Workshops are open to anyone. Cost is $15.00 for CHRW Members, $20.00 for non-members.
CHRW members receive 2 free workshops per year
January 2012 (4 weeks January 3rd thru 31st)
Class #1: Killer Openings
Instructor: Alexa Bourne
Many people browse through a bookstore, pull a book off the shelf and read the first page. They decide right then whether or not they'll buy the book. Killer Openings dissects those all-important elements. Students will learn the importance of a good opening and gain a better understanding of what makes a "killer opening." Students will study examples of good and bad openings and discuss why they do or don't work. Students will also submit their own opening lines/paragraphs/pages and receive a critique.
Instructor Bio:
Alexa Bourne is a teacher by day and a romantic suspense writer by nights, weekends and all school holidays. When not traveling around the world or crafting thrilling romantic suspense stories, she spends her time reading, watching brainless TV and thinking about exercising. She has a Bachelor's in English Literature and a Master's in Education. She has finaled in or won 21 RWA contests with 7 manuscripts. (Most of those contests focused on the 1st few pages or the 1st chapter.) To learn more about her, visit www.alexabourne.com.
February 2012 (2 weeks February 1st thru 15th)
Developing Brand You!
Instructor: Jennifer Fusco
Developing Brand You! is designed with to educate you, the author, about marketing and brand. Beginning with an understanding of brand basics, Developing Brand You, will offer step-by-step guidance to understanding brand and providing you with a detailed plan to develop your own author brand. This highly interactive workshop will not only change your thinking in the way you go to market, but help you design a brand that will last over time.
Instructor Bio:
Jennifer Fusco is the Creative and Brand Manager for the General Electric Company, North America and the author of the series, MARKET OR DIE, marketing books for writers. Currently, she is a member of the (ANA) Association of National Advertisers and believes brand building is a key to professional success.
In her writing life, Ms. Fusco is a member of RWA's PRO network and serves as the Vice President of the Connecticut Romance Writers. A writer of Paranormal Romance, Ms. Fusco is represented by literary agent, Eric Ruben and will be a monthly contributor to the Romance Writers of America's RWR Report, beginning in 2012.
March 2012 Class #1 (4 weeks March 5th thru
30th)
Creating the Perfect Predator
Instructor: LD Madison
Are all killers the same? Are all rapists motivated by the same things? Surprisingly, the answer is a resounding NO. Even though we'd like to think that all criminals are crazy or simply evil, they are complex creatures as varied and three-dimensional as the heroes we love.
Creating the Perfect Predator the perfect place to start your journey into the recesses of your villain's mind and psyche. Learn how they became the way they are, why they do thing heinous things they do – and what they get out of it.
The four-week workshop is for authors at all levels of writing experience. There are no specific 'prerequisites' other than an open-mind, and a desire to create spine-chilling, believable predators. The workshop is meant to be an overview of criminals and predators – not just killers. It will include the psychology of rapists, arsonists, cult leaders and pedophiles – as well as a strategy for the hero/heroine to find and catch the villain.
Workshop Schedule
Introduction to Creating a Believable Predator
Profiling – What to look for
Killers – Are they all the same?
Arsonists – A Burning Obsession
Rapists – Who Rapes and Why They Do It
Pedophiles – Are They All the Same?
Mob Organizations and Gangs
Cult and Satanic Crimes – Fool Me Once
How Does Your Hero Catch Them?
Conclusion – Wrap Up and Q&A
Instructor Bio:
LD has been writing and researching criminal behavior and subcultures for the past ten years. In addition to publishing erotic romances, LD has a degree in organizational psychology, and is currently working on a graduate degree in criminology.
March 2012 Class #2 (2 weeks March 19th thru 30th)
Class #2: Navigating through the Mechanics of Writing Dialogue
Instructor: MM Pollard, English teacher extraordinaire
Think about writing dialogue for a minute. Commas, periods, and quotation marks come to mind quickly, but these aren't the only marks you'll use.
Do you know how to decide if a question mark goes inside or outside the quotation marks? When do you use dashes and ellipses? Are they interchangeable?
