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!
Schedule: In-Person and Zoom
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 to log onto the meeting. You can log in virtually for social time at 10:00AM, and our business meeting will begin promptly at 10:15AM.
Next Meetings…
Sia Huff
From 10:15 until 1:00
At West Branch Jacksonville Public Library
1425 Chaffee Road S Jacksonville, FL 32221
In junior high, Sia Huff mesmerized her art class daily with tales of a continuing adventure about her not-so-secret crush. And yet, she was not a lover of books. When she turned sixteen, her dad said to her mom, “I don’t care what it is, just get her to read.” Wise woman that her mom was, she handed Sia a romance novel and she was hooked. She found a genre she could relate to, a world of happily-ever-after’s. Sia made up for her earlier lack of reading by consuming a book a day during the summer between her junior and senior year in high school and participated in reading contests with her college suite mate to see who could finish a novel the fastest. It took many years, a degree in Fashion Merchandising, two different careers in banking and government contracting, a marriage and birth of her first child, before Sia realized her calling to be a writer. Sia now spends her time honing her writing skills and crafting compelling stories about the power of love. In 2008, Sia won the prestigious Maggie Award of Excellence for Best Short Contemporary Series. The following year she finalist in the Golden Heart.Sia Huff will present in person and on Zoom
For her workshops, she will use film clips from one or more popular movies: Simply Story Structure Whether plotter or pantser, structure is essential to our story’s success. So what is structure? And why is it so important? In this class we’ll study the Three Act Structure using examples from popular movies. We'll dive deep into the role of each turning point. Join us to learn what every writer needs to understand about basic story structure. Super Scenes Scenes are the building blocks of story. How do you create memorable scenes?- Take 1: We’ll review the basics of what a scene is and what the experts say.
- Take 2: We’ll study the sequence of a scene.
- Take 3: We’ll examine key elements of a scene.
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Pamela Taylor
From 10:45 until 12:45
At West Library Branch and on Zoom
Pamela Taylor Bio
Like many authors, I started writing fiction just to find out if I could do it,” says award-winning author Pamela Taylor. She now has an 8-volume series to her credit with two more books under contract with her publisher. In addition to creating her own stories, she is a freelance editor with experience in multiple fiction genres. “I can’t do horror,” she admits, but the titles in her portfolio include Romance, Fantasy, Women’s Fiction, Middle Grade, Suspense, Historical Fiction, and more.
For four years, she was on the Judges Panel for the Ink & Insights Writing Contest, and from 2018 to 2021, she was part of the team at DIY MFA, writing the Historical Fiction column, “Past Perfect.” She’s a member of the DFW Writers Workshop and has presented at the DFW Writers Conference. In December 2022, she was featured in “Shoutout Miami,” and most recently, she was chosen for the Authors In Schools program and the Author Expo of the Amelia Island Book Festival.
She shares her home with two Pembroke Welsh Corgis who frequently remind her that a dog walk is the best inspiration for that next chapter.
https://pamela-taylor.com
https://editing4you.com
https://www.instagram.com/pjtauthor/
DIY Editing Part I: Cleaning up Your Manuscript
Join author and editor Pamela Taylor to improve your skills for editing your own manuscript. Learn how to spot common pitfalls and problem areas and what to do about them. You'll also get access to some fun tutorials that will help you think like an editor and provide more examples to help you spot issues in your own work. Leave with new insight on how to clean up your own manuscript and save yourself some money when you engage your professional editor for that final copy edit.
Authenticity vs. Creativity in Contemporary and Historical Settings
It’s fiction, after all, so we get to take some artistic liberties, right? Of course. But we can’t forget Oscar Wilde’s admonition: “Man can believe the impossible, but man can never believe the improbable.” Substitute “readers” in that quote and you’ve got the storyteller’s dilemma, whether your novel is set in modern times or in the past. In this workshop, we’ll explore the right balance between being slavishly authentic and creating the imagined world of your story.
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KG Fletcher
KG loves to interact with readers on social media and share about her writing and singing journey. For more info about tour dates (and FREE concert tickets), go to www.kgfletcherauthor.com/
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Marilyn Baron
Marilyn Baron Author Bio:
A Miami native, and graduate of the University of Florida, Marilyn Baron is a Floridian at heart. In addition to Miami and Gainesville, she’s lived in Palm Coast and Tallahassee. Marilyn writes in a variety of genres from women’s fiction to historical romantic thrillers and romantic suspense to paranormal/fantasy and cozy mysteries. She’s received writing awards in Single Title, Suspense Romance, Novel with Strong Romantic Elements and Paranormal/Fantasy Romance. She was also The Finalist in the 2017 Georgia Author of the Year Awards (GAYA) in the Romance Category for her novel, Stumble Stones, and The Finalist for the 2018 GAYA Awards in the Romance category for her novel, The Alibi. Her latest novel, The Case of the Missing Botticelli: A Massimo Domingo Mystery, released January 24, 2022, is her 28th work of fiction, which includes short stories, novels, anthologies and even a musical. Book 3 of the series, The Case of the Forgotten Fragonard, will be released in 2023 by The Wild Rose Press, Inc. A public relations consultant in Atlanta, Marilyn is past chair and current member of Roswell Reads (a one-city, one read program that has featured such authors as Rick Bragg, Ann Patchett, Delia Owens, Laura Morelli and Geraldine Brooks) and serves on the Atlanta Authors Series Committee, which gives local authors the opportunity to share what they have written with library patrons. To find out more about what Marilyn writes, visit her website at: www.marilynbaron.com/
WORKSHOP
Novel Ideas: What Sparks a Writer’s Imagination?
