West Regional Library, 1425 Chaffee Road, Jacksonville, Fl 32221
When: Sign in begins at 10:00 AM unless otherwise posted.
* OUR MEETINGS *
We LOVE visitors! Unless otherwise stated, our meetings are held on the second Saturday of every month at the West Regional Branch Library in Jacksonville, Florida. The address is 1425 Chaffee Rd S, Jacksonville, Fl 32221.
Our Membership Dues is only $50 annually which includes all the workshops or you can pay $10 for any individual workshops throughout the year on Zoom. The public is welcome to come to the in-person workshops for Free for 2 learning sessions after which we ask that you pay the annual fee to join. To Pay for a Zoom Session CLICK HERE. Once payment is received you will receive an email with the Zoom link to attend the meeting you have selected.
Typically, we have a business meeting where you’ll learn about what we’re doing, followed by two workshops. When in person, we usually have lunch together at a nearby restaurant afterward. Romance writers know how to combine business and fun!
9:45AM log in to socialize and catch up with your fellow writers
10:00AM meeting called to order
10:40AM Meeting ends if it hasn’t already adjourned
10:40 5-minute break
10:45 First workshop (approx. 50 min)
5-minute break in there somewhere
Second workshop (approx. 50 min)
MEMBERS: If you need the Zoom link to attend, email the chapter president: president@firstcoastromancewriters.com You will be provided with a link. It is helpful if you have a free Zoom account prior to attending any of the ZOOM sessions as they can be viewed on your smartphone, tablet as well as through your laptop/computer. You can log in virtually for social time at 9:45am, and our business meeting will begin promptly at 10:15am.
Meetings Below
Don’t forget to share the upcoming workshops with your friends, family and fellow authors out there. We have a Facebook and a Twitter (X) button below each one that will allow you to share quickly and easily!
Janice Hardy Author Workshops
From 10:00 am until 1:00 pm
At West Branch Regional Library
1425 Chaffee Rd S, Jacksonville, FL 32221
Janice Hardy is the award-winning author and founder of Fiction University, where she helps writers improve their craft and navigate the crazy world of publishing. She teaches writing workshops across the country, and her blog has been recognized as a Top Writing Blog by Writer’s Digest. When she’s not writing about writing, she spins tales of adventure for both teens and adults, and firmly believes that doing terrible things to her characters makes them more interesting. She loves talking with writers and readers and encourages questions of all types—even the weird ones. Find out more about her and her books at https://www.Fiction-University.com or https://www.JaniceHardy.com
In Person and on Zoom
Creating Stronger Conflicts in Your Novel, the romance specific version
At the heart of every story is conflict. It's so central to good storytelling, that without it, you have no story. But despite its importance, it's not always easy to find the conflict in an idea. In this workshop, you'll examine what "conflict" really means and how to find the right conflict for your story. You'll learn to identify the different types of conflict, how to use internal and external conflicts to plot, and how to tell if you need a character arc or not. You'll also explore the most common reason for missing or weak conflict in a story and hear tips on how to fix them.
Ten Ways to Kick Your Writing Up a Notch
It's not uncommon for writers to hit a point where their writing is good, but not great. All they need is a little help to push their skills to the next level, but they're not always sure how to get that push. In this workshop, writers will learn ten ways to improve their writing skills and stories to take their novels from nice to "Wow!”.
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Author Workshop with Scott Eagan
From 10:00 am until 1:00 pm
At West Branch Regional Library - ON ZOOM ONLY
1425 Chaffee Rd S, Jacksonville, FL 32221
Bio:
Scott Eagan opened Greyhaus Literary Agency in 2003 with three goals in mind:
To remain a small agency focusing only on Romance and Women's Fiction; to provide educational opportunities for writers in these genres and to make efforts to enhance the romance and women's fiction genres; and to assist with increasing communications between the professional publishing community and the writers.
Being a small agency as well as being focused on a small number of genres gives him the chance to work closer with his writers as well as stay up with the ever-changing trends in romance and women's fiction.
Scott's education includes a BA in English Literature, An MA in Literacy, and an MA in Creative Writing.
Scott is an active member of the Romance Writers of America and still dabbles in writing as a hobby.
Outside of the agency, Scott is an instructor with the UCLA Extension Program. He also provides critiques with Writer's Digest and does book reviews with Publisher's Weekly.
His family continues to keep him busy with one who swims competitively, one who rides Hunter/Jumper equestrian, and one who dances. https://scotteagan.blogspot.com/
THIS WILL BE ON ZOOM ONLY
Workshop One: Marketing Your Research, Finding Your Audience.
Goals for the session:
Learning how to identify if there is a market for your writing.
