Lowcountry Romance Writers ©
2012 Online Workshops
LRWA is pleased to announce our new online workshop schedule.
Online Workshops
• Courses are on an email listserv and feature craft, writing and genre specific topics. Membership is not required.
• The workshops are conducted via EMAIL only, no real-time or live chats. Participants will be subscribed to the listserv for the period of the workshop, then unsubscribed when it is over.
• Workshops are open to everyone with email capability who wishes to participate, not just LRWA or RWA members.
• Deadlines are the 2nd of each month, unless noted in the course description. Some late registrations are accepted at the discretion of the Online Workshop Coordinator Chair.
Workshop Fee
$16 USD for All. Payment via PayPal only. All payments for a workshop must be received by the registration cutoff date.
Online Courses News Listserv
For updates and announcements, please join our Online Courses newsletter email.
LRWA Membership
Please join us and become a member of LRWA. As a member, we offer a warm and friendly community that helps and supports all of our authors, published or unpublished.
For more information to join, please click here.
**Please note: You must be an RWA member to join Lowcountry RWA.
Questions? Please contact our Online Workshop Coordinator
Upcoming 2012 Online Workshops
Click for month: FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV
**Cancellation and Refunds Policy: No registration fees will be refunded. All payments for a workshop must be received by the registration cutoff date. Payments received after the cut-off date can be applied to a future workshop of the Applicant’s’ choosing.
In the event a workshop is canceled due to unforeseen circumstances, such as instructor inability to teach class, registration fees will be applied to a future workshop of the applicant’s choosing.
A Confirmation Letter of Payment will be sent promptly. Invitations to the workshop are sent 2 days prior to the start of class. If you pay for a workshop and do not receive a confirmation letter and an invite please contact the Online Workshop Coordinator immediately.
FEBRUARY
The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing
Presented by Mayra Calvani
Dates: February 6 – 24, 2012
Deadline: February 2, 2012
Fee: $16.00
Course Description:
Is your nose always stuck in a book? Do you enjoy sharing your ideas about books with readers? Become a book reviewer!
Learn the secrets of book reviewing from Mayra Calvani, co-author of the ForeWord Best Book of the Year award-winning title, The Slippery Art of Book Reviewing.
Topics will include:
This workshop will teach you, in a nutshell, all you need to know to get started as a professional book reviewer.
Instructor Bio:
Award-winning author Mayra Calvani has been reviewing for over a decade. She’s a freelance writer and the author of several books for children and adults. She’s had over 300 reviews, articles, stories and interviews published online and in print. Currently, she reviews for The New York Journal of Books, Blogcritics Magazine, and SimplyCharly.com. In addition, she’s the Latino Books Examiner for Examiner.com and co-editor of Voice in the Dark ezine. She holds a B.A. in English Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Bridgeport.
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The Dreaded Synopsis
Presented by Elizabeth Sinclair
Dates: February 6 – 24, 2012
Deadline: February 2, 2012
Fee: $16.00
Course Description:
The dreaded synopsis. We hate them. We avoid them until the very end and then the real fun begins. Not! They are painstaking and frustrating to write. However, the synopsis is the most important part of the submission package to an agent or editor. Without it or poorly written your manuscript will never get past the slush pile.
So what do we do? What are the do’s and don’t’s? How do we write about our novel in a few short sentences or paragraphs?
The following questions will be just some that we will discuss in this workshop:
At the end, you will have the necessary tools to write and sell your manuscript!
Instructor Bio:
Being a romantic at heart and having devoured romances like Hershey Kisses, it was inevitable that Elizabeth Sinclair would one day write them. Following her dream, which took more than a couple of wrong turns along the way, in 1993 she sold her first romance, JENNY’S CASTLE, to Silhouette Intimate Moments, which reached #2 on the Walden Bestseller List and won a Georgia Romance Writers Maggie Award of Excellence. Since then, this multi-published author’s books have sold in ten foreign countries and been translated into seven foreign languages.
