CONFERENCES
2011 Enchanting the Page Conference
PRESENTING:
Margie Lawson
Deep Editing Power
Writing Body Language and Dialogue Cues
Bring First Five Chapters of Your Manuscript
Saturday, November 12th, 2011
From 8:00 am to 5:00 pm
Indian Pueblo Cultural Center
2401 12th Street Northwest
Albuquerque, NM 87104-2397
Part 1: Deep Editing Power
Writing Fresh
The EDITS System
Deep Editing Techniques
Four Levels of Powering Up Emotion
Top Ten Rhetorical Devices for Fiction Writers
Part 2: Writing Body Language and Dialogue Cues Like a Psychologist
Facial Expressions:
Lips/mouth, eyes, full face, flicker-face, micro-expressions
Kinesics: Communicating by Body Movement
Dialogue Cues: The critical subtext of dialogue
Lots of giveaways, including a brand new Kindle FIRE!
For more information and to sign up for the conference, go to: http://www.leranm.com
Join Florida Romance Writers for the most unique conference around. The date has been set, so get ready to cruise with your muse onboard Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Sea. We sail from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on Thursday, January 24, 2013 and return to port on Monday, January 28, 2013. Join us and see the beautiful blue seas of Cozumel and bask in the Caribbean sunlight. Plus, a chance to hang out with editors & agents in a relaxed setting for 4 days, great workshops, and our very popular Floridian Idol.
We have a great Early Bird discount, so register today! For Pricing information visit us at: http://frwfuninthesunregistra.blogspot.com/
Don’t have a roommate or companion plan yet but you know you want to go?
No worries. You do not need to have this settled until February 1st, 2012 and your deposit is fully refundable until then.
Registration is Open
Step 1: Register at http://www.frwriters.org/conferences.html
Step 2: Pay Deposit (currently only $50)http://www.frwriters.org/reg_paypal.htm
Step 3: Our Travel agent Elda Awapara-Maldonado at ONE WORLD CRUISES will contact you and finalize your travel plans.
CLASSES
The Southern Louisiana Romance Writers invite writers of all genres to join them for a day long workshop with Mary Buckham on October 29th, 2011. Take your THOUGHT TO PLOT with this award-winning author.
When: October 29, 2011
Time: 8am-4pm, lunch included
Place: Hilton Garden Inn, 4535 Williams, Blvd, Kenner, LA Map It!
Cost: $75 SOLA members, $80 all others. Register here.
Registration Deadline: September 30, 2011
WORKSHOP: FROM THOUGHT TO PLOT
In the full-day THOUGHT TO PLOT writing craft workshop, national writing instructor,Mary Buckham will show you how to develop a budding idea BEFORE you begin to plot. This is a brainstorming workshop where she will show you where a story and characters break down before you get to the point of plotting. The backbone of a strong story begins with developing these critical points in the early stages of brainstorming so that you aren’t trying to “shore” up your story later. Most stories fall apart because once a writer has invested a significant amount of work in a story it’s much harder to back up and make changes so they press ahead, shoving support wherever they can. For this reason, come to this workshop with a “NEW” idea you have not fully developed to the point where the idea of making any change is stressful. This workshop is to show you how to take ideas and spin them to be fresh and different, yet with a strong plot infrastructure.
We are a chapter of RWA, but this workshop is suitable for all genres.
Mary Buckham is an award-winning romantic-suspense author who, before becoming published in book-length fiction was a freelance article writer, selling hundreds of articles to local, regional, and national publications. In addition, she’s been an editor of a regional magazine. She is also co-author of Break Into Fiction™: 11 Steps to Building a Story That Sells. Mary is a sought-after speaker and writing craft teacher for both online and in live presentations throughout the United States and Canada. For more on Mary go to www.MaryBuckham.com or www.BreakIntoFiction.com
Heart of Dixie Online Workshop: Send Your Muse Back to School
Instructor: Beth Henderson
Date: November 1-22, 2011
Cost: $20
Description: Feel like your once very creative muse has crawled into a hamster wheel? You know, nothing but the same old sort of storyline keeps coming to mind and while that can be comforting to some, to many writers it’s like an itch they can’t scratch. We need diversity, we need challenges! We need to do something different occasionally or something silly, or even something downright weird. You know, retrain your muse or at least give them a refresher course!
Among the Core courses your muse will be exposed to in this workshop are The Blind Librarian, the Berserker Muse, the Chinese Menu, 52 Pick Up, Go Fish and…well, other different, silly, and most definitely weird ways to jump start your imagination.
