Online Workshops
Courses are run on an email listserve and feature both craft and southern themes. The workshops are conducted via EMAIL only, no real-time or live chats. Participants will be subscribed to the listserve for the period of the workshop, then unsubscribed when it is over. Workshops are open to everyone with email capability who wish to participate, not just LRWA or RWA members. However, to become a member of LRWA, CLICK HERE. (You must be an RWA® member to join LRWA.) Membership not required to attend the online workshops.
The Lowcountry RWA® chapter is very proud to announce our online workshop schedule for 2010! ~Some late registrations are accepted~
If you would like to join our Online Classes email info newsletter, CLICK HERE
For a list of 2010 classes, CLICK HERE
Workshop Fee: $16 US for All
PLEASE NOTE: ALL PAYMENTS MUST BE VIA CREDIT (OR PAYPAL ACCT) 
PAYING BY CHECK
To Register:
Click here for the registration form
CANCELLATION AND REFUND POLICY: No registration fees will be refunded. All payments for a workshop must be received by the registration cut off date. Payments received after the cut-off date can be applied to a future workshop of the Applicant’s’ choosing.
In the event a workshop is canceled due to unforeseen circumstances, such as instructor inability to teach class, registration fees will be applied to a future workshop of the applicant’s choosing.
A Confirmation Letter of Payment will be sent promptly. Invitations to the workshop are sent 3 days prior to the start of class. If you pay for a workshop and do not receive a confirmation letter and an invite please contact the Online Workshop Coordinator immediately.
ALL PAYMENTS FOR A WORKSHOP MUST BE RECEIVED BY THE REGISTRATION CUT OFF DATE. HOWEVER, LATE REGISTRATIONS MAY BE ACCEPTED AT THE DISCRETION OF THE CHAIRPERSON.
Questions? Click below to email our Online Workshop Chairperson
If you would like to join our Online Classes email info newsletter, CLICK HERE
Upcoming 2010 Online Workshops
September
September 2010 — Building Plot and Character with the 4 C’s
Presented by Sue Vider and Rebecca G. Martinez
Dates: September 6-30
Deadline: September 3
Course Description:
Building a truly great character can be a mystery, especially when the writer is trying to fit that character into today’s action driven plot. Join us for an interactive workshop that can help with both. As introduced in Ten Steps the Four C’s demonstrate how writers can use them to develop characters as they construct their plot.
The Four C’s are
• Crusade,
• Cause,
• Complication, and
• Change.
By outlining the character’s path—both internally and externally—through the use of the four C’s, a writer can begin to shape the protagonists as the plot unfolds.
Instructor Bios:
Sue and Becky have been teaching on-classes for many years, as a team, and individually. They have presented at numerous conferences together and separately. Both have given sessions at the national Romance Writers of America Conference, where Becky presented the Plotting Wheel workshop this past July. Sue has taught dozens of classes, both online and in person.
Sue has published the following books and games for writers:
1. Heroes and Heroines, Sixteen Master Arche types
2. Ten Steps to Creating Memorable Characters
3. Deal a Story - a card game for writers
Becky is also one of the co-authors of Ten Steps to Creating Memorable Characters. She is multi-published in full-length romance novels and romance short stories. Her most recent short story was The Problem, published in July by The Wild Rose Press. TWRP will also publish her next book, Deadly Messages, a romantic suspense. She is currently working on her next romantic suspense.
Becky and Sue are also working on a romantic mystery together plus writing their next nonfiction book for writers, Ten Ways to Plot a Great Story. It contains many of the elements from Plotting 101 as well as an in-depth explanation of the Plotting Wheel. It will be a companion book to the Character book.
Read more about Rebecca and Sue at their websites: www.rebeccagrace.com and www.suedivers.com and www.writethenovel.com
September 2010 — Ghost Hunting 101
Presented by Dawna Richard
Dates: September 6-30
Deadline: September 3
Course Description:
Paranormal investigating has taken the nation by storm with shows like Ghost Hunters, Paranormal State, and multiple others that seem to sprout up overnight.
Would you like to learn more about paranormal investigating? Perhaps you are writing a ghost story or have character who is a paranormal investigator. If this is the case, you won’t want to miss this class.
