FF&P WORKSHOP UPDATE

The Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal Chapter of the RWA Presents the line up of great workshops for 2013! Click here to see the full line up! http://romance-ffp.com/page/workshops

SWOT Analysis for Writers by Dr Leslie Dow April 15-28, 2013

SWOT (Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats) Analysis is a tool used every day in business strategy to identify the critical internal factors that a company can use to take best advantage of any situation. Sound familiar? Writers can use this powerful tool to do the same thing. Using SWOT you’ll learn how to evaluate your characters strengths and weaknesses against the external opportunities and threats posed by your plot. Using this simple technique you will strengthen motivation by identifying those places where internal strengths and weaknesses collide with external opportunities and threats in ways that make stories great!

Flashbacks -- presented by MM Pollard April 22-May 12, 2013

Flashbacks present a problem with verb tenses. Since a flashback is past, but you’re writing in past tense, how do you show the flashback is more past than past? Confused? Trust me, you aren’t the only one. Editor Laurie Sanders, BVS, says that the poorly written flashback is one of the reasons she rejects manuscripts. Flashbacks are a device that a writer must use with care, or she might lose her reader in that distant past, never to see that reader again. We’ll consider kinds of flashbacks, uses for flashbacks, and reasons not to use flashbacks as well as the mechanics involved. Reward for doing your homework: MM’s personal feedback on every assignment. Consider homework as opportunities for mini-edits by MM.

Web Design --presented by Catherine Chant May 6-17, 2013

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 or creating a web presence. When you know HTML or a piece of web software, you know how to make a basic web page. 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 that basic page and make it a GOOD web page. One that invites visitors to stick around and read what you have to say. PRE-REQUISITE: Students should 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 a coding 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.

Beyond Google --presented by Ally Broadfield May 6-June 2, 2013

Workshop Description: There's nothing more frustrating than wasting your precious writing time on a futile web search. Whether you are looking for a specific piece of information or need to research an entire time period or subject, this class will help you conduct the best search for your information needs. You will learn how to utilize multiple online search resources, including search engines, web directories, and databases. You will also learn how to refine search terms, narrow or broaden your search, how to use Boolean logic, and many other tips and techniques to make your research more efficient and successful. A list of searchable web directories and websites covering multiple topics based on the needs of workshop attendees will also be provided.

Romantic Suspense seeks Paranormal -- presented by Leslie Wainger May 6-June 2, 2013

Writing romantic suspense should be easy, right? Take some romance, add some suspense, and voila! Except...not really. To stand out in this crowded genre you need to plot every step as carefully as your killer plots his next murder, and your couple's relationship has to be as romantic as Prince William's wedding to Kate Middleton. This course will start with the basics and go deep, preparing you to write a romantic suspense novel that makes readers stay up nights reading.

PLEASE JOIN US!

 

 

FF&P Writer Workshop Update

The Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal Chapter of the RWA Presents the line up of great workshops for January! Click here to see the full line up for 2013!

http://romance-ffp.com/page/workshops


 

January 7-February 3, 2013

Deep Story II--Presented by Carol Hughes http://my.rwa.org/p/cm/ld/fid=595

$20.00 for FFnP members and $30.00 for non-FFnP members

Whether you are a Pansters or a Plotter ~ Deep Story’s easy-to-use tips and techniques will forever silence your dreaded Internal Editor and expanding your writing success. In addition, you will learn the Hollywood’s secret to creating complex and believable characters in a matter of minutes. And with Deep Story’s simple writing techniques you will quickly become a master at creating scenes, characters and plots that readers everywhere will fall in love with.

January 7-20, 2013

Series Business -- Misty Evans http://my.rwa.org/p/cm/ld/fid=591

$15.00 for FFnP members and $20.00 for non-FFnP members.

No matter what genre, series are in demand by readers and publishers alike. But is writing a series right for you? This workshop will help you:

• Examine the pros and cons of writing a series
• Define and evaluate your idea
• Develop a Series Bible to track plot lines, characters and story arcs
• Develop a Pitch Bible that includes blurbs, synopses and a story arc to market to agents and editors
• Turn your series idea into a workable project with tools, templates and one-on-one help

January 7-February 3, 2013

BDSM Basics--Presented by Dr. Charley Ferrer http://my.rwa.org/p/cm/ld/fid=606

$20.00 for FFnP members and $30.00 for non-FFnP members

Whether you’re just picking up the Whip or have been writing D/s novels for some time, this workshop will provide you with the fundamentals necessary to navigate through the vast ocean that is Dominance and submission including definitions, character traits/development, and the various types of relationships possible. Learn the complex intricacies of the Power Exchange and how characters interact compartmentalize and/or incorporate BDSM into their vanilla life as well. Discover how to create the dynamic characters which embody the three common personality types inherent in any typical BDSM relationship as well as the psychological connections which are the fundamental aspects of these emotionally intense relationships. As we dispel the myths and misconceptions perpetuated by the media you’ll be able to create realistic characters and fantastic scenes. Discover the differences between erotic BDSM, Dominance and submission, Masochist and Sadist, and Master/slave relationships. The focus of this workshop is to learn “The Basics”. We will briefly review the BDSM FOR WRITERS CHECKLIST to discover how this valuable tool will assist in creating your characters. We will also conduct various basic exercises to assist you (the writer) to experience a few of the emotional intricacies of Dominance and submission for yourself. This is an interactive discussion with a BDSM expert practitioner.