Dialogue has other issues than just punctuation. Those tags –Should you use them at all? What if you put the person's name to whom the dialogue is directed at the beginning of each line of dialogue? Can you get rid of tags that way?
What about breaking up the dialogue? Your editor, your friend, or the book you're reading says that you shouldn't have large tracts of dialogue. How do you do that?
MM Pollard, English teacher extraordinaire will answer these questions and many others related to good dialogue written correctly.
Each lesson will have an assignment. If you complete and return all to MM, she'll copy edit 1000 words of your writing.
Instructor Bio:
As an English teacher for fifteen years and as a line editor for Black Velvet Seductions for the past two years, MM Pollard, English teacher extraordinaire has had the mission to find and correct ungrammatical grammar, misused usage, problematic punctuation, and poor writing in others' work.
MM has helped many writers improve their language and writing skills through her fun workshops. Yes, punctuation can be fun! She has presented or will present workshops on Writers Online Classes, Novelists at Work, Savvy Authors, Orange County RWA, and Passionate Ink, just to name a few. MM is sure she can help you, too, master the fundamentals of English composition.
April 2012 (2 weeks April 16th thru 27th)
The Query Conundrum
Instructor: Kerri Nelson
Query writing doesn't have to be a mystery!
In this highly interactive 2 week course, you'll learn the basics of query writing. Plus, view successful queries, write your own rejection letters, read all about my chat with a popular agent on what her ideal query would look like, practice your query writing skills, and then receive a free query letter critique from me at the end of the course.
Instructor Bio:
Kerri Nelson discovered her love of writing at an early age and soon became a columnist for her local newspaper winning the Outstanding Young Journalist of the Year Award for her efforts. After a fifteen year career in the legal field, Kerri fulfilled her lifelong dream of publication and is now an award winning multi-published author of nearly every genre under the sun (and moon) and also writes young adult fiction under the penname K.G. Summers.
A true southern belle, she comes complete with a dashing, stately gentleman and three adorable children for whom she often bakes many homemade treats. Kerri is an active member of Sisters in Crime and Romance Writers of America as well as numerous chapters including Futuristic Fantasy & Paranormal Writers and the Kiss of Death Chapter for mystery/suspense authors. She owns and operates The Book Boost (an affordable author promotion company) and offers personal online tutoring & mentoring for authors through her Tutor Me Write service.
Visit her website here: www.KerriNelson.com
May 2012 (2 weeks May 16th thru 30th)
Formatting Fundamentals: Shaping Up Your Manuscript for Publication
Instructor: Pat Hauldren
At the end of this workshop, students will know how to format their manuscript for various types of publication (print/online/etc.). An editor or agent should never have to inform the writer how to format a manuscript and some agents actually reject the first hint of non-professional formatting. Here we'll not only learn how to format properly, but to set up templates for different types of writing software and markets. The audience for this class is for anyone wishing to publish professionally. There is no prerequisite.
Instructor Bio:
Pat Hauldren is a book editor for Cyberwizard Productions and a freelance writer and editor whose articles have appeared in over 600 print newspapers nation-wide and millions online. Pat has published articles, short stories, poetry, and Japanese Noh Drama. She's working on her 3rd novel and teaching writers workshops locally, online, and overseas.
Pat is a member of the Romance Writers of America (RWA®), DFW Writers' Workshop (DFWWW), North Texas Speculative Fiction Workshop (NTSFW), Writers' Guild of America, Frisco Writers' Group, and more online writing groups than can be mentioned here. Find out more about Pat Hauldren at www.pathauldren.com or write her at Pat@PatHauldren.com
June 2012 (4 weeks June 1st thru 29th)
Show and Tell: An Interactive Workshop
Instructor: Shannon Donnelly
"Show, don't Tell" is a cliché that has almost lost its meaning. But both showing and telling are valuable tools for any writer--writers need both narrative passages as well as dramatic scenes, so each has its own place within any writer's skill set. In this workshop, we'll use writing examples to figure out the truth hidden in this tired phrase. And how "show, don't tell" really means "show more with dramatic scenes, and tell only when you need to move the story along".
