Using your characters to unlock the plot. Struggling to fix your plot? Start with your character. In this session, we’ll explore how your protagonist’s specific desire on page one contains the seeds of your entire story arc. When you understand who they are and what they want most, your plot begins to emerge naturally—from the … Read more
“Styles Make Fights”: It’s a phrase used in boxing. The fighting style often determines the outcome as much as the actual skill level. For writing, sometimes you design a fighting style based on the character’s personality. In this workshop we’ll talk about how to use fight scenes to advance your plot and develop your characters by … Read more
Workshop: During RIRW’s 2023-2024 program year, Renita did a presentation on writing inclusively. She was scheduled for a follow-up last May (2024), but got sick. So we rescheduled her for this April. In her initial presentation she shared a slide deck with lots of information about terms for skin tones and such…and it went by … Read more
How To Use Email Marketing To Sell More Books: Learn how to write emails that get opened and clicked and in turn build your brand loyalty and revenue. We’ll cover topics such as: subject lines, deliverability, structure and automations. You’ll learn how to choose subject lines that get emails opened, why your emails may head … Read more
Jan. 4, 2025 — Roundtable Come join your fellow writers for a free-ranging discussion!
Jeanette Smith on How to Edit Sticky Sentences Why do readers adore certain sentences and trip over others? It could have to do with those tricky sentences being full of glue words. In this presentation, you’ll discover what glue words are, how they make sentences “sticky,” and why unsticking them can do wonders for multiple … Read more
Dec. 14, 2024 — Jeanette Smith on How to Edit Sticky Sentences Why do readers adore certain sentences and trip over others? It could have to do with those tricky sentences being full of glue words. In this presentation, you’ll discover what glue words are, how they make sentences “sticky,” and why unsticking them can … Read more
Once you’ve got the bare bones of your story, it’s time for layering. But what kind of elements can be layered? And which ones MUST be, if you’re trying to write a keeper. Find out… · How building a book is like building a house. You can’t stop at the foundation. · What about the B storyline? … Read more
Hopepunk is more a vibe than a genre. Solarpunk is hopepunk’s climate-conscious cousin. Come learn about these fresh new genres, how they’re challenging the “status quo” way we tell stories with new structures like Heroine’s Journey, team casts rather than lone heroes, and radical compassion and cooperation as problem-solving techniques. Suggested readings/viewings: (optional — not required … Read more
Note: This is a change in our speaker schedule. The start of your story has to hook the reader’s interest right away. But that’s not all! Strong first chapters have to establish at least eight other story basics. Learn what those are, discuss comparative starting points and types of openings, and more. Bring some favorite … Read more