During this four-week session, you will learn about ghosts and the different kinds of hauntings, EVP’s, Spirit photography, and what goes on behind the scenes.
Instructor Bio:
Dawna Richard is a founder and lead investigator of California Paranormal Research and Enlightenment. She has more than 15 years’ experience with reading Tarot, past life regression, and paranormal research.
She lives in sunny California with her husband, son, and three dogs. When she’s not working or investigating haunted locals, you can find her pursuing her goal of becoming a published author.
Read more about Dawna at her website: seizethedawn.com
September 2010 — Power Promotion 2 Week Course
Presented by Robin Matheson
Dates: September 20-October 04
Deadline: September 17
Course Description:
When you know everything there is to know about your story, it’s hard to stay focused on the Big Picture. This intensive 2 week workshop teaches you how to convert your creative concept into bite size promotional chunks that will allow you to effectively market your manuscript.
Learn:
• 4 pre-writing exercises to presenting characters
• 3 pre-writing exercises to synthesizing your plot
• 2 key issues that will help you identify the unique features of your story
Instructor Bio:
Award winning author Robie Madison loves visiting mystical places and learning about other cultures and peoples. She’s spent several years living abroad, allowing her to study human nature in a variety of settings and circumstances. These years also included a few wild exploits of her own. Multi-published, Robie uses her knowledge to enhance her stories. When not traveling or planning her next trip, Robie creates characters that can do the adventuring for her. She can also be found teaching writing courses online.
Read more about Robin at her website: www.robiemadison.com
October
October 2010 — The Real Witch: Witchcraft Basics for the Paranormal Author
Presented by Deborah Blake
Dates: October 4-27
Deadline: October 1
Course Description:
Have you ever wondered about the differences between historical witches and modern-day Wiccans?
Are you curious about familiars?
How do you create a witch character for fiction?
Deborah Blake can answer these questions and many more with her class about witchcraft and creating a character practicing the magical arts.
• You will learn how to create witch characters for different genres including Chick Lit and Paranormal.
• You will learn how to create a witch with real strengths and weaknesses.
• You will learn the basics of Wicca and spell casting.
• You will learn some of the historical views on familiars.
• You will learn how to write scenes in which your character practices magic and how the character would create a spell.
You may not be allowed to turn an agent into a toad, but you are allowed to create a great character for your book!
Instructor Bio:
Deborah Blake is a Wiccan High Priestess who has led her own group, Blue Moon Circle, since 2004. She is the author of Circle, Coven & Grove: A Year of Magickal Practice (Llewellyn 2007), Everyday Witch A to Z: An Amusing, Inspiring & Inspirational Guide to the Wonderful World of Witchcraft (Llewellyn 2008) and The Goddess is in the Details: Wisdom for the Everyday Witch (Llewellyn 2009).
She took third prize in the Pagan Fiction Award contest and her short story “Dead and (Mostly) Gone” was published in the Anthology of Pagan Fiction: 13 Prize Winning Tales (2008). She is currently working on a novel featuring a Witch as a protagonist. Deborah lives in upstate New York in a 100 year old farmhouse, where her activities both magickal and mundane are supervised by her five cats.
Read more about Deborah at her website: www.deborahblakdehps.com
October 2010 — Self-Publishing For the Frustrated: Using Lulu.com’s Print On Demand and Amazon’s Kindle E-books
Presented by Beth Daniels, aka Beth Henderson, J.B. Dane
Dates: October 4-29
Deadline: October 1
Course Description:
With the belt drawn tight at numerous publishing houses, many writers are turning to the relatively inexpensive and fast Print On Demand (POD) publishers and to the e-book marketplace. Debate is fierce over whether becoming your own publisher is a smart option or a disastrous decision.
Self-Publishing for the Frustrated is for published authors with backlists and unpublished authors interested in testing the waters with storylines that don’t meet the major publishing houses’ needs.
This class if for anyone who is interested in, is toying with the idea of, or is gung-ho to take the leap into what might well define publishing in the 21st century: self-published and electronic books.
Things to be discussed are editing, interior layout, cover design, distribution choices, pricing, and promotion for self-published and/or electronic books.