Twice a week for 4-weeks you’ll be given a Challenge (so much nicer sounding than an Assignment) to dream up something totally out of your comfort zone using a variety of…shall we say “things”…to write a short story, say 1000 words or more (that’s around 4 pages or…well, more). You need only write one a week although there will be two challenges and you can do them both. Or, in lieu of a short story, it could be the start of a first chapter. Your choice…but you’ll need to do it with the elements I suggest…or someone else in the workshop suggests or assigns to you.
If your muse doesn’t get jolted out of his/her complacency, it won’t be for lack of trying. You might even get the glimmer of a new idea to pursue…chase…hunt down…until you have a totally new style of story…well, at least for you. And possibly a new market as well.
Students will be urged to post what they write and comment on each other’s work. Q&A and feedback from the instructor is a seven-day-a-week promise.
Bio: Beth Daniels currently writes as Beth Henderson and J.B. Dane, though she answered to Lisa Dane and Beth Cruise in the past as well. She has worked with editors at Berkley, Zebra, Leisure, Harlequin/Silhouette, and Simon and Schuster’s Aladdin Paperbacks, done e-books for a now defunct company (not her fault, she says), and began her writing life with hardcover books slated for library use with a publisher that got out of the romance business (again, not her fault). More recently she’s had a number of articles about writing picked up by e-zines, saw a short story published in a mystery and suspense magazine that turned up its toes the next year (really, really not her fault), and has a story in the MOTHER GOOSE IS DEAD anthology slated for publication by Dragon Moon Press in 2010.
For over a dozen years Beth taught college level composition, both in the classroom and online, and a credit course on Novel Writing. Five of her former Novel class students are now published.
Twenty-six of Beth’s manuscripts have appeared in print or e-book format. These have been historical romantic adventures (6), romantic comedies (10), romantic-suspense (3), and young adult romantic comedy (7). Her titles have appeared in 12 different languages in over 20 countries. At the moment she is working on various manuscripts and attempting a collaboration with another RWA member on a contemporary/fantasy/romantic adventure. She also ventured into self-publishing to keep her out-of-print backlist in print, but previous e-books in print, and in frustration, to move beyond a manuscript she’d been reworking for editors for a decade with no bites, released a previously unpublished historical romantic adventure set in the American West.
She is a member of Romance Writers of America, and an active member and volunteer with the Kiss of Death Online romantic suspense chapter
Website: RomanceAndMystery.com
NOVEMBER 1ST: “Romantic Screenplays 101″
Novelist-Editor-Screenwriter Sally J. Walker will walk you through an 8-Session course on the fundamentals you need to understand BEFORE you actually tackle a romantic screenplay. This is not a course on formatting, screenwriting technicalities, fundamental concepts of screenwriting itself or how to adapt your novel to a screenplay. This is a course about “how to think” a romantic story in a cinematic structure. From essentials through character casting to plot outline, this experienced screenwriter and screenwriting TEACHER can explain the mental tools you need to create your own screenplay.
Course Outline
Nov 1, Lesson One: Fundamental: Concepts of a Romantic Screenplay
Nov 4, Lesson Two: 3 Approaches to Romantic Screenplays
Nov 8, Lesson Three: The Unique yet Universal Hero & Heroine and Cast
Nov 11, Lesson Four: Hollywood’s Need for “Sex & Violence”
Nov 15, Lesson Five: Sexual Tension vs. Plot Complications
Nov 18, Lesson Six: Considerations: Time-Place and Theme
Nov 22, Lesson Seven: THE Romance as Main Plot or Subplot
Nov 25, Lesson Eight: Plotting YOUR Romantic Structure*
Nov 28, Concluding Remarks
*Note: due to Thanksgiving, time has been adjusted.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: http://scriptscene.org/classes.htm
YARWA is proud to announce their first online class for the 2011/2012 year,
Writing the Funny: How to Make Your YA Romantic Comedy Hilarious
Instructor: Rhonda Stapleton
Dates: November 7 – 18, 2011 (2 weeks)
Cost: $10 for YARWA members. (Non-member fee is $20)
About the class:
Interested in breaking out in YA comedy? Learn tips and tricks for writing effective comedy, principles of romance, and tying the two together to write a compelling and funny comedy for teens.
Instructor Bio:
Rhonda Stapleton has a Master’s degree in English and a Bachelor’s degree in English, creative writing. She’s published in teen fiction with Simon and Schuster, is an acquisitions/developmental editor with an e-publishing imprint, and also freelance edits manuscripts.
