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

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.

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

Click for month: FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV

February

February 2010 — Fishing In: Hooks that Grab the Reader
Presented by Kristin Hardy
Dates: February 5-26
Deadline: February 2

Course Description:

• They’re used in hit songs.
• They’re used in movies.
• They’re used in television.
• They’re even used to catch fish.

Hooks. Whether you’re talking about CD buyers, movie fans, romance readers or, yes, editors, the hook seals the deal. It gives the audience that one irresistible lure to make them want more.

In the romance market, we hear a lot of talk about “classic hooks,” with the assumption that everybody knows what they are.

• What are these mythical hooks?
• How do you use them,
• Why do you need them and
• What can they do to help you write books that sell?

And how do you spin them to be uniquely your own?

Instructor Bio:
Kristin Hardy is a fourteen year veteran of journalism. She’s well versed in determining the correct source for a story and contacting them by e-mail/phone to get the accurate, detailed answers to her questions. To research her novels, Kristin has done a ride-along with a San Diego fire company, spent a day with a microbrewery brew master, toured the conservation laboratory of a major fine arts museum, watched maple sugar being made, interviewed everyone from U.S. Department of Agriculture officials to a World Cup ski champion.

A two-time RITA nominee, Kristin currently writes for Harlequin Blaze and Silhouette Special Edition. Her first novel, My Sexiest Mistake, won a National Readers’ Choice Award and was subsequently made into a movie by the Oxygen Network. She has won an RT Bookclub career achievement award for series romance, as well as an award for Best Special Edition of 2006. Her nineteenth book, Her Christmas Surprise, hit the shelves December 2007.

Read more about Kristin at her website: www.kristinhardy.com

February 2010 — Yummy Heroes
Presented by Jackie Ivie and Teresa Bodwell
Dates: February 5-26
Deadline: February 2

Course Description:
Creating the Yummy Hero

“Great heroes are like chocolate–luscious, good for nibbling and available in a variety of fillings.”

Using examples from books and movies, the presenters start with the basic testosterone driven male to find the hero within. Whether he’s a bad boy or smooth-talking charmer, a reluctant hero or a take-charge warrior every hero must have strength, compassion, determination, courage and the flaws that make him human. The author can mix, blend, and measure these traits to make her hero unique.

This workshop looks beyond the Alpha/Beta debate to:
1. What makes a hero satisfying for his heroine?
2. How can the author best portray those heroic traits?

Sessions will focus on physical description, mannerisms, dialogue, and love scenes. Participants will have the opportunity to submit brief assignments for critique.

Instructor Bios:
Jackie Ivie lives with her family in Alaska, where she combines being a wife, mother, needlework fanatic, and US Postal retiree with a massive love of writing historical romances. Jackie’s stories are set in the Scottish Highlands and always feature larger-than-life, big, brawny, beautiful, kilt-wearing heroes and the feisty heroines that tame and claim them. She’s always daydreaming of history, romance…, and heroes. THE KNIGHT AND WHITE SATIN, due in the fall of 2010, will be Jackie’s seventh historical romance, featuring another brawny, beautiful…alpha-male hero and the woman he adores. Jackie’s novels have placed/won 22 romance awards since the Beacon’s Best First Book for LADY OF THE KNIGHT in 2004.

Read more about Jackie at her website: www.jackieivie.com

Teresa Bodwell lives in Montana where the spirit of the Old West still runs through the mountains, rivers, and sweeping plains. That landscape inspires her stories of tough heroes and courageous heroines who struggle for survival, for family and for love. Teresa is the author of two western historical novels and a novella in the anthology, MY HEROES HAVE ALWAYS BEEN COWBOYS. As an attorney, she has learned that life can be unfair and a happy outcome is not always possible. She enjoys writing stories where happy endings are guaranteed.

Read more about Teresa at her website: www.tbodwell.com

February 2010 — Goal, Motivation, Conflict and Disaster
Presented by Misa Ramirez
Dates: February 5-26
Deadline: February 2

Course Description:
Understanding Scene: How Goal, Motivation, Conflict, and Disaster Factor into It

According to Dwight Swain, author of Techniques of the Selling Writer, a scene is identified by action. The sequel is the reaction. But what does this mean in terms of your writing? What goes into a scene? Heck, what IS a scene?

The short answer is:
A scene is a representation of a conflict as it plays out for the protagonist of the scene.

Every scene has 4 basic elements:
• The point of view character’s goal, motivation
• The conflict that stands in his or her way
• The disaster, which brings into question whether the hero/heroine will succeed
• A series of scenes and sequels combine to form your complete story

This online course will take you through the process of understanding the elements of a scene and will introduce the concept of sequel. You will use your favorite fiction to identify how authors use Goal, Motivation, Conflict, and Disaster, as well as write your own scene(s) using these crucial 4 elements. You will come away with a PDF file detailing everything discussed in the course.

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.misraramirez.com and www.chasingheroes.com

February 2010 — “Dirty Little Secrets of Character Development”
Presented by Keena Kinkaid
Dates: February 5-26
Deadline: February 2

Course Description:
Do you know the secret to character development?

