell and passive voice.

Through it all, Angela will be available for clarification and questions in order to help you on your way to a cleaned-up manuscript and understanding the basics of editing your manuscript.

Instructor Bio:
Executive editor of Carina Press, Harlequin’s digital-first imprint, and veteran of the digital publishing industry, Angela James is a well-known advocate for digital publishing. James has enjoyed a long and varied career in digital publishing, including launching and serving as executive editor for Samhain Publishing. James frequently travels to regional, national and international writing conferences to meet with authors and readers, and present workshops on digital publishing for both authors and readers of all genres of fiction.

You can read more about Angela at her website: www.nicemommy-evileditor.com

You can register for the following on-line class through March 2. Each class is $16.
FMI: http://lowcountryrwa.com/online-workshops/#MAR

March 2011 – Writing for Category
Presented by Nina Bruhns
Dates: 7 – 18
Deadline: Mar 5
Fee: $16
FMI: http://lowcountryrwa.com/online-workshops/

Course Description:
To successfully write category romance takes a special set of skills. Those who do it well make it look deceptively easy. But in fact, it is not. There are very specific guidelines, and a language all its own. Those who don’t understand the basics of the genre can find themselves frustrated by rejections, often for manuscripts with no discernible flaws. What gives? Is there a secret Harlequin handshake, or what?

Join award-winning author Nina Bruhns as she reveals the keys to writing for category romance.

Instructor Bio:
Longtime organizer of the LRWA Beach Retreat events, bestselling romantic thriller writer Nina Bruhns has published over twenty-five novels to date, of which nearly two million copies have been sold, and been translated into a half dozen languages. Best known for her vivid settings, unique characters, and page-turning plot twists, Nina writes romantic thrillers for Berkley Publishing (Penguin/Putnam), and romantic suspense as well as paranormal romance for Silhouette Books. She also pens erotic romance for Berkley Heat under the pseudonym Nikita Black.

Ms. Bruhns is the recipient of numerous awards for her books, including three prestigious Daphne du Maurier Awards of Excellence for Overall Best Mystery/Suspense Novel of the Year, five Dorothy Parker Awards, and a National Readers Choice Award, along with two Rita nominations, just to name a few.

Read more about Nina at her website: http://www.ninabruhns.com/

You can register for the following on-line class through March 5. Each class is $16.
FMI: http://lowcountryrwa.com/online-workshops/#MAR

March 2011 – The Art of the Eight-Second Pitch
Presented by Jeannie Eddy
Dates: 4 – 31
Deadline: Mar 2
Fee: $16
FMI: http://lowcountryrwa.com/online-workshops/

Course Description:
Writers today need to be able to overcome the economic obstacles to sell their books and themselves with fast and compelling pitches.
1990s entrepreneurs called the short “ads” elevator pitches, able to be presented during an elevator ride – which might be the only time you can get with the agent or editor of your dreams. Every writer needs one and that’s what this class is for. I’ll help you develop and hone your pitch so when someone says, “what do you write?” you can catch their interest with the right words and ideas.

Instructor Bio:
Jeannie Eddy is a writer and freelance editor (book doctor) who has worked with many small presses and writers to help hone manuscripts into saleable books. She donates a read of a partial every year for the Brenda Novak Diabetes Auction (in May), and spends her spare time editing court transcripts and grading English papers. She also coordinates pitch sessions at many national and regional conferences.

