Classes:
How to Write Realistic Native Americans Past and Present
Instructor: Regina Paul
Dates: June 6, 2011 — June 17, 2011
Registration Deadline: June 5, 2011
Fee: $10/HHRW members, $20/others
FMI: HHRW Campus Coordinator: classes
Register here: http://heartsthroughhistory.com/native.html
Class Description:
Do you want to write about Native American characters? Stumped by how to make your Native American characters as realistic as possible? Then you’ve come to the right place! Bestselling Native American romance author Regina Paul will teach you how to make your Native American characters stand out.
Here’s a few things you’ll learn in this week long class:
* What stereotypes are and how to avoid using them in your writing so you do not perpetuate them.
* How to find sources and do your research the right way.
* Discover why the internet may not be the best place to do research, and how to get around that problem.
* The differences between Native Americans in the past and Native Americans now and why it is important to understand this difference and show it in your writing.
* A general overview of Native American spiritual beliefs. (With the understanding that each tribe has their own set of beliefs.) This is just the basics, the things that most tribes have in common.
* Why experiencing Native American cultures first hand is so important, and will even trump doing a lot of research.
* A list of sources that are accurate that you can use for your research.
* And much more!
Bio:
Regina Paul is of mixed blood claiming Oglala Lakota/Sauk and Shawnee heritage. She has been an active participant in Native American culture for over twenty years. She is also a full-time freelance writer and author with over 1000 articles and 12 books published to her credit. She lives in Seattle, WA with her husband of twenty-two years. She invites you to visit her website at www.reginapaul.com and she welcomes emails from fans and fellow writers. She can be reached at tiwatz(at)yahoo(dot)com
WORKSHOP: Self Defense for Writers
CLASS DESCRIPTION: In real life, the person who has prepared both mentally and physically has the best chance of defending herself when threatened. Learn to write realistic self defense scenes that keep your readers turning those pages.
Does your character know her abilities and limitations? Does she carry a weapon? If not, what options might she have? If she does carry a weapon, is it the right weapon for her? How does she carry it? Has she trained with her weapon? Does she remain proficient with it? Just how familiar with that weapon is she? Is she prepared, mentally, to pull that trigger?
Does your character understand how many seconds she might have to draw and fire against someone threatening her with a knife from twenty feet away? Has she thought about applicable laws and the potential legal consequences of using deadly force in self defense? Does that make her pause at the wrong moment? Does she understand the mindset of the bad guy? Is there anything she can do to convince the bad guy to stop the attack before she has to use deadly force? Is there an interim level of force she can use that could stop the attack? If she uses force, how might she feel a moment later? A day later? A week later?
These issues and more will figure prominently in this class on self defense for writers. Wendy “Piper” Rome and Mark Pfeiffer will review these principles and provide information about basic self defense techniques, weapons, weapons carry and more. Then, using the Socratic method, they will offer several hypothetical scenarios and call upon you to identify what the characters did right and did wrong. What could a particular character have done differently to change the outcome? Where, in the scene, would she have done that? How could you write it to ramp up the suspense? With these hypothetical scenarios, you will learn the importance of situational awareness and action/reaction, concepts that will help you empower your characters with the ability to recognize and react to threats as they develop. Write realistic believable self defense scenes that invest your readers in your characters’ emotions, step by step.
INSTRUCTORS: Wendy “Piper” Rome and Mark Pfeiffer
Mark Pfeiffer, former Chief Petty Officer (US Navy), was a member of a shipboard counter-terrorism team. He has competed as a rifle shooter, taking third place nationally in his class, less than a week after a bilateral hernia operation–now, that’s dedication! He is also a former law enforcement officer and former firefighter/EMT. He maintains a concealed carry permit, his preferred carry piece being a mildly customized 1911A1 .45 ACP. He has “dabbled” in writing fan fiction for several series he enjoys, and has been one of the experts on the Yahoo groups “Weapons_Info” website for the past several years. As a deputy sheriff, his coverage area of his district encompassed over 1,600 square miles and included parts of the Navajo Indian Reservation, I-40, small cities, and large tracts of unincorporated areas where his nearest back-up was often an hour or more away.
Piper Rome has held a concealed carry license for fifteen years and rarely goes anywhere without her Glock 36 (a .45 ACP semi-automatic) and a knife or two. She has trained tactically with both rifle and pistol, focusing on self defense, and maintains proficiency with her weapons on her own shooting range in the Shenandoah Valley. She has dissuaded one would-be mugger with a knife and dispatched another with her hands and high heel. Now retired from her career as an aviation trial attorney, she writes romantic suspense. She has been a contest judge, an editor and beta reader and she finaled in the only contest she entered. She is a member of RWA, KOD, Chesapeake Romance Writers, and Virginia Romance Writers.