“The Dirty Little Secrets of Character Development” is an interactive workshop that leads participants through fun, inventive exercises that will help them root out their characters’ deep, dark secrets and desires, as well as show how to use these secrets to further plot, conflict and—of course—the romance.

During the course, we’ll cover:
• Why we keep secrets
• Types of secrets
• How secrets affect and change us
• How secrets are exposed
• Repercussions
• Secrets of character development

We’ll also uncover:
• 3 Cs of character development
• Character
• Conscience
• Choices

Through discussion and exercises, participants will:
• Gain insight into how secrets affect character at the deepest level;
• Understand how these secrets reveal themselves through words and actions even if the character never confesses; and
• Learn how to use this knowledge to propel the plot forward in a logical, engaging manner.

Instructor Bio:
Keena Kincaid is a public relations expert by day and a romance author by note. The author of three historical romances from The Wild Rose Press, Kincaid is a true history geek, who can spend hours perusing the Oxford English Dictionary online.

She studied history, English, and philosophy at Wittenberg University, concentrated on medieval history in graduate school at Miami University in Ohio, and keeps up with academic research and thought as a member of the Medieval Academy of America.

After honing her writing skills as a newspaper reporter and editor, she switched to public relations and began writing fiction. Career honors include writing awards for feature writing from Society of Professional Journalists, Gannett newspapers and the Associated Press.

When not working or writing romance, Keena regales her niece and nephews with stories of quick-thinking ladies, mathematically challenged knights, and ill-mannered dragons that chew with their mouths opened.

Her novels are available from The Wild Rose Press, Amazon Kindle and other booksellers.

Read more about Keena at her website: www.keenakincaid.com and MySpace, Facebook, and her blog at: www.typosandall.com

March

March 2010 — Is that Hollywood Calling?
Presented by Cindy Carroll
Dates: March 5-31
Deadline: March 2

Course Description:
Just because we can write books doesn’t mean we can write screenplays. Based on my popular 8 part newsletter article Is That Hollywood Calling? is a quick and dirty month long course on the differences between writing books and writing scripts. And how writing a screenplay can help improve your novel writing.

Topics covered:
• Introduction
• The Basics of Screenwriting — assignment
• Show don’t tell — assignment
• The polish – assignment
• Queries – assignment
• Contests
• Meetings/pitches/conferences – assignment
• After you sell
• Do’s and don’ts list
• Resource list
• Recommended reading list

Instructor Bio:
Cindy Carroll joined RWA in 1992 and started out writing novels but turned to scripts when an idea for one of her favorite television shows wouldn’t leave her alone. That first attempt, and her second teleplay for the same show, garnered her honorable mention in the Writer’s Digest 76th Annual Writing Competition in the screenplay category. She graduated from Hal Croasmun’s screenwriting ProSeries intensive in June of 2008.

Her interview with David Rambo, writer/producer for CSI appeared in the summer special edition of The Rewrit, the newsletter for Scriptscene, Romance Writers of America’s screenwriting chapter. Currently working on the rewrite of her second feature, Cindy is also developing two new television pilots.

Read more about Cindy at her website: www.cindycarroll.com

March 2010 — Beyond Fangs Creating New and Interesting Paranormal Characters
Presented by Deborah Blake
Dates: March 5-31
Deadline: March 2

Course Description:
Want to write a paranormal romance or urban fantasy, but don’t want to be just another Vamp in the crowd?

Yearning to create a completely original paranormal character, but don’t know where to start?

Author Deborah Blake moves beyond Vampires to delve into a wide range of paranormal folk who don’t need to hide from the sun.

From Witches to Weres, Fae to Phantasms, this class will explore the alternatives to over-used supernatural stereotypes and help you to create your own unique paranormal character.

The class will include
• A discussion of current trends,
• Suggested reading,
• Hints for character building, and
• An overview of authors who have successfully gone beyond the traditional.

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), The Goddess is in the Details: Wisdom for the Everyday Witch (Llewellyn 2009) and Everyday Witch A to Z Spellbook (Llewellyn 2010). Her short story “Dead and (Mostly) Gone” was published in the Anthology of Pagan Fiction: 13 Prize Winning Tales (2008) and she was named the EMILY contest “Best of the Best” in 2009. 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.deborahblakehps.com

March 2010 — Prose And Contests: Everything You Wanted To Know About Writing Contests But Were Afraid To Ask
Presented by Amy Atwell
Dates: March 5-31
Deadline: March 2

Course Description:
Overwhelmed by the number of writing contests out there?
Unsure whether to enter?
Unclear about why you should enter?

This class is geared for unpublished writers seeking feedback and/or a chance to final in the hundreds of writing contests offered through RWA® chapters.

Contests offer opportunities for feedback from published authors, agents, and editors. But contests cost money and valuable writing time.

This interactive lecture format will include
• Handouts, examples and
• Open Q&A to help writers understand what they can expect to gain from entering a contest.

