Join us Saturday, June 7, at Hickory Tavern on Harris Blvd across from Northlake Mall. Click here for directions. You don't want to miss our wonderful speaker, C. J. Lyons .

Morning Craft Session: 11:30am - 12:30pm
C. J. Lyons – WRITING THRILLERS WITH HEART

Thriller fiction is Hot!  And a rapidly growing sub-genre of the thriller novel is the romantic thriller.  Why do readers love them so? What makes them different from straight mystery or suspense? How to turn pulse-pounding action into heart-throbbing romance without losing the edge? Join award winning medical suspense author CJ Lyons as she delves into the heart of thriller fiction.

Look at any bestseller list and you'll find that at least half the books are thrillers or have some thriller elements.  Many thriller novels have as their emotional core a developing relationship between a hero and heroine.  In these Thrillers with Heart, it is just as important to save this relationship as it is to save the world.

During this workshop we will explore the essential elements of thrillers, how to successfully world build using evocative, visceral and telling details, ways to craft a high concept and how theme can give any thriller added heart.

This is an interactive workshop and participants are encouraged to bring their favorite opening lines as well as ideas for possible high concepts for their own work.

About CJ:
Award-winning medical suspense author CJ Lyons is a physician trained in Pediatric Emergency Medicine.  Her work has appeared in CrimeSpree, SpineTingler, Romantic Times Book Reviews and Mystery Scene Magazine.  Publisher's Weekly proclaimed her debut medical suspense novel, LIFELINES (Berkley, March 2008), "a spot-on debut….a breathtakingly fast-paced medical thriller" and Romantic Times made it a Top Pick.  Contact her at http://www.cjlyons.net

Lunch: 12:30pm - 1:15pm

Chapter Meeting: 1:15pm - 2:30pm

Afternoon Craft Session: 2:30pm - 3:30pm
C. J. Lyons – WRITING THRILLERS WITH HEART (Cont.)

May and June Online Workshops

May 1 - 31, 2008
FROM MILD TO WILD: CREATING SEX SCENES THAT ARE MORE THAN THE SAME OLD BUMP AND GRIND
 (standard) With Angela Knight

WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION: Many writers groan when they have to write sex scenes.  “It’s all tab A in slot B!  It’s boring!”  A New York Times bestselling author of erotic romance shows how to write love scenes that will inspire anything but yawns. Topics include: how to use love scenes to develop characterization, conflict, and the growth of the romance. She’ll also cover how to create a range of sensuality, from sweet to erotic. If you’ve ever wondered how to give your love scene that extra sparkle, she’ll provide valuable hints.

May 1 - 15, 2008                                                                                            

 Spilling the Beans: Secrets, Lies, and Backstory (Mini) With Lynn Kerstan
 

Secrets and Lies are the “juicy” bits in a story. They cause trouble for the characters. Readers love them. But authors too often fritter away their considerable power, which makes for wimpy stories. Backstory, often overused and abused by writers, can be an effective means of uncloaking a character and revealing his/her deepest motivations. This workshop focuses on how to use secrets, lies, and backstory for maximum story drive and emotional impact. We’ll examine what to reveal; when to reveal it, and the very best ways to develop suspense and create “big moments” in your story. We will also look at prologues, flashbacks, “flashbits,” techniques for feeding information seamlessly into the story, and writer traps like Infodumps, Premature Backstory, “As you know, Bob,” Secrets Not Worth Keeping, and those pesky Lies Without Consequences.

More information on May Workshops

June 2 - 27, 2008 Is That Hollywood Calling?  (standard) With Cindy Carroll

Just because we can write books doesn't mean we can write screenplays. Based on my popular 8 part newsletter article Is That Hollywood Calling? is a quick and dirty course on the differences between writing books and writing scripts. And how writing a screenplay can help improve your novel writing.

Cindy Carroll joined Romance Writers of America in 1992. Since then she has served as vice-president and treasurer for her local chapter as well as contest coordinator for her local chapter’s contest. She has given an online workshop for the Hearts Through History Chapter on writing queries. She has four complete yet to be published novels and was working on her fifth when an idea for a teleplay grabbed hold and wouldn’t let go, prompting her to join ScriptScene, RWA’s screenwriting chapter. Since turning to screenwriting she has garnered a request for a horror script from a production company after her first query. She also received honourable mention in the Television/Movie script category in the 76th Annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition.

Registration Deadline: May 27th          

June 2 - 30, 2008

From Fiction to Freelance in 8 Steps (standard) with Beth Morrow

Want to put to use all that great research you’ve done for your fictional works? Looking to gather publishing credits while you work toward publication of your novel? Just want to try your hand at another fun, easy and profitable writing venue? Consider freelancing!

In this course, we’ll start with a course overview, move into what exactly freelance writing involves—and how it will help YOUR writing career. From there we’ll discover the secrets of finding more article ideas than you’ll know what to do with, learn about the seven universal elements that will sell your query to the editor and research which freelance markets best fit your work. Next, you’ll learn to love writing queries (maybe!) with my simple template and real samples that got me the job. We’ll wrap up the course by developing a submission plan tailored for your niche and goals.

Published in over twenty magazines and newsletters, Beth Morrow is a freelance and romance fiction author. As a member of the Central Ohio Fiction Writers (RWA #48), she’s served as both meeting and conference chairs, contest coordinator, led meeting and retreat workshops and is working toward becoming a writing coach. She loves helping writers reach their dream of being published regardless of genre. To this end, she shares as many writing resources as humanly possible through her (almost) daily updated blog for writers at her Writer-In-Progress blog at:
www.writer-in-progress.blogspot.com. Visit Beth at her home-on-the-web: www.bethmorrow.com.

Registration Deadline: May 27th  

More information on May Workshops        

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