**PAYMENT MUST BE RECEIVED BY THE 27TH day of the month PRIOR to the start of the COFFIN class.
Cost of each workshop is (Currently) $15.00 US for KOD Members, $30.00 US for non-KOD Members (RWA membership NOT required to take the course).
For more information check out our website at http://www.rwamysterysuspense.org
WORKSHOP: Capture the Editor: Powering up Your Proposal
CLASS DESCRIPTION: : Rejected again? If your book is good and you can’t get past the first stage, maybe it’s your proposal that’s the problem. In this interactive workshop, an editor and award-winning writer will help you present your book in the best possible light. Learn more about synopsis, query, and chapters, and what will turn editors and agents off, and what will capture their attention. Questions welcomed!
INSTRUCTOR: Alicia Rasley
Alicia Rasley is an award-winning author of Regency romances, and a nationally known writing teacher. Her writing articles are archived at www.rasley.com, and her editing articles are posted at www.edittorrent.blogspot.com. She teaches writing at two state colleges and in a graduate MFA program. Her writing book, The Power of Point of View, was released by Writer’s Digest Books. Her latest women’s fiction novel, The Year She Fell, will be out in November from Bell Bridge Books.
**PAYMENT MUST BE RECEIVED BY THE 27TH day of the month PRIOR to the start of the COFFIN class.
Cost of each Workshop is (Currently) $15.00 US for KOD Members, $30.00 US for non-KOD Members. (RWA membership NOT required to take the course).
For more information check out our website at http://www.rwamysterysuspense.org
Agents/Editors: We Don’t Bite . . .Much”
with Lynn Price
June 13 – June 25, 2011
This is a two week class
Enrollment Information at http://www.occrwa.org/onlineclassJune11.html
Cost: $10.00 for OCC members, $15 for non-members
If you have specific questions, email occrwaonlineclass
ABOUT THE CLASS
Learn about the publishing business and the submission process from the agent’s/editor’s viewpoint. Lynn Price, editorial director for Behler Publications, is not only going to cover the basics of what to include in a cover letter, synopsis, biography and promotion plan, she’s also going to answer your questions about:
• What’s a Print On Demand publisher?
• Can a vanity press get my books on store shelves?
• What’s the advantage to going e-book?
• Should I care about distribution?
This fast-paced, two-week look at the publishing world will cover the whole enchilada so writers can become better at their craft and understand how the industry works.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
The editorial director for a publishing firm that specializes in personal journey stories with socially relevant themes, Lynn Behler is herself a published fiction and non-fiction author. Her reference book, The Writer’s Essential Tackle Box: Getting a Hook on the Publishing Industry, provides an “insider’s view geared to inform and educate writers as to how we work, why we work, and the pitfalls to avoid.” She also addresses many issues facing today’s writers with her lighthearted but very much to the point Behler Publications blog –http://behlerblog.com/
Enrollment Information at http://www.occrwa.org/onlineclassJune11.html
COST: $10 for OCC members, $15 for non-members
Breaking Things Down Into Threes
with Beth Daniels
July 11 – August 6, 2011
Plots require organization– even those written by pantsers. Why? Because all storytelling requires a flow, a smooth transition from one scene to the next. Getting it doesn’t require an outline though. All it requires is a system – a system of thirds.
This class is for writers at any point in their writing career from unpublished to midlist.
Check out our full list of workshop at http://www.occrwa.org/onlineclasses.html
Workshops:
Southern Magic invites you to the all day workshop EMPOWERING CHARACTER’S EMOTIONS by Margie Lawson July 23, 2011, Saturday, from 9:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Homewood Public Library in Birmingham. Lunch will be provided.
Margie Lawson, psychotherapist, writer, and international presenter has developed psychologically-based editing systems and deep editing techniques used by everyone, from new writers to multi-award winning authors. She teaches writers how to add psychological power to create page turners.
Admission:
Southern Magic Members: $30
Non Southern Magic Members: $40
Special: Join Southern Magic and attend workshop for $50*
*Must be a RWA member to join Southern Magic.
Location:
Homewood Public Library
1721 Oxmoor Road
Homewood, AL 35209 USA
For directions and more information go www.southernmagic.org
Send funds via PayPal: treasurer @ southernmagic. org
Or mail to
Southern Magic RWA
c/o Laura Hayden, Treasurer
P.O. Box 241312
Montgomery, AL 36124
Be sure to note on the funds this is for the **July Workshop**.