You can register for the following on-line class through March 2. Each class is $16.
FMI: http://lowcountryrwa.com/online-workshops/#MAR

PITCH LIKE A PRO FOR WRITERS (includes Editor pitch session)
INSTRUCTOR: Kerri Nelson
WHEN: Mar. 1 to Mar. 29
WORKSHOP:
Want to practice your pitch for an upcoming pitch session to an agent or editor? Need help refining your pitch to include in a query letter? Well, practice makes perfect!
Sign on for this handy four week pitch practice workshop, taught by multi-published romantic suspense author, Kerri Nelson.
*During class you’ll get to practice pitches for up to 2 different novels AND at the end of class you’ll have the opportunity to pitch before a real acquiring EDITOR from a major publisher!*
Over the past five years, Kerri has pitched more than thirty different books in every imaginable genre (from erotica to young adult) to multiple agents and editors with a tremendous success rate for follow-up requests for both partial and full manuscripts. She has sold fourteen novels and novellas in the last eighteen months after perfecting her pitch process!
In this intensive interactive course, Kerri offers up the secrets to nailing your pitch, how to score a home run with editors, and how not to stop short of getting the results you want!
Start the year off right with the book contract you’ve been waiting for!
Students from prior classes have sold 3 book deals to Sourcebooks, been offered representation by agents, and many other successes after perfecting their pitch with me.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
Kerri Nelson has always been passionate about reading books but when she wrote her first poem in the second grade, she discovered her love of writing. At the age of sixteen, she became a columnist for her local newspaper as the high school correspondent for the weekly “Panther Tales” column. She won the Outstanding Young Journalist of the Year Award for her efforts.
After an education and career in the legal field, Kerri began to pen romantic suspense novels with a legal or law enforcement theme. She currently lives in the sunny south with her romance inspiring husband and her adorable children. When she’s not reading or writing, you’ll find her baking homemade goodies for her family. Kerri is an active member of Romance Writers of America, Hearts Through History Romance Writers, Celtic Hearts Romance Writers, and Futuristic Fantasy & Paranormal Romance Writers.
In addition, Kerri has been contracted to publish fourteen books with six different publishers in multiple genres. She continues to pitch both live and online to agents and editors on a monthly basis and has received requests for nearly one hundred percent of her pitches! Check out her website at: www.kerrinelson.com

REGISTRATION INFORMATION:
Cost for the workshop is $15 for NEORWA members, $20 for all others. You do not have to be an RWA member to take our workshops!
REGISTRATION CUT-OFF IS THE DAY BEFORE THE WORKSHOP STARTS. Once registered, you will be subscribed to the workshop loop prior to and for the duration of the class.
For more information, please email Cathy Matuszak If you are using a web email and the link doesn’t work for you, send the email to neorwaonline “at” gmail “dot” com. Or visit our website at www.neorwa.com and click on the link for Online Workshops.

Elements of RWA Online Workshops
http://www.elementsofrwa.com/workshops.html

Power of the Senses: Enhancing Author’s Voice, Characterization, and Conflict

by Bill Haggart
March 7 – 25, 2011

REGISTRATION ENDS March 2nd
Non-members $20; Elements Members $12

Each of us have our own unique way of learning, and part of that style involves which senses we favor in experiencing the world—even how we write and how we love.  Everyone prefers one sense over the other four: Kinesthetic, Tactual, Auditory, and Visual. Those preferences shape a writer’s voice, brand, writing processes as well as the characters they create. How their novel’s conflict and romance develops depends on how their characters learn.

Bio: Bill Haggart has been an educator for over thirty years. He has been a teacher, an educational trainer,  consultant and executive with a national training company. He now heads up his own consulting business, Insights & Innovations. He has presented to over 180,000 educators nationwide and worked with over 400 schools and organizations. He is the creator of the Kaleidoscope Profiles, a popular learning styles inventory. He is also the author of several educational books and articles. He has been a member of RWA since 1998, as well as a terrific local group, the Sacramento Valley Rose. He has won and placed in nearly a dozen contests such as ‘The Molly’ and ‘Suzannah’ and “The Merritt” with both his contemporary, time-travel and Regency novels.  A member of the Beau Monde since 2000, Bill presented at their conference in New York in 2002 and 2006. This workshop, “The Power of the Senses; Enhancing Author’s Voice, Characterization, and Conflict” has been well-received by several writing groups, including The Sacramento Valley Rose. A history major, he particularly loves the Napoleonic war period and the Regency. He began reading historical romances decades ago, and finally decided to write them, after being encouraged by Joy, his partner and heroine for the last thirty-eight years. She is also a fantastic teacher. Bill has two terrific sons, Sean and Cory. Sean is an engineer at the Jet Propulsion Laboratories in Pasadena, CA. The Mars Rovers have parts created by him. Cory is a marketing and public relations consultant in Ottawa, Canada. He critiques all of his father’s manuscripts. They both are models for my heroes. The real homeowners, an Australian Shepard mix named Nikki and a feline, Kitty, also are inspirations for characters in his books.