The "telling" part of the workshop includes tips, tricks, and techniques to help improve narrative in your fiction, and identify when it's time to "tell" your story to the reader to compress information, smooth transitions, or otherwise better establish settings and scenes for the reader.
The "showing" part blends a set of exercises to strengthen an understanding of what makes a scene come to life by using more vivid descriptions to reveal characters--their thoughts and emotions--by showing them in action.
Topics we'll cover:
1.) Definitions -- what is showing, what is telling
2.) Telling: Use of the Narrative Voice
3.) Breaking it down part 1: Showing to Pull a Reader into Your Scenes
4.) Breaking it down part 2: Better Narrative (so a reader doesn't skip this)
5.) Going Deeper in Viewpoint to Better Show a Character's Inner World
6.) Transitions & Word Count--Where Telling Really Helps
7.) Showing and Telling--Mixing it up Again: These are not Absolutes
8.) Write to Your Strengths: When to Show, When to Tell
Instructor Bio:
Shannon Donnelly's writing has won numerous awards, including a RITA nomination for Best Regency, the Grand Prize in the "Minute Maid Sensational Romance Writer" contest, judged by Nora Roberts, RWA's Golden Heart, the Laurel Wreath, the Winter Rose, the Bookseller's Best, and multiple finalists in the Holt Medallion, the Colorado ACE, the Golden Quill, and others. Her work has repeatedly earned 4½ Star Top Pick reviews from Romantic Times magazine, as well as praise from Booklist and other reviewers, who note: "simply superb"..."wonderfully uplifting"....and "beautifully written."
Her Regency romances can be found as ebooks on Kindle, Nook and at Smashwords. She has had novellas published in several anthologies, has had young adult horror stories published and is the author of several computer games. And she can be found online at sd-writer.com and facebook.com/sdwriter.
July 2012 (3 weeks July 9th thru 27th)
Top Seven Editing Mistakes From an Undercover Editor
Instructor: Em Petrova
In this workshop, discover the top seven mistakes I see as an editor and learn how to fix them quickly and effectively. Topics include information on grammar, punctuation, plot threads and characterization.
From this three-week long class, you'll find out how to make the most of the time you spend editing.
Introduction and Welcome
Lesson 1: Crazy Punctuation
Lesson 2: Far-out names and their misspellings
Lesson 3: Overuse of the same sentence structure
Lesson 4: Characterization errors
Lesson 5: Walking the Dog
Lesson 6: Weak verbs
Lesson 7: Dangling Plot Threads
Wrap-up
Instructor Bio:
Em Petrova has over twenty contracted works of erotic romance as well as mainstream paranormal romance under her pseudonym Em Peters. When she's not lost in her writings, she's editing for a small press, so she knows how to crunch a minute and create two.
August 2012 Class #1 (4 weeks August 6th thru 31st )
The "W" Plot…Or The Other White Meat for Plotters
Instructor: Karen Docter
One of the staples of any writers' group conversations is the plot. It's integral to every novel, holds everything together. It's the vehicle that carries readers from page one to "The End". It's one of the scariest things an author faces when s/he decides, hey, I want to write a novel!
How many of us have made this decision, then stared at that blank page or computer screen without a clue how to proceed? What about those of us who write by the seat of our pants, the pantsers? Do we dare risk scaring off our muse by [shudder] plotting our story? How do the mega-plotters, the overachievers, know when it's time to stop and just put pen to paper?
Join four-time Golden Heart finalist and Daphne du Maurier winner Karen Docter as she shares the "W" plotting technique she's used successfully for years.
Karen analyzes the movie "Romancing the Stone" to show how the technique works, discussing the detailed plot points for the main characters including the villain. Throughout this 4-week online workshop, you'll uncover the skeleton of your own novel. Whatever your genre, by the end of the class not only will you have the tools you need to finish plotting your story using the "W", you'll know how to use it to write the synopsis we all love to hate…all without writing one word of the novel.
If you've already started your novel, that's okay. It's never too late to apply the principles of the "W" to your developing story. Have you run into a wall? Don't know where to go next? Has the story gone flat? Use the technique to pull apart the elements of your story so you can plug the holes, work through/over/around walls that loom in your path, and get moving on your story once again.