While Lulu.com is the instructor’s POD choice, other POD publishers will be discussed as well.
Week 1
• Introduction and discussion of what needs to be done prior to logging into a POD site like LULU.com or an e-book site like Scribd.com or Amazon’s Kindle.
• Finding out through student introductions why they are interested in pursuing this route.
Week 2
Concentrate on Print on Demand.
Topics covered:
• Editing, formatting, presentation design
• And for those interested in reprinting out of print titles
• Checking contracts and requesting a reversal of rights letter from the original publishing house.
• Assignment: Format and Design the interior of the book.
Week 3
• Continue to concentrate on POD
• Focus is on cover design
• Royalty free artwork, typography, and layout
• Show and tell on building a cover
• Assignment: Find cover artwork, write cover blurb
Week 4
• Switch to E-book information
• Loading to Scribd.com; loading to Amazon’s Kindle
• Reports from students on plans and any problems they’ve encountered or questions they have that haven’t already been taken care of
Students can have a manuscript ready to load, or be interested in learning what they need to do to self-publish through a POD or Kindle, or simply be considering one or both of these options for their work.
Instructor Bio:
Beth Daniels turned to POD when the rights to her backlist titles began reverting to her. But she also chose to self-publish a story she loved and had rewritten over and over for ten years based on editor suggestions and still hadn’t landed a contract. Another title appeared only as an e-book which made it impossible to take along to book signings…until she self-published it in print form. And when Amazon’s Kindle reader went into a second generation, she took the leap to be available in more than a single venue.
She has taught college level composition both in the classroom and online, and a credit course on Novel Writing. Beth is a founding member of Gallimaufry Writers Group.
Her background and experience has garnered her with a diverse assortment of genres from Historical Romantic Adventures, Romantic Comedies, Romance Suspense, and YA Romantic Comedy. A few of her titles have appeared in twelve different languages in over 20 countries. Presently, she is in collaboration with another RWA author for next their book.
Read more about Beth at her website: www.romanceandmystery.com
October 2010 — Homicide Investigation — Police Procedures
Presented by John Foxjohn
Dates: October 4-29
Deadline: October 1
Course Description:
Over the last few years, John Foxjohn has spoken to many writer’s group, workshops, and conferences about one of his specialties—police procedures. John’s biography states, “He epitomizes the phrase, been there—done that.”
For ten years, John worked in law enforcement. He started out on the bottom like all, but rose through the ranks rapidly. Patrolman, Patrol training officer, detective, then the last four years as a homicide detective.
With over three-hundred investigated homicides, and an intense love of forensics, police schools that include fingerprinting, interrogations, profiling, and counterfeiting, John becomes the perfect person to write crime novels and mysteries.
John is also the perfect person to teach writers about police procedures. Many books today sit on bookstore shelves with the name John Foxjohn in the acknowledgements. But all the questions writers have asked him have led him to teach about what he calls the “problem areas” most writers face.
John’s class includes:
• The differences and techniques of the interview and,
• The interrogation.
He’ll also cover:
• Lineups,
• Jurisdictions, and
• The Structures of police and sheriff departments.
Other topics will include:
• Custody or chain of evidence
• Television fallacies and how they relate to writing
• The beginnings of a homicide investigation
• Differences between large, medium, and small law enforcement departments
• Collection of evidence and processing the crime scene
Students will have an opportunity to ask questions about things that trouble them in their knowledge or research.
Instructor Bio:
Best-selling author John Foxjohn epitomizes the phrase “been there—done that.” Whether consciously or unconsciously, maybe one of the first authors he followed contributed to this.
Many years ago, John became afflicted with a disease he calls “readaholism.” His addiction to reading led him to Louis L’Amour, and even today, he continues to reread books by this author.
Louis L’Amour had a diverse background before he began to write and John followed that path—born and raised in the rural East Texas town of Nacogdoches, he quit high school and joined the Army at seventeen. Viet Nam veteran, Army Airborne Ranger, policeman and homicide detective, retired teacher and coach, and now he is a multi-published author.
Although John writes an entirely different genre than Louis L’Amour, he followed the author’s path by using his diverse background and meticulous research. Although John’s novels are fictional, many readers believe they are true stories.