Los Angeles Romance Authors and East Valley Authors have teamed up this year to bring special writing workshops to our members and the writing community of Southern California. Our first foray will be a workshop on voice led by Jane Porter, Liza Palmer and Megan Crane. You do not want to miss this event.

Voice & Market Workshop: Writing Smart, Writing Well, Writing to Sell
Description: Your writing voice is you on paper. It’s the basic storyteller in each of us putting an idea together. This workshop uses fairy tales, Greek myths, and market knowledge to teach others how to succeed in the romance industry. The workshop focuses on Voice & Style, Voice & Theme, and Voice & Market. It helps participants identify their own strengths and personal themes, along with possible markets for submission.

When: March 27, 2011 9:00 am – 3:00 pm – Special Mini Workshop

Where: Sportsmen’s Lodge Hotel, 12825 Ventura Blvd, Studio City, CA 91604

Cost: $25.00

Speakers: Jane Porter, Liza Palmer and Megan Crane

To join us, please go here http://www.lararwa.com/calendar.html and scroll down to the March 27th date. You can pay by pay pal right now or wait until the meeting on February 20th and pay by check.

Outreach International Romance Writers is accepting proposals for 2011 and 2012 (2 or 4 week workshops).

At this time, we are interested in the following:

Active vs Passive Voice
Body Language, Emotion, Lying and Manipulation
Creating Characters that jump off the page
Police Procedure, Creating a Cop
Writing Heroes and Villains
E-Publishing Or Digital Publishing, Which One Is Right For Me?
You’ve Written a Manuscript; Now What?
Importance of Research, Techniques
Writing Witchcraft, Faeries and Wizards
Writing Love Scenes
Writing Mystery/Thrillers
Writing Regency
Writing Romantic Suspense
Writing Urban Fantasy
Writing Historical Fiction
Writing Steampunk
Writing Inspirational
Writing Young Adult
Writing for Category
Contests – The Basics,
How To Sell Your Workshop/Teaching Online Workshops
Show Don’t Tell
Editing – What To Keep, What to Delete
Promoting Your Book
Writing the Query Letter
Writing the Synopsis
Finding An Agent of Your Dreams
Creating a Web Presence/Networking
Grammar Workshop
Dialogue Workshop

Our workshops are conducted via invitation only Yahoo listserv. All workshops are open to everyone.

We make every effort to promote the workshops as widely as possible and ask our instructors to do the same. Please include your email and home address, payment preference, class description and a brief bio.

2011 dates available: April, May, June, July, August, September, October and November. 2012 is open.

Thank you.

All proposals should be addressed to:

Veronica Alderson
OIRW Campus Coordinator
valderson80

CONFERENCES

On behalf of the 2011 NECRWA Conference Committee, we are pleased to announce that REGISTRATION for the Let Your Imagination Take Flight Conference is STILL open!
Mark your calendars: April 29-30, 2011 at the historic Hawthorne Hotel in Salem, MA. The NECRWA Let Your Imagination Take Flight conference committee is very excited about the 2011 event.