The class will provide an overview of
• The contest process, sources for researching contests,
• Help writers identify their motives for entering a contest, and even
• Give tips on preparing your contest entry.

This class is focused on beginning writers as well as writers of all levels with little contest experience.

Class Objectives:
Give you an overview of RWA® chapter contests
Help identify your motives for entering a contest
Help prepare your contest entry by offering basic editorial lessons
Offer a forum to ask questions about your own work and situation

Week 1
• Lecture One: Understanding What You Can Gain From Entering A Contest
• Lecture Two: How To Choose A Contest

Week 2
• Lecture Three: Choosing What To Enter
• Lecture Four: Mechanics of an Entry

Week 3
• Lecture Five: Most Common Point Deductions in Contests – Pacing and more
• Lecture Six: Most Common Point Deductions in Contests – Characterization

Week 4
• Lecture Seven: Preparing Your Manuscript
• Lecture Eight: Contest Etiquette
• Lecture Nine: Wrap Up, Final Questions

Instructor Bio:
2008 Golden Heart® finalist Amy Atwell has experienced every aspect of writing contests. Having entered over 60 contests over the past ten years, her manuscripts have won the Winter Rose, Great Expectations, Beacon, Golden Gateway, Heart of Outreach contests and Award of Excellence. She has over 25 contest finals to her credit, including The Maggie, The Sheila, and The Daphne du Maurier contests. Amy’s also judged numerous contests including Romance Through The Ages, Great Expectations, The Golden Pen, The Barclay Sterling, More Than Magic, and she coordinated the 2009 Golden Pen Contest. In addition to her writing, Amy runs the WritingGIAM community of loops to help “PRO equivalent and up” writers achieve their writing goals.

A former theater professional, Amy’s had two plays commissioned and produced. During her tenure as education director at Georgia Shakespeare Festival, Amy taught workshops to middle and high school students and developed and led a state accredited program for English teachers teaching Shakespeare’s plays in the classroom. Amy holds an MA in Speech Communication and has worked as a writer/editor for Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the National Park Service, and Virgina Tech.

Read more about Amy at her website: www.amyatwell.com

March 2010 — 12 Stages of the Writer’s Adventure: You are the Hero of Your Book Writing Adventure
Presented by Beth Barany
Dates: March 5-31
Deadline: March 2

Course Description:
Become the HERO of your Book Writing Adventure!

Do you have a book inside you that can’t find its way out?
Are you having trouble even getting started on your book-writing journey?

The Writer’s Adventure Guide helps you step off into the unknown of a writing project and see it through to its destination — from the first exciting flash of an idea to that dark moment when you think you’ll never write a decent paragraph again, all the way to manuscript completion.

This class will give you tips and tools for keeping an eye on your inner landscape so you can achieve your goal of writing a book.

In 12 clear, organized steps, find out how you can:
• Build confidence in your writing instincts
• Forge a clear path from inspiration to completion
• Learn how to write the book while living your active life
• Delight in the creative adventure, both its ups and downs
• Complete your novel

Instructor Bio:
Beth Barany, a certified creativity coach, coaches, consults and teaches writers and those want to write. She offers workshops, e-courses, and products to support writers who want to enjoy the writing process AND get their books done. As a service to the writing community, Beth offers free support via her blog, Writer’s Fun Zone, www.writersfunzone.com, and her site, www.bethbarany.com

After working in journalism for 15 years, and teaching ESL in the US and France, Beth switched her writing focus to fiction, and now writes young adult fantasy. Her young adult fantasy novel, THE DRAGON STONE, is under consideration by agents and editors. Beth is a contributing author to the anthology, WRITING ROMANCE.

On her off-hours, Beth enjoys walking, the outdoors, gardening, watching movies, and reading. Beth is married to singer/song-writer and high school physics teacher, Ezra Barany.

April

April 2010 — Behind the Scenes: The Research Before the Book
Presented by Jacqui Jacoby
Dates: April 5-30
Deadline: April 2

Course Description:
Before the book, before a writer types a word on a page, there is an idea. And behind that idea are the characters, the background, the location.

Research is an important aspect of any story. Whether the writer prepares their background information before they begin to write the story, or if they make it up as they go, they will need to get to know the people they are creating.

Behind the Scenes: The Research Before the Book is class which will help writers learn the basics for researching their novels. Whether they are using the public library, stacking their own shelves or meeting with a professional in their character’s profession, this class will give the writer the insiders look at how to do the research and then pull it all together.

Instructor Bio:
A graduate of UCLA, Ms. Jacoby lives in the Arizona Mountains with her husband of twenty-four years and their three children. Besides studying martial arts and sword fighting, Ms, Jacoby has recently returned to school to achieve her second Bachelor of Arts, this one in Modern Languages.