For any questions, please contact the workshop coordinator at workshops.
Please pay on our website (http://yarwa.com/programs), then email workshops with your name and email address where you want your Yahoo! Groups invitation sent.
FAST DRAFT: A BOOK IN TWO WEEKS
INSTRUCTOR: Candace Havens
WHEN: November 7 to November 20
WORKSHOP:
Fear and Excuses. Those are the two biggest reasons people don’t finish their novel, but they’ll say it’s time. Candace Havens shows you how to get around the fear and put those words on the page for those first drafts. Her techniques have worked for 1000s of writers and if you follow the rules you’ll have a completed novel in 14 days.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
Bestselling author Candace Havens has written six novels for Berkley including, “Charmed & Dangerous,” “Charmed & Ready,” “Charmed & Deadly,” “Like A Charm,” “The Demon King and I” and “Dragons Prefer Blondes.” Her new venture is writing for the Blaze line of Harlequin. Those books include “Take Me If You Dare,” and the upcoming releases “She Who Dares, Win” and “Triple Dare.” Her books have received nominations for the RITA’s, Holt Medallion and Write Touch Reader Awards. She is the author of the biography “Joss Whedon: The Genius Behind Buffy” and a contributor to several anthologies. She is also one of the nation’s leading entertainment journalists and has interviewed countless celebrities including Tom Hanks, Nicolas Cage, Tom Cruise, George Clooney and many more. Her entertainment columns can be read in more than 600 newspapers across the country. Candace also runs a free online writing workshop for more than 1600 writers. She does film reviews with the Dorsey Gang on The Big 96.3, and serves as a mentor for young writers.
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!
The registration deadline 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.
To register go to www.neorwa.com and click on the Online Workshops Registration link. 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
ABOUT NEORWA’S ONLINE WORKSHOPS:
Admission to the workshop depends on receipt of this form and payment fee before the cut-off date for the workshop chosen. If the fee is received after the cut-off date, the fee can be applied to another workshop of your choosing.
Note: You will receive an invitation to join the group from Yahoo! Groups. You must reply to it in order to take the course. The invitation is good for seven (7) days only. PLEASE check your spam filter for the invitation so you don’t miss anything in the workshop! There are no refunds if you fail to enroll yourself once being offered the invitation.
Upon receipt of your payment and registration form, you will receive an email confirming you have been registered for the workshop. If you do not receive a confirmation email, contact the NEORWA Workshops Coordinator Cathy Matuszak before the workshop begins.
NEORWA REFUND POLICY
Registration fees will be refunded only in the event the workshop is canceled. All payments for a workshop must be received by the registration cut-off date. No refund will be given for withdrawing from a workshop. In the event the instructor cancels a workshop or there are technical difficulties with the list provider (Yahoo!), NEORWA will offer the participant the option of receiving a refund or enrollment in another workshop of the participant’s choice.
If a workshop does not have 10 students enrolled by the cut-off date, the workshop may be canceled, and the participant can either receive a refund or be enrolled in another workshop of the participant’s choice.
CONTESTS
Entries are now being accepted for CTRWA’s “The Write Stuff” Contest.
Money’s tight, right? Why not choose a contest with a cash prize in every category?
Prizes: Winners in each category will receive $100.
Eligibility: Entries must be from unpublished works. Entrants must be unpublished in book-length fiction, or published but not PAN-eligible (have not earned $1000 for a single work of fiction)
Final Round Judges: Editors and agents who have been recently, actively acquiring in the category they are judging. We’ve made a special effort to invite judges who are not often seen on the contest circuit, so they’ll be seeing your work for the first time.
Entries: This is an all-electronic contest, consisting of the first 15 pages of your manuscript.
