Friday, November 25, 2011

December Writing Workshops



Please note that all course descriptions are in blurb form. There’s often more information at the official websites. The December writing workshops are listed in order of start date and length.

 

Instructor: Dr. Mary O’Gara, Ph.D
Dates: December 1 – 31
Course Description: Want to become a brand like Stephenie Meyers, Nora Roberts or Stephen King? This session will show you how. Writers now are being required to have a social media platform. It doesn’t have to be scary. This class is designed to change your habits, not your personality. My method will help you build a platform that is solid and expands in pace with your career, no matter what social media platform is in style. I will show you ways to grow your network in ways that will translate into book sales. And the coolest part? My approach leaves time to write more books. You don’t have all day to market. You need time to write future best-selling books. Let me show you how.


Instructor: Caroline Clemmons
Dates: December 5 – 11
Course Description: Characterization Made Very, Very, Very Easy. “Yeah, right,” you say. Okay, maybe that’s a teensy weensy exaggeration. Seriously, since I found this method, coming up with characters that bring the plot with them is not as difficult as it used to be. What do you remember about your favorite novels? For most of us, it’s the characters. Readers love to be surprised by a character’s actions and secrets.

Instructor: Sue Viders and Becky Martinez
Dates: December 5 – 11
Course Description: Villains can be fascinating and sometimes readers will remember a good—or bad—villain long after they put down your book. How can you come up with convincing villains who are great challenges for your heroine/hero but who don’t take over the story? What makes a wonderful villain and what genres simply love a good villain? What about a lovable villain? Join two published authors and teachers for a week long class as they explore the fascinating world of the bad guys and show you how to come up...

Instructor: Kristen Lamb
Dates: December 5 – 12
Course Description: Want to become a brand like Stephenie Meyers, Nora Roberts or Stephen King? This session will show you how. Writers now are being required to have a social media platform. It doesn’t have to be scary. This class is designed to change your habits, not your personality. My method will help you build a platform that is solid and expands in pace with your career, no matter what social media platform is in style. I will show you ways to grow your network in ways that will translate into book sales. And the coolest part? My approach leaves time to write more books. You don’t have all day to market. You need time to write future best-selling books. Let me show you how.
 
Instructor: Theresa Meyers
Dates: December 5 – 18
Course Description: Time to add tools to your writer’s tool box! Take your writing to the next level with techniques and tips used by the pros to add depth and pacing to their work. In this course you'll: * Discover what foreshadowing is and how it works to improve writing. * Learn how to utilize the techniques of screenwriters for on-screen and off-screen action to heighten tension, create a faster moving plot and give your characterization more depth.

Instructor: Tina Gerow
Dates: December 5 – 18
Course Description: Vamps, shifters and the rest of the gang aren't just humans with fangs or fur. If their species isn't an integral part of their character, your reader will not suspend disbelief long enough to fall in love with them. Learn how to build these characters from the inside out....

Instructor: Lisa Dale
Dates: December 5 – 18
Course Description: You’ve heard the “show don’t tell” rule a hundred times, and you know that you should do it. But “telling” is our fundamental way of communicating in our everyday lives, so as a writer, it’s extremely difficult to shake off our inherent, natural instincts to “tell” a story. By demonstrating how the human brain processes ideas through reading and other real life situations, Lisa shows how “show, don’t tell” works on an emotional and neurological level...

Instructor: June Diehl
Dates: December 5 – 18
Course Description: During this workshop, we’ll explore the meaning of writer’s block, how to recognize it, what’s behind not being able to write, exercises and techniques to move beyond it, and ways to avoid this in the future. ...

Instructor: Linda Conrad
Dates: December 5 – 19
Course Description: Best selling author Linda Conrad writes for Harlequin-Silhouette Books. Her novels have been translated into sixteen languages and are sold in over twenty-two countries!

Linda’s sensual characters and passionate stories have brought her numerous awards and raves! Over the years her workshops for RWA chapters and conferences have helped many writers learn new skills and techniques.

Instructor: Jacqueline Corcoran
Dates: December 5 – 23
Course Description: In WRITE YOUR WAY TO RIGHT THINKING, strengths-based questions posed on a daily basis will be used to help participants get in touch with what is working well in terms of their writing and creativity or any other aspect of their lives and what they are doing differently during those times. Techniques will also help readers visualize the future that they would like and to take specific steps to realize this vision, as well as assisting readers in seeing new ways to view and solve their problems ...