Read more about Jacqui at her website: www.jacquijacoby.com

April 2010 — Plotting For Pantsers
Presented by Beth Daniels, aka Beth Henderson, J.B. Dane
Dates: April 5-30
Deadline: April 2

Course Description:
Fingers are flying, the story is just spilling out of them, line after line appearing on the monitor then – all of a sudden, the story peters out. How does one to get from the last word written to the next thing that is supposed to happen when that something hasn’t occurred to the flying fingers yet? What’s a writer to do?

In Plotting for Pantsers we’ll go over: storyboarding, different degrees of outlining, piecemeal, timeline, 3×5 card shuffle, skeleton, brainstorming, secondary storyline, wall of notes, solar system, POVs, post-it, detail, the cast, digging deeper, jumping, fork in the road, Chinese menu, interview, and sensory doorway to your world. Yes, in some cases I’ve created a “name” for various ways I’ve worked my way around and out of writer’s blocks. But if I’ve done it – and done it repeatedly – others can, too!

Week 1
• Introduction to the course. Storyboarding, various outlining options, piecemeal plan, and timeline

Week 2
• 3×5 card shuffle, skeleton, brainstorming, secondary storyline, wall of notes, and solar system

Week 3
• POVs, post-it, detail, the cast, digging deeper, and jumping

Week 4
• Fork in the road, Chinese menu, interview, and sensory doorway to your world covered. Wrap up with feedback from participants.

Having a work-in-progress that has presented some stumbling blocks would be nice, but it isn’t necessary to get the most out of this workshop.

Instructor Bio: Instructor Bio:
Beth Daniels, aka Beth Henderson and J.B. Dane, has had a successful career with Berkley, Zebra, Leisure, Harlequin/Silhouette, and Simon and Schuster’s Aladdin Paperbacks and an e-book. She’s had a number of articles about writing featured on e-zines and a short story featured in a mystery suspense magazine. Her story in the Mother Goose Is Dead Anthology, is slated for publication by Dragon Moon Press in 2010.

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

April 2010 — Infusing The Romance Novel With Emotional and Sexual Tension
Presented by Laurie Sanders
Dates: April 5-30
Deadline: April 2

Course Description:
The romance genre is different from other fictional genres. In the romance genre, the ending is defined by the genre (at least according to RWA definition.) We know when we pick up a romance novel that no matter how dark it looks for the hero and heroine at the outset, they are going to end up at the end with the happily ever after ending.

What this means is that readers don’t read romance novels to find out what happens at the end. Instead, they choose romance because they want to be assured of that happy ending and they want to share vicariously in the journey of the hero and heroine as they meet, struggle, begin to fall in love, struggle again, and eventually overcome the obstacles that stand in the way of their happily ever after.

The heart of the romance plot is the ebb and flow of two kinds of tension — sexual tension and emotional tension. It is crucial to incorporate both kinds of tension into the romance novel.

In this workshop, we will cover the basics of both kinds of tension and how to incorporate them.
• We will look at character, plot, and the ways that characters and plot work together to provide the perfect atmosphere to build emotional and sexual tension.

• Plot devices that fuel emotional and sexual tension

• An overview of sexuality in romance novels — sweet — sensual — erotic — beyond vanilla erotic — where does your book fit — where do you want it to fit?

• Spicing up a manuscript for the erotic market — it can be done — how?

• Sexual tension isn’t just sexual — sexual tension has an emotional context as well — Blending sexual and emotional components.

• Once you have the ingredients for emotional and sexual tension — then what?

• Deep point of view is the key — Using deep point of view to show internal character motivation, which builds conflict and emotional tension — Using deep point of view to show sexual attraction, which builds sexual tension.

• Sexy is in the eye of the beholder — don’t be afraid to share your view of what’s sexy

• Choosing the details that show and build sexual tension

• Choosing the details that bring in the emotional component

• Maintaining/building sexual tension and emotional tension after the characters have consummated their relationship.

• Blending emotional/sexual tension for the happy ever after ending your readers are craving.

Instructor Bio:
Laurie Sanders
CEO/Editor Black Velvet Seductions Publishing

Laurie Sanders has a passion for creating. She realized that though she loved the raw process of creating characters and stories from scratch she also enjoyed working with authors to strengthen and perfect their stories.

Laurie’s need to create began in elementary school and into high school. Her love of the romance genre continued and blossomed when she moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa and found a small group of friends who were also aspiring authors. The group founded the Heart of Iowa Fiction Authors, an RWA chapter. Laurie served as newsletter editor for the group until an out of state move necessitated giving up that post. Years continued to pass and Laurie remained creative, her passion to create turning away from writing and toward quilting for a while.

In 2004, Laurie’s focus returned to writing when she discovered that the romance industry had changed dramatically. The erotic romance genre had been born and that genre, with its greater creative freedom was a genre that Laurie was eager to write in. She began a new book, this one an erotic romance with a sweet, emotional edge. Her story had the deep characters and heavy backstory that she liked in the more traditional romance novels she read but also included more eroticism than traditional publishers were allowing at that time.