Like his favorite author, John creates characters that readers love and root for—not cardboard cutouts. John says, “Normal people have faults and strengths—they make mistakes and need to overcome them and other obstacles thrown in their path. People judge others by how they handle adversity. That’s how I attempt to create characters.”
If you have read John’s novels, you know that he is successful.
John hasn’t yet reached the huge success of Louis L’Amour, but I wouldn’t bet against him.
John is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, Elements of Romance, Kiss of Death, Lethal Ladies, Sisters-in-Crime, East Texas Writers Guild, League of Texas Writers, and more online writing groups than he can count. He is a full time writer and speaker and lives in Lufkin, Texas but travels extensively across the U.S. John’s new book, TATTERED JUSTICE is due to be released March 2010.
Read more about John at his website: www.johnfoxjohn.com
November
November 2010 — Finding Your Voice
Presented by Misa Ramirez
Dates: November 1-30 (No class the week of Thanksgiving)
Deadline: October 28
Course Description:
“Books want to be born: I never make them. They come to me and insist on being written, and on being such and such.” Samuel Butler
Finding your voice is perhaps one of the most difficult things a writer must do. It’s not as if you’ve lost it and it’s hiding under the bed, waiting to be rediscovered. And you can’t copy someone else’s.
Your voice is the single most important element in your writing because it makes your work distinctly yours.
It’s a combination of your style, your phrasing, your unique vernacular, and how you create tension and build plot. Put it in a blender, mix it up, and voila! you have voice.
This online workshop will be interactive and will take you through exercises to help you find your voice within the genre you write. Be prepared to share snippets of your WIP and/or writing exercises as you delve deeper into your voice.
Instructor Bio:
Misa Ramirez is the author of the Lola Cruz mystery series: Living the Vida Lola (January ’09) and Hasta la Vista, Lola! (February 2010) from St. Martin’s Minotaur. A former middle and high school teacher, and current CEO and CFO for La Familia Ramirez, this blonde-haired, green-eyed, proud to be Latina-by-Marriage girl loves following Lola on her many adventures. Whether it’s contemplating belly button piercings or visiting nudist resorts, she’s always up for the challenge. Misa is hard at work on a new women’s fiction novel, a middle grade series, is published in Woman’s World Magazine and Romance Writers Report, and has a children’s book published.
Read more about Misa at her website: www.misaramirez.com and www.chasingheroes.com
November 2010 — In Ten Pages or Less? Writing a Synopsis that Sells
Presented by Rochelle Bailey, Regan Black
Dates: November 1-30 (No class the week of Thanksgiving)
Deadline: October 28
Course Description:
This class will cover process of building a synopsis from the ground up, using Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet as an example. Discussions, exercises, and critiques will help writers set the proper tone and focus the synopsis spotlight on the elements that will best sell your story.
Instructor Bio:
Rochelle Bailey, Regan Black, is the award winning author of Justice Incarnate and Invasion of Justice, as well as short stories and anthologies for both adults and teens. She has been perfecting her craft and navigating a publishing career for nearly ten years and has yet to achieve perfect patience with either herself or the industry. Through schools, libraries and writing groups, she’s spoken to aspiring writers of all ages on topics of brainstorming, editing, and reader-pleasing endings. With the support of her family and mostly domesticated birds, cats, and retired greyhounds, Regan crafts her stories in the Low Country of South Carolina where the rich history and folklore fuels her vivid imagination.
Read more about Regan at: www.reganblack.com
November 2010 — Plot That Novel YOUR Way!
Presented by Sue Viders and Rebecca G. Martinez
Dates: November 1-30 (No class the week of Thanksgiving)
Deadline: October 28
Course Description:
Plotting is never easy, even for the seasoned writer. How do you keep everything straight and go in the right direction? While this class is aimed at the beginning writer, any level writer can benefit from this overview of various plotting systems. It provides explanations of ways to plot and goes into detail on how authors who write by the seat of their pants can use those ways to make their own plotting—or lack of it—easier.
The lessons include:
• A quick background on plotting and a view of the three-act structure as well as how to build an outline.
