The life of a writer can be solitary, sitting in front of a computer with only your words and the dogs for company. One of the best ways to combat isolation is to join local writers’ groups. I’ve joined Colorado Romance Writers (CRW), my local chapter of RWA. You can find more information about them on their website at http://crw-rwa.ning.com/
I’ve decided to do a series on my blog about local writers and local writing resources here in Colorado. Each month I’ll share CRW’s activities, local speakers and their online workshops. If you’re in Colorado, consider stopping by a meeting. If you’re not, but you are a writer, they put on several online workshops every month, and they always have a great selection for a good price.
The monthly meeting in March features Heather Sands from the popular book blog The Book Reading Gals. (http://thebookreadinggals.com)
Heather will be presenting her informative workshop Everything You Ever Wanted to know about Book Bloggers, but Were Afraid to Ask. She will be focusing on how authors can get their books reviewed on a book blog whatever their path to publishing – traditionally published, published with a small press or a self-published author.
Heather also writes as Heather Lire and her debut novel Second Chance at Forever from Desert Breeze Publishing came out in February.
The following is a list of CRW’s online workshops. They can help writers with everything from professional development to promotions, industry, business, networking, editing, craft, characterization, and plotting.
If you’re interested in any of these online courses go to http://crw-rwa.ning.com/page/2013-onlineworkshops to register. Most workshops are only $25.
I’m Back From a Writing Conference: What Do I Do Now?
Instructor: Tina Gerow
Dates: March 4 – March 15, 2013
Description: There are books and manuals on pretty much every aspect of being a writer. However, I’ve never come across a manual for getting the most out of attending writing conferences. And even beyond that, there’s no manual to show you how to maximize all that “most” and once you do – what do you do with “it” once you have “it”.
Most writers and industry professionals attend writing conferences, having a great time, but never being able to justify the cost/benefit of continuing to attend such conferences in the future. After all, spouses, bosses and others tend to want to understand the benefit of shelling out money each year (sometimes several times each year) for conference attendance.
So how can you quantify the value of conference attendance not only for all of them, but for yourself? After all, as a writer – you are really a business owner. And part of being a good business owner is making sure to spend your valuable time and hard earned money on things that will bring you a good value and return on your time/money.
How to Design and Teach an Online Workshop
Instructor: Catherine Chant
Dates: March 4 – March 15, 2013
Description: This two-week workshop begins with an overview of why you would want to create and teach an online workshop, and covers these topics:
- Developing a workshop topic
- Identifying your audience
- Designing a lesson plan
- Interacting with your students
- Designing exercises for your students
- Your workshop proposal
- Technical aspects of online teaching (e.g. Yahoogroups)
At the end of this workshop you will have a basic outline of your course and the first draft of a proposal ready to polish and send out to workshop coordinators.
Finding Words/Killing Words: Bringing Your Manuscript in at the Right Word Count
Instructor: Beth Daniels
Dates: March 4 – March 29, 2013
Description: You’ve done it! You’ve finished writing your manuscript at long last. But just before you move on to sending it out, you hit word count one last time. And HORRORS!!! It either says you still need a couple thousand words or you’ve gone over the publisher’s posted maximum word count by a couple thousand.
What’s a writer to do?
That’s what this workshop will do. In a few weeks we’ll give you hints on how to add up to 5,000 words to your manuscript or delete up to 5,000 words from it. We’ll work on adding words at first then switch over to killing a bunch of them, picking them off a couple at a time or in massacred clumps. There’s a system to doing both things. Editors do it all the time, so you can learn to recognize opportunities to add a bit or to kill it, too.
Regretfully, your modest presenter has had to do both a lot of times. But it makes her an expert on it, doesn’t it? Now, let’s have YOU master the tricks as well.
Flesh is Meant to be Enjoyed, So Why is Mine So Dry? Writing with All Five Senses
Instructor: Thea Hutcheson
Dates: March 4 – March 29, 2013
Description: Are your sex scenes dry? Maybe you need a little sensory lube to make your work slide from forgettable to memorable.
Erotica that stands out works on the sensual level because it grounds the reader in the moment, in the experience, and pulls them by the short hairs right down into the quivering, musky meat of the moment through the use of sensory details. Those same sensory details adds depth and can move the story forward like a graceful dance the reader won’t ever trip over, offering up hints and insights into the character, her past, and her motivation, providing a foundation for character voice, an important aspect of today’s best sellers.
Sensory details are often left out, or weighted heavily toward sight and touch. Pulling all five senses out of the background and putting them front and center is an effective tool that every writer needs in her tool box.
In this workshop, you’ll learn an exercise that teaches you to recognize the senses available in any scene and how to insert them so they do the most good.
Having that social outlet and resources are such an important part of a writer’s life. Enjoy.