Laurie began researching the possibility of creating her own publishing company. Much research later, she approached her husband, a business analyst by trade, with the idea. Her husband Orville who has been a steadfast supporter of all of Laurie’s creative endeavors was very supportive of this idea too and encouraged her to move forward. Plans were made, a name for the company was chosen, the company was incorporated, and then Laurie turned a new corner in her life of creative endeavor.

In March of 2008, Laurie finally released the book, which was the original impetus for Black Velvet Seductions when she released His Perfect Submissive under her pen name Alyssa Aaron.

Laurie continues to serve as both CEO and Editor-in-Chief at Black Velvet Seductions bringing her creative energy and vision to both roles. She is also hard at work on her second erotic romance novel A Dominant’s Regret.

Read more about Laurie and Black Velvet Seductions at her website: www.blackvelvetseductions.com

April 2010 — The Pirates Guide to a Successful Publishing Career, 2 weeks
Presented by Natalie J. Damschroder
Dates: April 5-17
Deadline: April 2

Course Description:
Based on the line in the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, that the pirates’ code is “more what you’d call ‘guidelines’ than actual rules.”

In almost every case, the “rules” of writing and doing business in the romance industry are actually guidelines.

• The reality is that there is no one path to success, and even some things that seem absolute have exceptions or nuances.

• The key is to know enough to be prepared for any eventuality, understand the expectations of the genre and the industry, and “violate” the so-called “rules” intentionally and positively.

Natalie J. Damschroder is certainly not the only author to embrace the reality of the pirate’s code, but she was one of the first. Applying the line from the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, that the pirates’ code is “more what you’d call ‘guidelines’ than actual rules,” she asserts that in nearly every case, the “rules” of writing and doing business in the romance industry are actually guidelines.

Being successful is not about copying another author’s path or habits, or following the Laws of Writing. It’s about taking in everything, determining your personal truth, and following your own path.

In this workshop, she addresses:
• craft
• the market
• networking
• contests
• and how best to achieve your own success, however you define it.

Instructor Bio:
Natalie J. Damschroder is the published author of seven novels and nearly two dozen novellas and short stories. She currently writes urban fantasy and romantic adventure. Over the nearly 17 years she’s been part of the romance writing community, she has absorbed tons of information and has found that the Internet is like one gigantic game of telephone. She can’t claim to have ALL the answers or be right ALL the time, but it’s definitely one of her goals. A pragmatic, eyes-open approach to this business is her underlying philosophy.

Read more about Natalie at her website: www.nataliedamschroder.com

May

May 2010 — Creating Memorable Characters
Presented by Sue Viders and Rebecca G. Martinez
Dates: May 5-28
Deadline: May 2

Course Description:
Based on Sue’s and Becky’s latest nonfiction book, “Ten Steps to Creating Memorable Characters,” this workshop takes the writer through the various elements needed to develop a great character.

The workshop will cover:
• Physical description
• Occupation
• Back history
• Relationships
• Personality traits
• Body language
• Speech,
• Wardrobe
• Possessions
• Environment
• Daily living
• And finally how to put it all together

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

May 2010 — 8 Ways To Murder Your Manuscript Without A Conviction
Presented by John Foxjohn
Dates: May 5-28
Deadline: May 2

Course Description: Class Description:
John Foxjohn’s eight steps of murdering a manuscript without a conviction encompasses eight major categories most writers do that contribute to rejections. Foxjohn covers where to start a manuscript, conflict, voice, editing, and other essential parts of writing.

Instructor Bio:
Best-selling author John Foxjohn epitomizes the phrase; “been there—done that.” 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, a multi-published author.

His first novel, Code of Deceit, a murder mystery, became a best-seller three months after its release.

Although John is proud and excited about his first novel, that pales in comparison to his excitement for the next two. In April his blockbuster historical fiction, Journey of the Spirit hit the shelves.

In September, the sequel to Code of Deceit, Cold Tears, exploded on the market. Many readers shared John’s belief in these two. In a worldwide reader poll, they voted Cold Tears the best mystery in the world in 2007. In the same poll, voted Journey of the Spirit second in the mainstream category.

In August of 2008, John introduced the third novel in the David Mason series, Color of Murder. John is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, Elements of Romance, Sisters-in-Crime, and League of Texas Writers. He is a full time writer and speaker and lives in Lufkin, Texas. John’s new book, TATTERED JUSTICE is due to be released March 2010.
Read more about John at his website: www.johnfoxjohn.com

May 2010 — Demystify the Query Letter
Presented by Beth Barany
Dates: May 5-28
Deadline: May 2

Course Description:
You’ve written and written, now it’s time to put your focus on one of the most important one-page sell sheets in your life. Often writers think that the query letter is the most daunting thing to write. But actually, if you follow a few simple guidelines you will be able to write successful queries that will get your manuscript read.

In this class, we will break the query letter into small bits, practice each piece, and share the results for our current WIP for group feedback. Since the query letter is essentially a sales document, we will also discuss the mindset of the agent and the editor, and how to give them what they want.