Keynote Speakers
Anne Stuart, RWA Lifetime Achievement Award Winner and NYT Best-selling author of Fire and Ice, Night and Day, The Widow. Co-author of Dogs and Goddesses
Annette Blair, award winning author of the Works Like Magick series and The Accidental Witch Trilogy
Lani Diane Rich, aka Lucy March, NYT and USA Today Best-selling author of Wish You Were Here and Dogs and Goddesses, co-written with Anne Stuart and Jennifer Crusie
Donald Maass, Agent and author of Writing the Breakout Novel and The Fire in Fiction

Agent/Editors Appointments
Each appointment includes a critique of the first 10 manuscript pages!
Megan Records, Editor, Kensington
Jessica Sebor, Editor, Bantam Dell
Brenda Chin, Senior Editor, Harlequin
Holly Root, Agent, Waxman Literary Agency
Barbara Poelle, Agent, Irene Goodman Literary Agency
Heather Evans, Junior Agent, Fine Print- Literary Management
Stephany Evans, Agent, Fine Print Literary Management
Emily Sylvan Kim, Agent, The Prospect Agency
Workshops
Jessica Andersen, Surviving the Agent/Editor Meeting
Jessica Andersen, World Building
Gina Ardito, Hips Don’t Lie: Body Language Between the Sexes
Deborah Blake, The Real Witch: Witchcraft Basics for the Paranormal Author
Laura Breck, Public Speaking for Authors
Sherri Browning Erwin, The Monster Mash: Rewriting Literary Classics with a Twist
Opal Carew, Using POV to Create Emotionally Powerful Scenes
Brenda Chin, Karen Foley, and Meghan Murphy, When Opportunity Knocks
Gretchen Craig, The Most Villainous of All: The Psychopath
Marissa Doyle and Emily Sylvan Kim, The Young Adult Market
Marie Force, What’s Holding You Back? Fifteen Common Errors Made by Aspiring Writers
Marley Gibson and Patrick Burns, The Other Side: A Guide to Ghost Hunting and the Paranormal
Patricia Grasso, Plotting with Panache
Hannah Howell, The Magic of Words
LeeAnn Lessard and J.M. Griffin, Promotion on a Budget
Caroline Linden and Miranda Neville, Use It (Well) or Lose Them
Mia Marlowe, My Husband Married a Hooker
Teagan Oliver, Having an Ear for Voice: Creating Voice with Words and Structure
Tammy Plunkett, The Care and Feeding of Romance Writers
Tammy Plunkett, Plunkett’s Anatomy—Writing Modern Medicine
D.D. Scott, Muse Therapy

Carolyn Sullivan, Psychic Consultations

Barbara Wallace, Category Fiction 101

Jo Ann Woodsum, Rule 87: Watch NCIS for a Master Class in Creating Characters

For accommodations:
The Hawthorne Hotel is full for our dates, however we have the Salem Inn as an overflow hotel. You can call Robyn at the Hawthorne at 978-825-4359. Tell her you are with the NECRWA writer’s conference and need a room at the overflow hotel. Alternatively, you can call the Salem Inn directly and tell them you are with the group from the Hawthorne. The number at Salem Inn is (978) 741-0680 or 1-800-446-2995 (Outside MA).

For information about conference: http://www.necrwa.org/conference.html
To register: http://www.necrwa.org/Forms/conference.htm

There’s still time to register for the March 12th Southern Lights Writer’s mini-Conference and LIGHT UP YOUR CAREER!

Sign up to pitch your manuscript to Tessa Woodward of Avon or Emmanuelle Morgen of Judith Ehrlich Literary Management then join us in Jacksonville, FL and enter the raffle to win any of nearly twenty critiques offered by editors, agents, and authors.