Determining what type of writing you want to pursue – traditional, self-published, independent, or personal satisfaction
How to shape your writing to that market
Learning how to remember your audience as you write
Develop an understanding of how to shape your proposals
Learn how to market you book toward your readers.
Key points to be discussed will be a focus on the before, middle and after of writing. The goal is to help authors know if their writing is even right for the market, how to shape their writing to that market, and how to target your submissions to editors and agents. Finally the workshop will help participants learn how to market their book effectively based on audience analysis
Workshop Two: Demystifying romance and women’s fiction.
Goals for the session:
Rationale for knowing your subgenres: writing is about marketing and product placement.
Common myths about romance and women’s fiction.
Understanding romance.
Understanding women’s fiction.
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Character Building with Barbara Evers
From 10:00 am until 1:00 pm
At West Branch Regional Library
1425 Chaffee Rd S, Jacksonville, FL 32221
Barbara V. Evers hails from the Dark Corner of South Carolina where she crafts fantasies with strong women matriarchies and clever animals. Her epic fantasy trilogy, THE WATCHERS OF MONIAH, won two Imadjinn Best Fantasy Novel awards, and her short story collection, PIECES OF HER, includes several award-winning stories including a Pushcart Prize nominee. When she’s not writing, Barbara uses her degrees in Zoology and Communication to conduct training for businesses. In other words, she can speak to animals! https://www.barbaravevers.com/
On Zoom Only
Creating Believable Characters Using Myers Briggs Types
Don’t make your readers toss the book across the room in disgust.
Taught by a certified Myers Briggs facilitator and award-winning author, this workshop will explain how the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) can help you create believable personalities for your characters…and you might learn something about yourself in the process! We will explore your character’s behaviors by looking at:
- What makes your characters tick?
- What charges or drains their energy levels?
- What kinds of information do they trust and how do they gather it?
- What goes into their decision-making process?
- What’s their approach to organization, structure, and planning?
Mix up these traits in the wrong way, and you will send a frustrating message to your reader—you don’t know your character.
By the end of this workshop, you will be able to:
- Establish your character's type
- Recognize examples of the four areas that create the sixteen MBTI types and how you might use this information to create characters who leap off the page
- Begin to develop how your character behaves under normal circumstances and how their environment might change those behaviors
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Author Donna Gray-Banks
From 10:00 am until 1:00 pm
At West Branch Regional Library and on Zoom
1425 Chaffee Rd S, Jacksonville, FL 32221
Donna M. Gray-Banks is the Founder and Director of the F.R.E.S.H. Book Festival (Fiction, Romance, Erotica, Spiritual and Health), one of the largest book festivals for minority and indie self-published authors in Florida. The Festival began in 2011, and the City of Daytona Beach, Florida, began sponsorship of the Festival in 2012. She is also an officer of the Ormond Beach Jazz Society and is looking forward to more jazz appreciation events that include mentorship of musicians who are in high school and college; using jazz as a calming method of relaxation for young children; and developing a historical booklet that spotlights local musician who have made an impact on the jazz society.
Gray-Banks is the author of a highly successful suspense erotic series, Ila’s Diamonds I, II, III, and Ila’s Diamonds IV The House that Jack Build”. Donna is a guest columnist for Blackmeninamerica.com, the Daytona Times newspaper, and is a book broker.
Donna hosts two successful YouTube channels – Zoom In On A F.R.E.S.H. Conversation Monday night from 8-9 p.m. where she features authors and entrepreneurs. And, Zoom In On A F.R.E.S.H. Conversation After Dark, where she interviews spicier subjects, music, and film makers monthly. Currently is the host for the beautiful City of Daytona Beaches’ Radio Show, on Joy 106.3 FM, every Wednesday at noon. Gray-Banks is also the Chief Executive Officer of the Midtown Community Development Corporation in Daytona Beach, Florida. Donna is the proud Mother of Gregory Taylor Banks and resides in the City of Palm Coast, Florida.
CONTACT INFORMATION
F.R.E.S.H. Book Festival
https://www.freshbookfestivals.net
WORKSHOP ONE: “Just when you think you’ve said enough, you might need more.”
When writing you must give the readers a vivid sense of where and when events take place by anchoring action and dialogue. Each participant will be given a city or a state. Without saying which city or state, they will describe visiting a friend for the first time and entering their home or apartment and feeling a sense of……. No more than 200 words – 3-4 paragraphs. Depending upon the number of participants we will read aloud their words and see if the group can tell what state or city the scene was written in.
WORKSHOP TWO: “Building Tension in a Love Scene”
Participants will write 5 sentences that describe a building tension situation, and the group will decide if it was enough or not enough verbiage to build tension and talk about how to improve the sentence. Each participant should bring a notepad and pencil/pen or laptop, laptop preferred.
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