This is a hands-on-your-own-book workshop designed for the novice or the experienced writer.
Instructor Bio:
Karen Docter won the Category (Series) Romantic Mystery Suspense unpublished division of the 2005 Daphne du Maurier Award. She's a four-time Golden Heart finalist and a Charter member of The Golden Network & RWA® PRO®. Also a member of Colorado Romance Writers, KOD & From The Heart chapters, she is writing the next book in her romantic suspense Thorne's Thorns series. She holds a B.A. in Technical Journalism and, to foster literacy, she's been a speaker at local Jr./High schools, tutored composition and reading classes, and taught college level English Composition. FMI: www.karendocter.com
August 2012 Class #2 (2 weeks August 6th thru 17th)
Dazzle 'Em with Description
Instructor: Cheryl Wilson
Do your words sometimes lie lifeless on the page? Vivid, sensory description can be the cure for many a writing woe - from turning a mundane love scene into a adventure of sizzling sensuality to painting such vivid images that rapt readers feel transported to the world you have created. Join NY Times, USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestselling author, CL Wilson for a fun-filled, hands-on workshop and learn how to describe everything from the funny to the fantastic in ways that make images leap off the page.
Books are a unique form of entertainment in that they actually use none of our senses and yet, when effectively written, stimulate them all. Or, as Stephen King says in his book, On Writing, "Description is what makes a reader a sensory participant in the story."
Solely with words, authors can paint vibrant pictures, evoke genuine emotion, and set so vivid a tone that the story unfolding on the pages becomes every bit perceivable and sensually stimulating as any other entertainment medium—even more so because words can do a much better job of invoking all five senses rather than relying solely on sight and sound.
Great dialogue, a tight plot, and interesting characters all play vital roles in making readers connect with your story. But when it comes to painting word pictures and creating emotional mood, nothing does the job half so well as carefully crafted and perfectly placed description.
Description does not necessarily mean long passages of flowery, detailed narrative (though it can, depending on the tone you are trying to evoke). Description serves specific purposes:
1. Draw clear pictures of the surroundings, events and action in your novel using all five senses2. Setting the mood or tone of a scene with word choice
3. Control the pace and timing of scenes.
4. Open a window into a character's psyche by showing the world through their eyes. What they see, how they see it – and what they do NOT see, in fact – all speak volumes about a character.
5. Evoke emotion – making the intangible tangible
Instructor Bio:
C.L. Wilson's unique blend of gripping action, richly-imagined fantasy, and emotional intensity has made her books a favorite read for romance and fantasy readers alike. Praised for exceptional worldbuilding and lyric prose, her critically acclaimed novels have all appeared on bestseller lists including the USA Today, the New York Times, and Publisher's Weekly.
C.L's novels have won numerous awards including, LifetimeTV.com's Best Paranormal debut of 2007, the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, two National Reader's Choice awards, the Colorado Award of Excellence, and the Holt Medallion. Ms. Wilson is the honored recipient of the PEARL award from Paranormal Romance as the best new author of 2007, and winner of the 2009 PEARL award for best Romantic Fantasy novel.
When not torturing her characters mercilessly, C.L. enjoys relaxing with her family in sunny Florida and daydreaming of a world where chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream is a fat burning food.
August 2012 Class #3 (2 weeks August 20th thru 31st )
Marketing Your Series
Instructor: Misty Evans
What happens next to Alex Cross? To Eve Dallas? To Katniss Everdeen? To Percy Jackson? To Harry and Bella and Sookie? Readers want to know. A good series drives the market, opening up many opportunities for authors, and agents and editors are constantly on the lookout for new blockbuster series.
But what about marketing? Do the same rules for marketing a standalone apply to your series? Yes and no. This online workshop will cover lucrative ways to get the most bang for your promo buck without investing too much of your hard-earned cash and keep your readers coming back for more.