Just a few of the critique donations available at the raffle include:
Agents:
Anita Mumm, Nelson Literary Agency, LLC
Andrea Somberg, Harvey Klinger, Inc.
Stephany Evans, President FinePrint Literary Management
Adrienne Rosado, PMA Literary & Film Management
Michelle Grajkowski, 3 Seas Literary Agency
Editors:
Raelene Gorlinksky, Ellora’s Cave, Cerridwen Press and The Lotus Circle
Rhonda Stapleton, Editor, Carina Press
Authors:
Karen Hawkins, USA Today Bestselling Author
Joanne Rock, 3-Time Rita Nominee
Elizabeth Sinclair, Author of The Dreaded Synopsis
Kasey Michaels, New York Times Bestselling Author
Vanessa Kelly, Regency Romance Author
Sharon Page, USA Today Bestselling Author

If you’re looking for a fun, friendly atmosphere in which to meet and learn from other talented writers and industry professionals, you won’t want to miss this conference. Join us for a full day of craft and industry workshops, editor/agent pitch appointments, critique raffles and networking opportunities.

Special Guest Speaker: USA Today and NY Times bestselling author C.L. Wilson

See www.firstcoastromancewriters.com more information on the conference speakers, schedule, and program.

Save the Date!

The MaineRWA (MERWA) Annual Writers’ Retreat will be held May 20 – 21, 2011 at The Embassy Suites Hotel, Portland, Maine. Limited seating.

Keynote speaker: Hannah Howell

Exciting workshop presenters: KA Mitchell
Julia Spencer Fleming

Agent: Diane Freed, Fine Print Literary

For more info: www.mainerwa.com

MERWA (Maine RWA) is pleased to announce their Annual Writers’ Retreat.
Request for promotional materials and signed books for the MERWA Annual Writers’ Retreat goody bags. May 20 – 21, Portland, ME

Please send promotional contributions to:
Luanna Nau
PO Box 776
Brunswick, Maine 04011- 0776

Questions to Luanna at mainerwa/" target="_blank">mainerwa

Please include your return address, e-mail address and website on a note in the package. We acknowledge all contributions in a handout in our packet and will include your website address – good PR for all who contribute. We also want to acknowledge receipt of your package by e-mailing you.

All materials must be received by May 12 to be included in the Writers’ Retreat give- away bags. We expect around 45 attendees.

For more information about the retreat, go to http://www.mainerwa.com

Capture that agent or editor’s interest with the first five pages of your manuscript.

That’s what the Great Beginnings Contest is all about – polishing your hook and maintaining the intrigue of your start.

The deadline is approaching, March 1^st, 2011

Electronic Entries Only

Entry deadline: Midnight MST, March 01, 2011

Sponsored by: the Utah Chapter of Romance Writers of America

Cost: 10.00 for everyone Per Entry

Eligibility: Not published in category entered or not published within the last three years.

Enter: First five (5) pages of manuscript

Categories and Final Judges:

Sara Megibow- Nelson Literary Agency – Young Adult

Kelly Mortimer-Mortimer Literary Agency – Historical

Laurie McLean-Larsen Promada Literary Agency – Contemporary,

Robert Fleck – Professional Media (agent) – Mystery/Suspense

Elaine Spencer – Knight Agency – Paranormal

Top Prize: $10.00 Gift Certificate Barnes and Noble, Bookmark and a Certificate.

Winners announced: April 29 at our Great Beginnings Retreat and in the RWR

For more information, please visit our website at http://www.utahrwa.con/gbcontest.html

Prism Contest now open for entries!
The Prism Contest for Published Authors is one of the most prestigious contests for Fantasy, Futuristic, and Paranormal romance. We are accepting new futuristic, fantasy or paranormal romances released in 2010, so get your entries in now.
Categories are:
Dark Paranormal,
Light Paranormal,
Futuristic,
Fantasy,
Time Travel/Steampunk,
Erotica/Romantica,
Novella (between 20,00 and 40,00 words),
Young Adult.

E-books and small press-published books are welcome as long as they are non-vanity/non-subsidy as defined by RWA. All finalists receive a certificate and pin; winners also receive a beautiful, crystal Prism award. The deadline for entries is March 19th, 2011.

For the first time, electronic entries will be allowed as long as they are in pdf format.

For more information, visit the main contest site at http://www.romance-ffp.com/contests.cfm