On her off-hours, Beth enjoys walking, the outdoors, gardening, watching movies, and reading. Beth is married to singer/song-writer and high school physics teacher, Ezra Barany

May 2010 — Pitch Perfect
Presented by Kerri Nelson
Dates: May 5-28
Deadline: May 2

Course Description:
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 pitch practice workshop, taught by multi-published romantic suspense author, Kerri Nelson.

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 eight of those books in just one year after perfecting her pitch process!

In this intensive refresher course, Kerri offers up the secrets to
• Nailing your pitch
• How to score a home run with editors
• 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!

Instructor Bio:
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, Southern Magic Romance Writers, Hearts Through History Romance Writers, Celtic Hearts Romance Writers, and Futuristic Fantasy & Paranormal Romance Writers.

In addition, Kerri has been contracted to publish eight books with four 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!

Read more about Kerri at her website: www.kerrinelson.com

June

June 2010 — What Not to Write
Presented by Mallory Mitchell
Dates: June 4-30
Deadline: June 1

Course Description:
Is your manuscript in need of an overhaul?
Does it have adverb overuse, flying body parts, and run-on sentences?
Does it suffer from multiple personality disorder?
Do you have descriptive passages or just talking heads?

In this course, four samples of “What Not to Write” which address these problems will be presented and corrected.

Instructor Bio:
Mallary Mitchell is an educator and a multi-published author. Night Owl Romance Reviews recently nominated her 2008 release from The Wild Rose Press, ROPED AND TIED, for Best Contemporary Book.

Read more about Mallory at her website: www.mallarymitchell.us

June 2010 — Past Life Regression for the Writer’s Soul: A New Approach to Character Creation
Presented by Dawna Richard
Dates: June 4-30
Deadline: June 1

Course Description:
Have you ever had the feeling that you have been to a certain place or time or experienced reoccurring dreams?

Have you had a lifelong phobia that you have no explanation for?

This could be an indication that you have lived before.

Whether you are interested in exploring the possibility of a past life or you are just looking for that next story idea, this class is for you.

Learn a little about yourself and unleash a plethora of new ideas along the way. Through past life regression/self meditation techniques, you will have the chance to explore the workings of your mind and gain the tools to uncover a story and characters waiting to be written.

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: www.seizethedawn.com

June 2010 — Deep Point Of View Workshop
Presented by Laurie Sanders
Dates: June 4-30
Deadline: June 1

Course Description:
If you’ve received a rejection letter or your entries have scored low in writing contests or reviewers are not taken with your published books there is a strong likelihood that the culprit is a shallow point of view.

Join Black Velvet Seductions founder and Editor-in-Chief Laurie Sanders for an in depth look at deep point of view. Laurie will share insights about what readers (and editors) really want when they buy fiction and will show you through examples, exercises, and feedback how to incorporate this important element into your work. In this workshop, we will look beyond the basics of viewpoint and examine why it is such an important tool and how to use the deeper nuances of viewpoint to add emotion, texture, motivation, conflict, and drama to a manuscript.

At the end of this workshop, you will know what deep point of view is, why it is important to editors and readers. You will be able to spot shallow point of view in your own manuscript and will have the knowledge and skills necessary to deepen the point of view in your own work. This knowledge and skill will inoculate you against one of the most common reasons editors reject manuscripts and readers abandon authors.

Topics covered will include:
• What readers want from fiction and how deep point of view gives it to them
• How to recognize passages that are in shallow viewpoint and how to revise them so that they will be deeper, and more meaningful
• How to decide whose point of view to use for key scenes
• How to make the most of the viewpoint you choose
• How to use deep point of view to show the thoughts, feelings, and emotions of a character who is not the viewpoint character
• How to use deep point of view to make your readers empathize with your character even if he or she has done a bad, bad thing

Course outline:
• Intro
• Viewpoint in general, what is it, why is it important, how decisions about viewpoint change the scope of your story
• What fiction readers want and how deep point of view gives it to them
• What is deep point of view? How does it differ from point of view in general?
• How to decide whose point of view to use. How to make the most of the viewpoint you choose
• Show don’t tell – and deep point of view – similarities and differences
• Inside the character versus outside the character
• Author Invisibility – avoiding author viewpoint
• Deep point of view and the four parts of character reality
• Deep point of view and dialogue
• Deep point of view and conflict
• Deep point of view and character motivation
• Advanced uses of deep point of view
• Flawed characters

Instructor Bio:
Laurie Sanders
CEO/Editor Black Velvet Seductions Publishing

Her need to create began in elementary school and into high school. Her love of the romance genre continued and blossomed when she moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa and found a small group of friends who were also aspiring authors. The group founded the Heart of Iowa Fiction Authors, an RWA chapter. Laurie served as newsletter editor for the group until an out of state move necessitated giving up that post. Years continued to pass and Laurie remained creative, her passion to create turning away from writing and toward quilting for a while.

In March of 2008, Laurie finally released the book, which was the original impetus for Black Velvet Seductions when she released His Perfect Submissive under her pen name Alyssa Aaron.