In this workshop, you'll learn how to:• Span books with short stories and freebies
• Develop an entertaining newsletter and get readers to sign up for it
• Use social media to keep readers engaged
• Design a strategic marketing plan for your brand as well as your books
Instructor Bio:
Misty Evans is the author of four series: the Super Agent romantic suspense series, the light paranormal Witches Anonymous series, the dark paranormal Lost Worlds series, and the Kali Sweet urban fantasy series. The books in her Super Agent series have won a CataNetwork Reviewers' Choice Award in 2008, CAPA nominations in 2009, the New England Reader's Choice Bean Pot Award for Best Romantic Suspense in 2010 and the ACRA Heart of Excellence Reader's Choice Award for Best Romantic Suspense in 2011.
Misty is currently at work on the next books in all her series. She likes her coffee black, her conspiracy stories juicy, and her wicked characters dressed in couture. When not reading or writing, she enjoys hanging out with her husband of twenty-two years and their twin sons. Learn more and sign up for her newsletter at www.readmistyevans.com
September 2012 (4 weeks September 3rd thru 28th )
Richard the Lionheart and the Crusades
Instructor: Sharron Gunn
Medieval fans, this is the course for you! 'Richard I and the Crusades' focusses on the High Middle Ages, in particular the fifty years before and after the Third Crusade. In order to limit aristocratic violence, the Church encouraged change in the laws involving marriage and inheritance, and religious fervour imbued knighthood with a new code of behaviour. The 'cutting edge' technology of the era resulted in improvements to armour and castle architecture. So much of what we imagine when we think of the Middle Ages was created in this period.
A substantial bibliography and webology will be included, and ideas for stories given as well as simple research projects. Discussion and questions are encouraged, but lurkers are welcome.
Schedule of Lectures:
1. Richard I & the Third Crusade2. Knighthood & The Knights Templar
3. Castles & Towns 1100 – 1200
4. Women: Eleanor of Aquitaine
5. Outlaws: The Legend of Robin Hood
Instructor Bio:
Sharron Gunn lives in British Columbia, and teaches British history part-time at university. While living over eight years in Europe, she studied the languages and history of Great Britain and France. She has a diplôme from the University of Nancy, France, a B.A. in French and a masters degree (2nd first degree) in Scottish History and Celtic Studies from the University of Glasgow. She is working on an historical fantasy.
October 2012 Class #1 (2 weeks October 1st thru October 15th )
Incorporating Humor into Your Writing
Instructor: Ally Broadfield
Humor is a part of our everyday lives. It can inspire hope, relieve tension, and help connect us to one another. Learning to use humor effectively will enhance your work and may even boost your creativity by challenging you to approach your craft in a new way. Even if your subject matter is serious, the subtle use of humor can help ease tension and give your readers a chance to breathe again after an intense scene. Learning to be funny is one of the most difficult writing skills to master, but as long as you possess a sense of humor, this class will teach you the skills you need to add humor to your stories.
Instructor Bio:
A graduate of The George Washington University, Ally Broadfield is a former school librarian whose passion is sharing knowledge. She has participated in several RWA sponsored workshops and has studied every book about writing she's been able to get her hands on since she decided to stop dabbling and get serious about being published. Known for her witty dialogue, she firmly believes that humor belongs in every story. She is a News Writer for the Best Friends Animal Network and an RWA PRO. Her first manuscript she didn't consign to the dust bunnies under her bed is currently on submission. She writes historical romance and young adult paranormal/fantasy romance, and is an active member of SCBWI and several RWA chapters, including YARWA, FF&P, HHRW and NTRWA.
October 2012 Class #2 (6 weeks October 15st thru November 26th)
Writing Scary Scenes
Instructor: Rayne Hall
Please Note: This class has 4 weeks of lessons and 2 weeks of critiques
Make your readers' hearts hammer with suspense, their breaths quicken with excitement, and their skins tingle with goosebumps of delicious fright.
Are your frightening scenes scary enough? Learn practical tricks to turn up the suspense. Make your readers' hearts hammer with suspense, their breaths quicken with excitement, and their skins tingle with goosebumps of delicious fright. Whether you're working on a ghost story, a thriller, a paranormal romance, an urban fantasy or a romantic suspense, this workshop is perfect for planning or revising your scary scenes. If you wish, you may submit a scene for critique at the end of the course.