 

GREAT(ER) EXPECTATIONS: Writing Cross-Genre Romance by Linnea Sinclair

If you’re reading this, chances are good that you’re an RWA member. And if you’re an RWA member, chances are good that you understand the connection between reader expectations in romance and the HEA (Happily Ever After) or the HFN (Happy For Now). The HEA/HFN are a trope as well as a result that romance readers expect (oh, okay, we demand) in our romance fiction. A story isn’t deemed to be in the romance genre unless it contains that HEA/HFN. And we, as writers, craft and shape and guide our characters and our plots toward HEA-ness in order to satisfy our readers (and before that, our agent and our editor). And we do so (or try to do so) in the allotted word count, be that fifteen thousand words for a novella or seventy-thousand words to one hundred ten thousand words for a novel. Given or take a few thousand.

Trouble arrives, however, when we write cross-genre stories. We now have two (or more) reader expectations to be met—and we have to do so in the same word count allotment.  To make matters more complicated, we might not be as conversant with the reader expectations and tropes of the non-romance genre… and hence we find ourselves floundering, juggling, drinking copious amounts of caffeine (or chowing down chocolate), and in general driving our critique partners and editors slightly crazy. Because we’re trying to fit twice the punch in half the size.

As someone who routinely melds two genres for a living, I’ve come up with three ways to make your life slightly easier (and less fattening ):

1. Know Thy Genres:  This means you need to be suitable well-read in all the genres in which you write. If you’re writing SFR and you go gangbusters on the hyperspace drive technical aspects and wimp out on the romance, you’ll lose readers (and reviewers). If you drown the book in romance and do paper thin world building, you’ll lose your speculative fiction readers. Those of us who love cross-genre come to those books wanting, yes, both our chocolate and our peanut butter (if you’re a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup candy fan). You have to know what readers expect…what must they absolutely have to be happy?

2. Determine What Expectations/Tropes Your Genres Have in Common:  Both space opera and romance trend (these days) for the take-charge, gutsy heroine. So in crafting your character for that kind of cross-genre book, you can meet both reader expectations but having a female protagonist that fits that kind of role. But in cozy mysteries, for example, the protagonist is often an amateur, perhaps even a bit bumbling. If you’re mixing cozy and space opera, you might want to forgo the take-charge technical wizard lead character and consider the ship’s cook as your protagonist…or perhaps a third-shift medical tech.

How about historical romance and fantasy alternate-Earth? Historical romance and fantasy both lend themselves to more lavish settings and descriptions. You can make readers from both sides of the bookstore happy if you address that expectation in your story. And if you know that’s an expectation you must address, it will cut down on your research time and your word count: You’re doing double-duty when you research and design the wizard’s castle with an eye to what both the historical and fantasy reader want to know (and experience). And,

3. Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help: Seek out beta readers, critique partners, and other authors who write in all the genres you’re currently exploring. Take classes—online and in-person—from authors and experts in those genres. Don’t expect your romance critique partner to fully understand the tropes and reader expectations in police procedurals if that’s not a genre he usually reads.  Don’t expect the manager of the science fiction and fantasy bookshop you frequent to be conversant with the HEA. Use these sources but know what each source brings to the literary table.  

Writing cross-genre romance means you’re always going to be doing double-duty, serving two masters, demanding chocolate with your peanut butter. It’s a balancing act but it’s one that allows you—and your readers—to explore worlds and characters and plots and conflicts that are deeper, richer, and—when it’s done right—definitely more memorable. 

A good resource for tropes and viewer (reader) expectations:

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GenreTropes

BIO:

Winner of the prestigious national book award, the RITA®, author Linnea Sinclair is a name synonymous for high-action, emotionally intense, character-driven novels. Starlog magazine calls Sinclair “one of the reigning queens of science fiction romance.”  The Down Home Zombie Blues, her 2007 Bantam release, will hit the movie theatres as The Down Home Alien Blues in late 2012.

Sinclair, a former news reporter and retired private detective, resides in Naples, Florida (winters) and Columbus, Ohio (summers). Readers can find her at her WEBSITE

I hope you will join my class

SLEUTH FACTS: PI Procedures

For Your Plots

Hosted by

Fantasy-Futuristic& Paranormal

Romance Writers

This 4 WEEK class starts Sept. 3rd

For more information click HERE

Writing Workshops: An Important Tool for a Delusional Breed of Winners by Melissa Arroyo

Every writer is perfect when we write our first story. At least we think we are.

We strut like Jagger and move like Elvis when it comes to presenting our masterpiece. Our delusion is such, we can’t see right from wrong. But then after one month, more or less, of sending out queries and entering contests, rejection letters from editors and agents start coming in, and judges’ critiques tear us apart.

Taking more hits than a UFC fighter, our pride falters waiting for the knockout that will never come for we are a stubborn breed. A breed that I believe has the right ideas and imagination from the beginning, yet knows very little about writing fiction.

Did I know about Deep POV? Nope.

Did I really know my grammar? Apparently not.

A writer’s world is as crazy and upside down as the ones we create for our stories. It can be scary; especially when we haven’t developed the crucially important thick skin that will help us survive rejections while learning new skills.

I was lucky Nalini Singh gave me wonderful advice. She suggested I join special interest groups where I could meet fellow writers and participate in workshops. Following her tips, I found the FF&P Chapter and realized I had a lot of homework to do, literally.

During my first year of writing my skin grew thicker, my characters and plot stronger. Assertive criticism and superb workshops helped me improve. However, the most important lesson I learned is being delusional is good for writers. It is what made us begin in the first place. It gave us the confidence to get out there and show those first steps.

Needless to say, my first story was and is awful. I keep it close to remind me of how far I have come and where I want to be. And even though my stories have not been published yet, I’m sure they will be.

Now, all I have to do is stretch out my days and abduct that pesky little thing called privacy. Easy right? Oh well, that’s another blog adventure.

Melissa Arroyo is an English teacher who loves reading and writing sexy stories with kick-ass heroines and super handsome and unconventional heroes.