Instructor: Jodi Henley
Dates: December 11 – 17
Course Description: Got character? No plot? Can't figure out what happens next or why the middle is blank and the beginning doesn't work? Use organic pre-thinking and your own personal structures to create the story that is right for both your characters and you. Covers core events, emotional understructures, the transformational arc and how to find missing pieces. There are no templates, and nothing here is one-size fits all.

Instructor: Sue Viders and Becky Martinez
Dates: December 11 – 18
Course Description: Just about any journalist knows about including the 5 W’s when telling a story, but those elements are necessary when building your fiction books as well. Who, What, When, Where and Why are all questions that need to be answered to come up with a satisfying novel. Join two published authors and teachers for a week-long class that helps writers learn how to take those simple elements to get a story going.

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Saturday, November 19, 2011

We Have A Winner!



CONGRATULATIONS to Elizabeth Lhuede who is the winner of Rachel Bailey's competition! Elizabeth, please contact Rachel and send your selection from her fabulous backlist to rachel (at) rachelbailey (dot) com.

To everyone else, thanks so much for stopping by and please excuse my absence. I'm drowning in writing courses this month but hopefully I'll have a darn good MS to submit in the New Year.

Good luck to all SYTYCW entrants! I have my fingers crossed that someone in our blogsphere will be getting that Valentine's Day call.

Happy writing!
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Monday, November 7, 2011

Your Little Corner of the World

I'm so thrilled to have USA Today Bestselling Author, Rachel Bailey, on the blog today. Welcome, Rachel!
 

I love where I live. It’s on the east coast of Australia, surrounded by trees, within driving distance to the beach. And one of my favourite parts of my place is my driveway. Sounds weird, I know, but it’s rimmed by gum trees and the black bitumen contrasts nicely with all the green.

Twice a day, I take my four dogs out for a run and fresh air. The Border Collies like to play tennis (balls bounce nicely on the hard, flat driveway) the other two dogs like to sniff around and look for animal trails.

I think it’s important that everyone has a favourite spot where they live. Maybe it’s a shady corner in the back yard where they can read a book. Maybe it’s their bedroom that they’ve decorated in their favourite colours. Maybe it’s not at their house at all, but at a park down the road.

When I’m writing a book, I always think about where the characters feel most at home, or where they love to escape to. For example, in Return of the Secret Heir, JT and Pia were high school sweethearts, so their favourite place was somewhere where they could be alone, ie., not at their own houses where their parents would be. Whenever they could, day or night, they would sneak away to a secluded beach and sit together in the trees that bordered the sand. It was *their* spot, and knowing that about them really helped me connect with their backstory.

So, tell me, is there somewhere in your house or close by that you can escape to? Somewhere you feel at peace? I’ll give away a book from my backlist (winner’s choice) to a random commenter who tells me their favourite part of where they live.


Bio:
Rachel Bailey developed a serious book addiction at a young age (via Peter Rabbit and Jemima Puddle-Duck) and has never recovered. Just how she likes it. She went on to gain degrees in psychology and social work but is now living her dream—writing romance for a living.

She lives on a piece of paradise on Australia’s east coast with her hero and four dogs, and loves to sit with a dog or two, overlooking the trees and read books from her ever-growing to-be-read pile.


Book Blurb:

Return of the Secret Heir

He's returned for a fortune and is confronted by memories. Though tycoon JT Hartley is a success in his own right, he's set on claiming his share of his late father's legacy. But first he has to get past the estate executor - none other than Pia Baxter, a woman he's never forgotten.

Theirs had been a fast-and-furious union that ended all too suddenly. And though desire still courses between them, JT knows starting anything with Pia again is just asking for trouble. His future is set in stone. But even the best-laid plans are no match for true passion.


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Thursday, November 3, 2011

So You Think You Can Write Is Live



Harlequin's So You Think You Can Write website has just been launched.  If you haven't heard of SYTYCW it runs from November 7 to November 11 it's all about information, live chats, competitions and best of all YOU COULD WIN PUBLICATION.

Find out more about how you could win publication here but don't forget to read the rules.  You can also follow on Twitter @HarlequinSYTYCW and #SYTYCW2.

Are you participating in SYTYCW 2011?  Are you planning on entering the major contest for a chance at publication? Let me know so I can cheer you on!

Happy writing!

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