Elizabeth is a member of Romance Writers of America, The Author’s Guild and Thriller Writers. She’s taught creative writing and given seminars and workshops, locally and nationally, on the craft of writing. Her books have finaled in the Daphne de Maurier contest and won The National Reader’s Choice Award, The Anne Bonney Reader’s Choice Award, Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award, the Heart of Excellence Readers Choice Award and earned a Gold Medal Top Pick from the Romantic Times Book Club.
Elizabeth co-founded and is a member of the Ancient City Romance Authors of St. Augustine, FL. She is also a member of RWA’s Kiss of Death Chapter, Sisters In Crime, and the Indiana Romance Writers. Elizabeth served as RWA’s Region 3 Director and chaired the 2001 RWA New Orleans Annual Conference.
In addition to having authored the widely acclaimed instructional books, THE DREADED SYNOPSIS and FIRST CHAPTERS, she has published a total of twenty romances with Silhouette Intimate Moments/Romantic Suspense, Harlequin American, Kensington Precious Gems, Medallion Press and recently signed a contract with Belle Bridge Books for the next three books in her Hawks Mountain series.
The first book in the series, Hawks Mountain, will be released in the Fall of 2011.
You can find more about Elizabeth at www.elizabethsinclair.com
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“Whose Story is This?” The Nuts and Bolts of Point of View (POV), Two Weeks
Presented by Susan Palmquist
Dates: February 6 – 17, 2012
Deadline: February 2, 2012
Fee: $16.00
Course Description:
The goals of this workshop are for the writer to:
There will be mini exercises after each lesson and two main exercises.
The first one will be after lesson 3.Participants will use their own story to write several scenes, one from the heroine’s POV, one from the hero’s to see what difference it makes to the overall story.
The final exercise will be to take several scenes from their story and to write one in regular POV, one in deep POV and compare the differences.
Instructor Bio:
Susan Palmquist is a freelance writer and author of six novels, four of which are romances. She’s also a short story writer who’s been published in magazines in both the US and UK. Two of her stories have recently appeared in anthologies. Under her pen name, Vanessa Devereaux, she writes erotica and erotic romances and has published six novels/novellas with a new novel set to be released in June 2011.
She also writes a weekly money saving blog at called The Budget Smart Girl’s Guide to the Universe. And is a writing tutor for Writer’s Bureau and Writing Magazine UK. Head hopping and poor use of POV are the most common mistakes she sees in student’s work.
You can find more about Susan at www.susanpalmquist.com or write her at skpalmquist@gmail.com
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Completing Your Mystery
Presented by Jaqueline Corcoran
Dates: February 6 – 24, 2012
Deadline: February 2, 2012
Fee: $16.00
Course Description:
Do you have an idea for a mystery or one that you have started and then gotten stuck?
Then this workshop is for you.
The writer will be taken step-by-step through the process of opening the mystery, creating characters, plotting, and writing scenes, dialogue, and description by using the advice, ideas, and exercises provided by the instructor. The class will motivate you, provide you with as much feedback as you want, and give you the logic and depth necessary to create a mystery that satisfies.
Instructor Bio:
Jacqueline Corcoran is an adult educator. She has been on the faculty of two different universities over the last 15 years, and is currently at Virginia Commonwealth University. She is proficient in constructing exercises that build students’ skills in a sequential manner, and, out of the 11 textbooks she’s written, five are in workbook format.
She has published a self-help book, The Depression Solutions Workbook www.newharbinger.com/bookstore/productdetails.cfm?PC=751, and is currently working with an agent to represent her latest mystery, Maiming of the Shrew, as well as a YA novel. Time Witch, a middle grade fantasy and retelling of the fairytale “The Snow Queen” will be out soon with Solstice Publishing.
You can find more about Jacqueline at www.jacquelinecorcoran.com
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Fiction to Freelance in Six Easy Steps
Presented by
Dates: February 6 – 24, 2012
Deadline: February 2, 2012
Fee: $16.00
Course Description:
Who, Me? Freelance? But, I’m a Fiction Writer.
Yes, you!
In this first lesson, we’ll start with an overview of the course. Next, we’ll discover the main reasons to consider freelancing and the benefits of becoming a freelance writer for both the published and unpublished author. You’ll also determine which elements of freelancing will most help your writing career.