StructureIntroduction
1. Instant Suspense
2. Keep Out – Danger
3. Danger in the Dark
4. Sounds are Scary
5. Total Isolation
6. Strip to Tease
7. Ticking Clock
8. Feel the Fear
9. Pacing
10. Euphonics
11. Peaks and Troughs
12. The Wimp Effect
Critiquing
Instructor Bio:
Rayne Hall has published 22 books (under several pen-names), seventy short stories (mostly fantasy, paranormal and horror) and thousands of articles. She has a college degree in Publishing and a masters degree in Creative Writing&Personal Development. A member of the Society of Authors (the British organisation for professional writers), she worked many years as magazine editor and creative writing teacher. Many of her horror stories have won contest prizes, and two were selected for honourable mentions in Year's Best Fantasy and Horror. Rayne is an experienced teacher who enjoys helping students to create sparkling scenes.
November 2012 (4 weeks November 1st thru November 30th)
Writing Steamy Sex Scenes: Making your Readers Beg for More
Instructor: Suzanne Rock
Writing a good sex scene takes hard work. If an author isn't careful, he or she can be caught up in clichés and euphemisms, both of which can detach the reader from the story. By contrast, a great sex scene can give the reader new insight into the characters and their relationship, as well as further the plot or expand a theme. In this course we will focus on the key elements that make a sex scene memorable and learn how to use writing tools such as prose, scenery, dialogue, and point-of-view to create scenes that both you and your readers will love.
Instructor Bio:
After over a decade in the scientific world, Suzanne needed a creative outlet. She tried scrap booking, cooking, crocheting, painting, and piano, none of which held her interest for very long. Then one of her friends suggested writing. Thrilled with the idea of creating her own worlds, she opened up her lap top and never looked back. Suzanne Rock is a multi-published erotic romance author with Ellora's Cave, Red Sage, and Loose Id. She also teaches two online writing courses through various RWA chapters Suzanne Rock Workshops and is the social media partner for Pink Petal Books. She has have active accounts on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, as well as an updated web page where you can learn more about her and her stories http://www.SuzanneRock.com.
December 2012 (2 weeks December 3rd thru 14th)
Principles of Good Website Design for Writers
Instructor: Catherine Chant
At the end of this workshop you will have a better understanding of what goes into making your author website more appealing and inviting to a visitor and thus more effective for promoting you and your work.
This two-week workshop will cover the golden ratio of layout design, web fonts and web-safe colors, using white space, user interface considerations and website organization, web graphics for the artistically challenged, and the importance of testing websites with multiple operating systems and browser applications.
This workshop is aimed at writers who have websites already and want to make them better, or writers who are planning to set up a website and want to know more about how the content should be arranged, either because they plan to do it themselves, or they want to be more informed when hiring a professional designer.
This workshop is the perfect follow-up to any class you've taken on HTML. When you know HTML, you know how to make a webpage. The "Principles of Good Website Design for Writers" workshop guides you through the NEXT STEP in the website development process by showing you how to take what you've learned and make a GOOD web page.
PRE-REQUISITE: Students are expected to be familiar with the basics of setting up a website (domain name, software, etc.). This class focuses on design principles and how to make your website more user friendly, appealing and effective. It is NOT an HTML class on how to program your website or how to use website design software.
The workshop will include exercises designed to strengthen the concepts discussed. Students do not need to have an active website to participate, but may find the lessons more "hands-on" if they do. The instructor will offer feedback on any student's website during the workshop if the URL is offered during the class.
Instructor Bio:
Catherine Chant is a PRO member of the Romance Writers of America (RWA), and a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). She worked for fifteen years at Boston College as a computing & communications consultant and spent several of those years serving as BC's web information services manager, maintaining and supporting the university web servers. She now provides freelance web editing and design services to other writers and clients such as BC's Lynch School of Education. Her young adult time travel romance WISHING YOU WERE HERE was a finalist in the 2008 Golden Heart awards. She is currently working a new young adult novel. You can visit her online at http://www.catherinechant.com