In a letter to F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway said, “The good parts of a book may be only something a writer is lucky enough to overhear or it may be the wreck of his whole damn life—and one is as good as the other.”
Where do ideas for novels come from? This is the number one question an author is asked by readers. Ideas for books can come from anywhere and everywhere at any time. And when you least expect them. Do ideas drop from the sky? Come from the cosmos? When inspiration strikes, they just might. Ideas are floating out there in the universe. You just have to be receptive to them.
What are the Top 10 Sources of Inspiration for a Novel?
Genre Jumping: To Switch or Not to Switch
A recent New York Times article noted that most blockbuster authors break out because of a popular series, like “Twilight” or “Harry Potter.” Conventional wisdom dictates that writers build a brand by sticking to one recognizable genre. But what if you’re an outlier like literary phenom Colleen Hoover, the best-selling author in the United States, who had five of the top 10 best-selling print books of any genre.
“I’ve been told that authors need to brand themselves as one thing. And I was like, well, why can’t I brand myself as everything?” says Hoover. “Why can’t I just brand myself as Colleen Hoover?”
It may take awhile to find your voice, find your genre of choice and find your passion.
Best-selling author Celeste Ng says she’s still honing her voice after three novels and there are themes writers tend to come back to.
Should you limit yourself to one genre or subgenre? Marilyn Baron writes in a variety of genres from humorous women’s fiction to historical romantic thrillers/suspense and from paranormal to cozy mysteries. She writes in all formats from short stories and series to anthologies and full-length novels. She and her sister even wrote a musical about Alzheimer’s called Memory Lane. Is it advisable to genre jump? To Switch or Not to Switch Genres, that is the question we’ll try to answer.
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Jenna Grinstead
At West Library Branch and on Zoom
1425 Chaffee Road S Jacksonville, FL 32221
Author Jenna Grinstead Jenna Grinstead is a whimsical Midwesterner with a penchant for magic and a deep desire for a world where the weird and different are embraced and celebrated. She is a graduate of The Ohio State University where she studied journalism. She found a way to turn her imagination and creativity into a career in marketing, while writing young adult and middle grade fiction. She often conducts workshops and speaks on writing, world-building, social media and marketing. Jenna is a member of The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, Central Ohio Fiction Writers and Women's Fiction Writers Association. Her young adult romance manuscripts have won several regional writing awards, including The Maggie and The Indiana Golden Opportunity. When she's not plotting her next story you can find her devouring novels and mint chocolate chip ice cream in her house with California Poppies painted across the garage.
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Linnea Sinclair
From 10:45 until 12:45
At West Library Branch and on Zoom
LINNEA SINCLAIR BIO
Winner of the prestigious national book award, the RITA®, science fiction romance author Linnea Sinclair is a name synonymous with high-action, emotionally intense, character-driven novels. Her books have claimed spots in the Locus Top Ten and received starred reviews in Publisher’s Weekly. Romantic Times Book Review magazine consistently gives Sinclair’s books 4-1/2 stars (their highest rating). Starlog magazine calls Sinclair “one of the reigning queens of science fiction romance.” Her previous careers include news reporting and private investigation. Since 2000, she’s taught seminars in the craft of writing for all levels of writers via on-line writing sites and at writing conventions nationwide.
Sinclair resides in Pensacola, Florida with her husband, Robert Bernadino, and their thoroughly spoiled cats. Readers can find her perched on the third barstool from the left in her Intergalactic Bar and Grille at
https://www.linneasinclair.com
HEAD GAMES: WRITING DEEP THIRD POV FOR MAXIMUM IMPACT
Reading is a vicarious experience, right? That means as a writer you need to immerse the reader into the heart, mind and skin of the character, and there’s no better way to do that than Deep Third Point Of View. Deep Third is often likened to First Person POV for its emotional intensity and intimacy factor. But it’s also a sure way to keep readers (and agents and editors!) turning pages. Award-winning Bantam Dell author Linnea Sinclair will take you on a journey through the flavors of Third Person, explain why Deep Third works, show you how and when to use Deep Third, how to know when Deep is Too Deep, and share tips and tricks to keep readers sobbing, giggling, gasping and grabbing... for more of your stories!
DEAL A STORY: A WRITING CARD GAME
Linnea Sinclair will lead this popular writing card game, which spurs creativity, is a lot of fun, and incorporates Deep Third techniques learned in her Head Games workshop. Attendees will be divided into groups and dealt cards involving character, plot, flaw, villain, genre, etc. Each group will pick a “scribe" and then the group will cooperatively create "back cover copy" for their “book." When the allotted time is up, each group’s “scribe" will read the back cover copy and everyone will vote for the best.
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