• We’ll also take a look at how to use plot points and turning points to keep your story moving and to avoid that problem of a sagging middle.
• We’ll show you how storyboards can provide an easy way to keep your work in order and then discuss the unusual idea of plotting backwards as well as look at the benefits and challenges of the no plotting or “pantsers” method.
We’ll wrap up with a brief glimpse of the Plotting Wheel, which was developed by Sue and Becky as a way to build plot and character into a cohesive, tightly knit plot.
Whether you believe in writing by the seat of your pants or want to use copious notes and outlines, this workshop can help you get ideas on how to better plot your next novel—YOUR way!
Instructor Bio:
Sue and Becky have been teaching on-classes for many years, as a team, and individually. They have presented at numerous conferences together and separately. Both have given sessions at the national Romance Writers of America Conference, where Becky presented the Plotting Wheel workshop this past July. Sue has taught dozens of classes, both online and in person.
Sue has published the following books and games for writers:
1. Heroes and Heroines, Sixteen Master Arche types
2. Ten Steps to Creating Memorable Characters
3. Deal a Story - a card game for writers
Becky is also one of the co-authors of Ten Steps to Creating Memorable Characters. She is multi-published in full-length romance novels and romance short stories. Her most recent short story was The Problem, published in July by The Wild Rose Press. TWRP will also publish her next book, Deadly Messages, a romantic suspense. She is currently working on her next romantic suspense.
Becky and Sue are also working on a romantic mystery together plus writing their next nonfiction book for writers, Ten Ways to Plot a Great Story. It contains many of the elements from Plotting 101 as well as an in-depth explanation of the Plotting Wheel. It will be a companion book to the Character book.
Read more about Rebecca and Sue at their websites: www.rebeccagrace.com and www.suedivers.com and www.writethenovel.com
November 2010 — Muse Therapy
Presented by D.D. Scott
Dates: November 1-30 (No class the week of Thanksgiving)
Deadline: October 28
Course Description:
Muse Therapy D. D. Scott style - is all about injecting life into tired and/or stressed out muses. I’ll give writers fun and fabulous tools to analyze their muses’ funks, rein in their creative divas and up their page counts.
Discover what makes muses tick. What ticks them off. And what makes them dance like nobody’s watching.
We’ll name your muses and host a very special meet-and-greet just for them, then dig deep into their psyches by examining “muse disorders” such as:
Unleashing You Inner Sybil
• Writing Bi-Polar: I Suck vs. I’m a Genius
• What Do You Mean I’m Neurotic? No, I’m Not. Well, Not Exactly. But Okay…There Are Times When. Like You Need to Know That. Anyway, I Was Thinking, My Jeep Is Red
• Rorschach For Writers: I See Dead Lines
• Stimulants: When Coffee, Chocolate and Martinis Aren’t Enough
Once we recognize, acknowledge, and accept our muses’ afflictions, we’ll find terrific tricks and “trips” to treat our word witches.
Instructor Bio:
D. D. Scott’s romantic comedies are all about sexy, sassy, smart, career-driven women and the men who complete them. They’re a bit chick lit with a gone-country twist. Her series BOOTSCOOTIN’ BLAHNIKS - think Sex and The City meets Urban Cowboy - is under consideration by several NY publishers.
She writes stories with big hearts and a bunch of sass. Once a small town newspaper crime reporter and now a HarperCollins Publishing Returns Center Executive Assistant, she’s learned great fiction comes from the street as well as which jacket covers meet early deaths.
She’s a member of Indiana RWA as well as RWA’s Chick Lit Writers of the World Chapter and ScriptScene RWA. She’s been featured in both Indiana RWA’s and ScriptScene’s chapter newsletters and been a guest blogger on Romance Writers on the Journey. She also has an active blog of her own on her website at www.DDScott.com and is linked to on Romancing the Blog. And wow does she love Twitter. Follow her tweets at www.twitter.com/ddscottomcom
Currently, she’s driving her darling hubby nuts waiting to hear whether or not she’ll be providing Muse Therapy for the 2010 RT BookLovers’ Convention (Update: Woot! Just got notified I was accepted to teach at RT Convention!!!) in Columbus OH and for RWR in an article-based Muse Therapy series.