Ever wonder what editors really want? Figuring out how to get your foot in the door (or your query on their desk) isn’t as tough as you might think. In Lesson 3, you’ll learn the six universal elements that define every publication from Astronomy Illustrated to Zoology Today by learning to read magazines like a writer.
This course will also cover queries and submissions.
Instructor Bio:
Beth Morrow is an author whose work has appeared in publications including Diabetes Health, Prevention.com, Camp Business and Romance Writers Report. A veteran middle school English teacher, she also freelances for textbook companies and loves teaching about writing.
You can find more about Beth at www.bethmorrow.com or visit her writing blog, www.writer-in-progress.com.
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MARCH
Writing About Magic and Magicians
Presented by Rayne Hall
Dates: March 5 – 28, 2012
Deadline: March 2, 2012
Fee: $16.00
Course Description:
Create believable magicians (good and evil), fictional spells which work, and plot complications when the magic goes wrong. Learn about high and low magic, witches and wizards, circle-casting and power-raising, initiation and training, tools and costumes, science and religion, conflicts and secrecy, and apply them to your novel. This is a 4-week course with 12 lessons and practical assignments.
Instructor Bio:
Rayne Hall has published 22 books (under several pen-names), seventy short stories (mostly fantasy, paranormal and horror) and thousands of articles. She has a college degree in Publishing and a masters degree in Creative Writing&Personal Development. A member of the Society of Authors (the British organisation for professional writers), she worked many years as magazine editor and creative writing teacher. Many of her horror stories have won contest prizes, and two were selected for honourable mentions in Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror. Rayne is an experienced teacher who enjoys helping students to create sparkling scenes.
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Contests: The Basics
Presented by Alexa Bourne
Dates: March 5 – 28, 2012
Deadline: March 2, 2012
Fee: $16.00
Course Description:
Students will explore reasons to enter contests, how to find the right contest for their work, how to follow the “rules,” how to deal with the results/feedback of contests, and finally choose contests.
Topics covered will include:
Instructor Bio:
Alexa Bourne has been working toward publication for several years. She entered her first contest in 2002 and has since finaled or won in 21 RWA contests with seven manuscripts. She has a Bachelor’s in English Literature and a Master’s in Education. She has been an English teacher for children and adults. She has also written various articles for RWA chapter newsletters and befriended the competition in a contest on more than one occasion.
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Novel Boot Camp
Presented by Patricia Mason
Dates: March 5 – 28, 2012
Deadline: March 2, 2012
Fee: $16.00
Course Description:
What do you do when your novel’s dialogue is feeble?
Is there help when conflict is sagging not sizzling?
What’s the answer when description is shapeless?
Your action sequences are out of breath rather than leaving the reader breathless.
Answer: Your novel needs some exercise. Why not take it to boot camp.
This workshop will be highly interactive and take you through assignments designed to take your novel from flabby to fit. You’ll have the opportunity- and be encouraged-to share portions of your WIP with the online class group (or privately with the instructor) for feedback and constructive critique.
Instructor Bio:
Patricia Mason is the author of A GIRL, A GUY AND A GHOST, and SACRIFICE IN STONE from Ellora’s Cave. Patricia Mason was an attorney for many years in Michigan before she escaped from the snowy Midwest winters of her youth by moving to a beautiful, historic city of Savannah, Georgia in 2001 to pursue her dream of being a novelist. She is hard at work on her next novel IN DEEP SHITAKE.
You can find more about Patricia at www.patriciamason.net
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Got Rights? How To Publish Your Book On Kindle, Two Weeks
Presented by Nina Bruhns
Dates: March 5 – 16, 2012
Deadline: March 2, 2012
Fee: $16.00
Course Description:
Kindles, Nooks, and iPads are all the rage these days. For authors who have gotten the rights reverted on their older books, uploading them to the various self-publishing programs can be a nice added income. Some authors are even skipping the middleman and going indie, publishing their original works straight to Kindle, Pub-It, and many other venues, rather than the traditional publishing route.
If you are interested in learning how to take advantage of this interesting new market, this is the class for you!