Read more about Laurie and Black Velvet Seductions at her website: www.blackvelvetseductions.com

June 2010 — Romance Writing 101, 2 weeks
Presented by Anne Marie Novark
Dates: June 4-18
Deadline: June 1

Course Description:
Anne Marie Novark will present an intense two-week workshop that begins with a review of fiction writing basics including story structure, POV, GMC and how they relate to writing romance.

Next, she will give an overview of romance writing essentials covering such topics as:

• Developing the love interest
• The purpose of love scenes
• 12 romance plots and how to use them
• Finally, she will provide tips on self-editing your own work

“Competition in the industry is fierce. With a solid foundation in fiction writing fundamentals, your work will stand out from all the rest.”

Instructor Bio:
Anne Marie Novark is a Texas girl, born and raised. She loves to read and write about men and women falling in love, overcoming life’s obstacles, and living happily ever after. She writes spicy Contemporary Western novels, as well as Regency historicals. Anne Marie is published with The Wild Rose Press.

Read more about Anne Marie at her website: www.annemarienovark.com

July

July 2010 — Breaking Things Down Into Threes: Beginning, Middle and End
Presented by Beth Daniels, aka Beth Henderson, J.B. Dane
Dates: July 7-30
Deadline: July 1

Course Description:
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 breaking everything down into thirds.

Three is a magic number. It’s used in art, music, interior design, and in literature. After all, doesn’t every story have a Beginning, a Middle, and an End? Three things. But we need to go further. Need to section the various elements of our storylines into smaller and smaller divisions of three.

Many have already have done this in writing essays at school, or in a public speaking class. Opening either a essay or a speech by telling the audience what is going to be discussing or telling them about, then breaking the body of the essay/speech into sections, and finally recapping everything at the end.

Look at it this way. What was said is:
1. Here’s what has occurred before and what we need to change,
2. Here is how we can change it or why we should change it, and
3. The problem is this because of this and that and we need to do this to correct it.

Storylines in fiction do exactly the same thing, they simply use characterization, action and reaction to move along.

Scenes can be broken down into threes; chapters can; POVs can. And in thinking by threes to create each tale, each element of a tale, story flow results.

Week 1
• The concept of breaking things in a manuscript into small sections of three elements.
• Working with the characters.

Week 2
• Working with dialogue.
• Working with scene set up and/or chapter layout.

Week 3
• Working with action scenes, love scenes, backstory.
• The wrap up.

Week 4
• Dialogue and feedback between instructor and participants on using the system as a whole.

Participants should have a work in progress, but it can be in any state of development – thinking about, early chapters, middle, or heading toward the conclusion. Thinking by threes works at any level, including editing. It can also help identify things that aren’t really needed in the book, the sort of things editors delete.

Instructor Bio:
Beth Daniels, aka Beth Henderson and J.B. Dane, has had a successful career with Berkley, Zebra, Leisure, Harlequin/Silhouette, and Simon and Schuster’s Aladdin Paperbacks and an e-book. She’s had a number of articles about writing featured on e-zines and a short story featured in a mystery suspense magazine. Her story in the Mother Goose Is Dead Anthology, is slated for publication by Dragon Moon Press in 2010.

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.

Read more about Beth at her website: www.romanceandmystery.com

July 2010 — Enneagrams: What Are They and How Can I Use Them in my Writing?
Presented by Misa Ramirez
Dates: July 7-30
Deadline: July 1

Course Description:
Enneagrams are a fun and effective tool to use when crafting your characters. Character growth must happen, right? But how do we stay focused on who our characters are and stay true to their personalities with that growth? People develop their personality types early in life and those traits stay with them. What changes is the understanding we have of the personality we’ve had all along. Our personalities frame how we respond to situations.

This is true for your characters, as well.
• Is your hero a Reformer?
• Or a Helper?
• Or maybe he or she is a Motivator.
• What is their shadow self?

Enneagrams help identify psychological motivations. They are used as a diagnostic tool to look at one’s emotional outlook.

This online workshop will teach you:
• Enneagram Basics
• How to apply them to crafting your characters
• Help you use these identifiers as you traverse your turning points so that you stay true to who your character is as they grow.

Your character development will never be the same!

Read more about Misa at her website: www.misaramirez.com/ and www.chasingheroes.com

July 2010 — May The Force Be With You – Adding Realistic Law Enforcement & Legal System Elements Into Your Novel
Presented by Kerri Nelson
Dates: July 7-30
Deadline: July 1

Course Description:
Who doesn’t love a hot cop hero?
Want to make his cop talk and attitude sound authentic?
What about evidence collection or a courtroom scene?

Need a little legal know how to make your book more exciting or suspenseful?

Learn “cop talk,” criminal evidence procedures, anatomy of a lawsuit, and more!
Kerri Nelson a multi-published author in romantic suspense has a degree in Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement. Kerri has over 15 years experience in both the public and private legal field. Including an internship with the FBI, a state prosecutor, and a Juvenile Court Judge. In addition, Kerri worked for the U.S. Marine Corps and in the private sector. Kerri has worked with both major corporations and private law firms.