For more information, or to enter, go to http://ctrwa.org/writestuff/
CONTEST WINNERS
Toronto Romance Writers is delighted to announce the results for the finalist round of
The 2011 Catherine
Contemporary Series – Final Round Judge: Wanda Ottewell, Harlequin
Winner: A FUTURE FOR ABBY by Rebecca Sampson**
Second Place (tie): 16 MARSDEN PLACE by Rachel Brimble
Second Place (tie): MONTANA MAN by Leeann Morgan
Contemporary Single Title – Final Round Judge: Margo Lipschultz, HQN
Winner: THE ANGEL MADE ME DO IT by Shauna Allen
Second Place: NO FRAGILE HEART by Kat Latham
Third Place: RECONSTRUCTING EVE by Lisa Hilleren
Historical – Final Round Judge: Katherine Pelz, Berkley
Winner: THE TURNCOAT by Donna Thorland
Second Place: THE GARDENER’S COUNTESS by Susan Omine
Third Place: MERELY PLAYERS by Margaret Clift McNulty
Romantic Suspense – Final Round Judge: Leis Pederson, Berkley
Winner: THE DREAMER by Michelle Sharp***
Second Place: THE SHADOW HOUR by Jacqui Nelson**
Third Place: THE LAST EXECUTION by Jerrie Alexander
Fourth Place: TANGLED DECEPTIONS by Irene Jordane*
Paranormal, Fantasy, Futuristic – Final Round Judge: Esi Sogah, Avon
Winner: A PACK OF TWO by Wendy Anderson***
Second Place: A RIP IN TIME by Helen H. Pilz
Third Place: IN THE LAND OF THE VULTURES by Paula Chaffee Scardamalia
Fourth Place: THE DEVIL OF WHITECHAPEL by Bec Skrabl
Strong Romantic Elements – Final Round Judge: Kathleen Gilligan, St. Martin’s
Winner: BECALMED by Normandie Ward Fischer
Second Place: SO ABOUT THE MONEY by Cathy Perkins
Third Place: EASY IN THEORY by D. B. Shuster
Fourth Place: BREACH OF CONTRACT by D. B. Shuster
Young Adult – Final Round Judge: Karen Chaplin, HarperCollins Children’s
Winner: NOT FADE AWAY (formerly WITCH BOY) by Yvonne Yirka**
Second Place: GETTING A LIFE, EVEN IF YOU’RE DEAD by Beth Watson
Third Place: CHEERLEADERS FROM OUTERSPACE by Vanessa Barneveld
The Gold Ticket Round
Category winners are entered into the Gold Ticket competition judged by Kristin Nelson of Nelson Literary Agency. The Gold Ticket winner will receive a three-chapter critique by NYT bestselling author Kelley Armstrong. Gold Ticket Round results will be announced in mid-November.
* TRW member
** Partial requested
*** Full requested
Categories with more than three finalists are due to ties.
2011 ORANGE ROSE CONTEST FOR UNPUBLISHED WRITERS WINNERS!
This year we’ve had a total of five requests for manuscripts from two editors and two agents.
Our Winners are:
FIRST PLACE – Jacqui Nelson for “The Shadow Hour” (Historical)
SECOND PLACE (tie) – Laura Drake (OCC Member) for “The Sweet Spot” (Mainstream)
SECOND PLACE (tie) – Sandy Wright for “Song of the Ancients” (Paranormal)
SECOND PLACE (tie) – Caroline Phipps writing as Caro Carson for “Saving Captain Marsh” (Single Title)
THIRD PLACE – Averil Reisman for “To Cuba with Love” (Historical)
FOURTH PLACE – Janis Thereault (OCC Member) for “The Way You Love Me” (Romantic Suspense)
The Golden Network is pleased to announce and congratulate its finalists for the 2011 Golden Pen contest:
PARANORMAL
Bathtub Jinn by Kay Hudson
Tattoo of Your Name Across My Soul by Abigail Schmidt
Bound by Blood by Dawn Groszek
SINGLE TITLE
Legally Mastered by Sarah Castille
Better than Pasta by Kate Meader
It’s Not You by Kimberly Kincaid
SERIES CONTEMPORARY
Mistress By Blackmail by Caro LaFever
Going the Distance by Althea West
The Scandalous Seduction of Miss Spencer by Jane O’Reilly
HISTORICAL
Silverhawk by Barbara Bettis
A Whisper to the Wild by Eileen Emerson
Notorious Match by Angelyn Schmid
ROMANTIC SUSPENSE
Guardian’s Promise by Sharon Wray
The Shadow Hour by Jacqui Nelson
Chance Encounter by Tracy Poole
YOUNG ADULT
Kisses and Curses by Shoshana Brown
Forget Tomorrow by P.H. Dunn
Camp Awakening by Bonnie Staring
INSPIRATIONAL
Jerusalem’s Harlot by Wanda Thomas
All the Blue of Heaven by Virginia Carmichael
Left to Chance by Jessica Keller
NSRE
Sweet Spot by Laura Drake
Strange Bedfellows by Nancy Holland
The Hourglass by Sharon Struth
