The March Workshop was given by Caron Burmeister. It was a very invigorating discussion about building suspense and creating memorable sense of place. There was even a short writing sprint at the end that we all got to participate in and read our results. A little bit nerve-racking but very helpful feedback and you can never have too much writing practice. Below is her short biography, the description of the talks. Members have access to the handouts on our “Members Only Website”.
Caren Burmeister Bio
Being captivated by a good story is one of life’s greatest pleasures, which is why Caren Burmeister loves being a storyteller, and why she treasures stories that explore universal truths about human nature.
A Jacksonville, Florida-based seasoned writer with more than two decades in journalism, Caren left the newsroom and began a journey grounded in personal faith, yoga and self-discovery. Her intention? To discover what could she could do to bring out the best in others.
As a result, she started an independent book editing and publishing company, Caren Tells Your Story. She helps fiction and nonfiction authors write compelling stories that deeply connect with readers. In September 2022, she co-wrote and published Remember Me: How to Create a Spiritual Legacy of Love Light. Part memoir, part how-to guide, the book reminds us that our ties to our loved ones are eternal and that the story of our life may be as important as life itself.
Workshop descriptions:
Now, more than ever, readers are buying fiction to escape a steady series of world events that are making many people feel powerless and anxious. Regardless of genre, readers are relying on you — the author — for the kind of intrigue that will transport them to another time and place. These two workshops will help you achieve those goals.
Workshop one: Build Suspense to Keep Readers Turning Pages.
You’ll learn how to:
Establish compelling and credible motives for the main characters
Raise the consequences of the character’s decisions and actions
Intensify their risk of failure as the book progresses
Workshop two: Create a Strong Sense of Place to Evoke Vivid Mental Images and Associations.
You’ll learn how to:
Draw rich descriptions through sensory immersion, travel and research
Consciously use setting to inspire or generate plot
Employ dialogue to cue a sense of time and place
***April Workshop****
APRIL 8, 2023 – The Workshop is being given by Kevin Tumlinson is an award-winning and bestselling novelist, and is known as “The Voice of Indie Publishing” for his work in helping hundreds of thousands of will-be authors to start, build, and grow their author careers. Will be talking about “Bootstrapping Your Author Career” and “Handy Things Authors Can Do with Draft2Digital”. If any of you have used Draft2Digital you have probably enjoyed the ability to publish your stories Worldwide! Some of us were even able to go ahead and use their Paperback Publication Service. So many benefits and we will be able to get some great information for the plans for the future I am sure. Bring your notebooks and take lots of notes.
Visit the Workshop Event Page above for more information and to Share the Event With Your Fellow Authors and Author Groups by clicking on Kevin’s name in the above box. We now have Facebook and Twitter Share buttons for the Events!.
It is going to be a very informative meeting. Bring your questions and a guest. First time visitors are free. Those non-members on Zoom FCRW Workshop Sign-up form must pay the small fee of $10 to get a link and join in LIVE on the day!
***NERFA****
NERFA – National Excellence in Romance Fiction Awards is going to be closing its online form to published 2022 Romance Authors on March 31. 2023 to be considered for the awards this year. We have some spaces still available so you do have time to submit your application. The Fee is only $40 for each category you wish to be considered for and only an additional $5 if the story is your debut novel in 2022. Check out the website for more information and CLICK HERE to go ahead and participate. Share the page with your fellow Romance Writers and the Writers Groups you participate with. Our reading and voting volunteers (Judges) are so looking forward to reading your entries. Just an FYI – You have to fill out and pay on a separate form for each book you wish to be considered by our judges.
***FCRW ONLINE BOOKSHOP****
OUR ONLINE BOOKSTORE – is up and running. You can purchase the eBook copies of each of our anthologies directly from our own store. We might be adding the paperback versions as well. That is still in discussions but you can receive an ePub or PDF version of each of the anthologies for the same price as most online stores Worldwide. Bookmark the page as it may even be the place to get the new Spring Anthology which is currently in the works! Help us make this organization a place that all Romance authors in all the sub-genres feel supported and appreciated. We have so much to share with each other. To support our efforts and make your own contributions please encourage others to become MEMBERS, Buy our eBooks from our ONLINE Shop and encourage published authors to participate in NERFA every year.
***OUR MONTHLY NEWSLETTER****
Our Final Reminder for the month is about our Newsletter. It is, of course, a nice way to keep informed about the happenings in our organization but it is also a great source for those who may not be members, yet, or just enjoy reading about romance fiction. Check out our FCRW Readers and Authors Gazette and Sign-up, IT IS FREE and comes out once a month. There is no obligation to join as a member and all members who wish to receive the newsletter must sign-up separately. We feature articles for readers as well as writers.
DOWNLOAD THIS MONTHS LETTER TO SEE WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN MISSING
March2023Newsletter
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