Kerri will use her experience and education in the legal field to show you how to sound like an expert when you add the legal system or law enforcement characters into your own novel.

After an education and career in the legal field, Kerri began to pen romantic suspense novels with a legal or law enforcement theme. She is a true southern belle and comes complete with her dashing southern gentleman husband and two little belles-in-training. When she’s not reading or writing, you’ll find her baking homemade goodies for her family, feeding her addiction to blogging online or designing custom made book trailers. Kerri is an active member of Romance Writers of America as well as numerous Chapters including Southern Magic, Futuristic Fantasy & Paranormal, Hearts Through History, and Celtic Hearts Romance Writers.

Read more about Kerri at her website: www.kerrinelson.com

July 2010 — Marketing for Introverts
Presented by Tina Gallagher
Dates: July 7-30
Deadline: July 1

Course Description:
Does the thought of networking and marketing make you break out in hives?

Tina Gallagher, a marketing professional and multi-published author, discusses ways for introverted authors to successfully market themselves and their books.

Even if you’re not normally an introverted person, you may not be comfortable talking about your own book. This workshop will offer several creative ways for authors to reach their target market without stepping too far out of their comfort zone.

Instructor Bio:
Tina Gallagher writes Contemporary Romance novels that sizzle with passion and always have a happy ending, as well as informative, non-fiction.

Tina was raised in Northeast Pennsylvania and in-between softball, basketball, and music lessons, she and her best friend would create their own “happily ever afters” for their favorite soap opera couples. After a while, the soap operas lost their appeal, but the writing never did. She continues to use her imagination to weave stories about heroes and heroines who share deep, lasting relationships.

Tina is the Vice-President of the Pocono/Lehigh Romance Writers, chapter of the Romance Writers of America. She and her husband live in Northeast Pennsylvania with their two beautiful children.

Read more about Tina at her website: www.tina-gallagher.com

August

August 2010 — Time Management for Writers
Presented by Jacqui Jacoby
Dates: August 5-27
Deadline: August 2

Course Description:

Did you know that each of us is given exactly 168 hours a week?

We can beg, barter, and plead and not one more minute will be awarded us. In those hours, we must take care of ourselves, our families, our work and our houses…and find time to be the writers we want to be.

The Get It Down Workshop will help you:

• Organize your time
• Organize and plan your projects
• Learn to set goals that will get your projects accomplished
• And finally, find the time to be the best writer you can be!

Read more about Jacqui at her website: www.jacquijacoby.com

August 2010 — The Nuts and Bolts of Publishing
Presented by Misa Ramirez
Dates: August 5-27
Deadline: August 2

Course Description:

• Did you know that there are more than 300,000,000 people in the US?
• And did you further know that more than 80% of these Americans want to right a novel?
• What makes you different?
• What will help you succeed?

Knowledge is power. Knowing the facts about the publishing industry, from statistics (did you know that 1/3 of high school graduates never read another book?) to the low down on what happens after you get ‘the call’, will help you navigate the rocky terrain of your journey.

This online class will:
• Give you the facts from what you’re up against,
• What the competition is,
• What to expect as you traverse the path to publication, and more.

Read more about Misa at her website: www.misaramirez.com and www.chasingheroes.com

August 2010 — Bring Magic into Your Fiction: How Fairytales and Folktales Can Enhance Your Story
Presented by Beth Barany
Dates: August 5-27
Deadline: August 2

Course Description:
“Once upon a time there was magical woman who loved fairy tales. But alas, the evil monster had eaten every tale in the land. And thus, the magical woman had no more power, because all her power was bound up in the tales she would tell around the fire at night.

So early one morning, she packed her rucksack and grabbed her walking stick. She turned to her cat, “Come along, Kitty. We’re off to find a way out of this mess.” She shut the door behind her and set off.

She didn’t look back, not even once, though she had no idea if she would ever be back to her cozy cabin at the edge of the woods. She did know, however, that she had to find a way to recover her magic.

She had to defeat the evil monster…”

Deep within dwell the tales of our childhood. These tales stretch their roots back through the mists of time into legends and myths of yore. Tap into your inner archetypal storyteller by learning how to use fairy tales, folktales, and other elements of fantasy to write fiction that is more powerful.

In this workshop, you will:
• Learn how to identify folktale and fairytale motifs, understand their applications and benefits, and how they can shape and improve your story
• Enhance the power of your fiction by mastering the use of your story’s magical objects
• Increase your tools of world building, including setting, history, “pantheon of power,” and more
• Be inspired and motivated to move your story forward
• Gain clarity in what’s already working well in your fiction
• Get structured exercises both about and on your writing
• Harness the subconscious power of oral story telling

On her off-hours, Beth enjoys walking, the outdoors, gardening, watching movies, and reading. Beth is married to singer/song-writer and high school physics teacher, Ezra Barany.

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.

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

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.

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 5 Day course
Presented by Robin Matheson
Dates: September 20-24
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 5-day 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
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!

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.

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.

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

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.

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