Workshops are open to anyone. Cost is $15.00 for CHRW Members, $20.00 for non-members.
CHRW members receive 2 free workshops per year
08/16-09/05
The Book Factory: Producing Multiple Novels in One Year
Instructor: Kerri Nelson
Is life getting in the way of you completing that novel? Ever think there’s not enough hours in the day to find time to write? Have a full time job distracting you from your real passion of being a novelist? Are family responsibilities weighing you down and interfering with your writing goals?
I’m here to tell you that you can do it all and do it successfully. In 2009, I successfully managed one husband, two jobs, three children, a difficult pregnancy, AND still managed to write twelve books, sell ten of those books (including all the editing and promotion), and coped with other various life challenges thrown in just for fun!
How did I do all of that and still find time to eat and sleep?
I developed a method of writing known as “The Book Factory Method”. It does require commitment and desire to “get it done”. If you’re willing to put in the effort, you can produce multiple books in one year.
What’s the benefit of completing multiple books in one year?
The more books you have ready to submit, the more chance you’ll receive contract offers on one or more of those books.
Why shouldn’t you just focus on one book and continue polishing that book all year long?
The cold, hard truth is that you might not ever sell that one specific book. You should always have more than one project “in the works”.
Are you one of those writers who starts multiple projects but never finishes any of them?
Then this class is for you as well. We’ll talk about how to finally see those projects through to completion.
Have trouble with time management or procrastination?
We’ll address methods for getting organized and staying focused. Plus much, much more!
If you want to learn how to get started, stay on track, and get those books ready to submit…this workshop puts a method to the madness of novel writing.
Kerri Nelson has always been passionate about reading books but when she wrote her first poem in the second grade, she discovered her love of writing. At the age of sixteen, she became a columnist for her local newspaper as the high school correspondent for the weekly "Panther Tales" column. She won the Outstanding Young Journalist of the Year Award for her efforts.
After an education and career in the legal field, Kerri began to pen romantic suspense novels with a legal or law enforcement theme. She is a true southern belle and comes complete with her dashing southern gentleman husband and three adorable children. When she’s not reading or writing, you’ll find her baking homemade goodies for her family, feeding her addiction to blogging online or designing custom made book trailers. Kerri is an active member of Romance Writers of America as well as numerous Chapters including Gothic Romance Writers, Futuristic Fantasy & Paranormal, and Celtic Hearts Romance Writers.
Kerri is a multi-published author of romance in every genre from romantic suspense and paranormal to young adult and inspirational novels. In 2009, Kerri wrote and sold twelve books to multiple publishers using her Book Factory method. Her latest paranormal romantic suspense “Courting Demons” will release from Dorchester Publishing in 2011.
Read more about Kerri’s books at her website: www.kerrinelson.com
Come out and chat with Kerri at her blog: www.kerribookwriter.blogspot.com
Need a custom made video trailer ad for your novel? Visit the award winning Book Boost Designs page at Kerri's website here: www.kerrinelson.com/9.html
Need affordable cover ad placement? Or want to play, learn and compete with other authors in the biz? Visit the Book Boost Blog here: www.thebookboost.blogspot.com
For the latest news and updates from Kerri, follow her on Twitter here: http://twitter.com/kerribookwriter
09/14 thru 10/26
Insider's Guide to the Scottish Highlands
Instructor: Sharron Gunn
Scotland exists on the periphery of Europe. In the 16th to 17th centuries, the laws and customs of the Scottish Highlands were archaic, that is, they were common in much of western Europe in the High Middle Ages, but by the Renaissance had changed or disappeared. Highland chiefs were still inaugurated, but not crowned, in ancient ceremonies and revered by their clansmen as semi-sacred. A Highland assembly for justice in the 17th century resembled a Viking Thing in the 10th or 11th centuries. Serial marriages drove the clergy wild. But what really scared Lowlanders and English was the chiefs' ability to raise a small army at little cost to themselves. The Jacobite Rebellions would not have been possible without the clan armies.
This course will go into depth about life in the Highlands. You will learn who lived in a castle and in a village and who earned a living travelling about. Find out how different this area is from the Lowlands and other parts of Great Britain and how similar to Ireland.
1. Scotland in Europe
2. Highlands and Lowlands
3. Houses & Castles
4. The Court of a Highland Chief
5. The 'Clan System'
6. Clothing & Weapons
Sharron Gunn learned to read and write Scottish Gaelic at Xavier College (now UCCB) in Nova Scotia, and later obtained an honours degree in Scottish History and Celtic Studies from the University of Glasgow. While a student, she had a job selling Gaelic books in the Highlands from which she gained a greater knowledge of the geography and people. A requirement for the job was fluency in Gaelic, the language of the Highlands and Islands. She often returns to Scotland. Several times she has travelled to the Royal National Mòd, a huge music festival, as a member of a Gaelic choir from Canada.
09/06 thru 10/01
Muse Therapy
Instructor: D.D. Scott
Could you use a romance writer's go-to-gal for muse disorders? If so, stop looking 'cause you found her. I'm D. D. Scott, an agented, romantic comedy writer and a muse therapist in the making.
Muse Therapy - D. D. Scott style - is all about injecting life into tired and/or stressed out muses. I'll give writers fun and fabulous tools to analyze their muses' funks, rein in their creative divas and up their page counts.
Discover what makes your muses tick. What ticks them off. And what makes them dance like nobody's watching.
We'll name your muses and host a very special meet-and-greet just for them, then dig deep into their psyches by examining "muse disorders" such as:
** Unleashing Your Inner Sybil
** Writing Bi-Polar: I Suck vs. I'm a Genius
** What Do You Mean I'm Neurotic? No, I'm Not. Well, Not Exactly. But Okay...There Are Times When. Like You Need To Know That. Anyway, I Was Thinking, My Jeep Is Red
** Rorschach For Writers: I See Dead Lines
** Stimulants: When Coffee, Chocolate, and Martinis Aren't Enough
Once we recognize, acknowledge and accept your muses' afflictions, we'll find terrific tricks and "trips" to treat our word witches.
So if your muse is in need of a tune-up, grab a comfy couch or chair and put up your feet. You're in the right session. We’ll be “in therapy” together for four weeks. I'll provide fabulous hand-outs and super-cool tchotchkes for all participants. You’ll have a terrific time conquering your creative divas and taking back the crown of your personal Muse-ville kingdom.
D. D. Scott’s romantic comedies are all about sexy, sassy, smart, career-driven women and the men who complete them. They're a bit chick lit with a gone-country twist. She’s agented, and her series BOOTSCOOTIN' BLAHNIKS - think Sex and The City meets Urban Cowboy - is under consideration by several NY publishers.
She writes stories with big hearts and a bunch of sass. Once a small town newspaper crime reporter and now a HarperCollins Publishing Returns Center Executive Assistant, she's learned great fiction comes from the street as well as which jacket covers meet early deaths.
She's a member of Indiana RWA as well as RWA's Chick Lit Writers of the World Chapter and ScriptScene RWA. She's been featured in both Indiana RWA's and ScriptScene's chapter newsletters and been a guest blogger on Romance Writers on the Journey. She is linked to on Romancing the Blog and also has an active blog of her own on her website at www.DDScott.com.
Currently, she's driving her darling hubby nuts waiting to hear whether or not she'll be providing Muse Therapy for the 2010 RT BookLovers' Convention in Columbus OH and for RWR in an article-based Muse Therapy series. (Update: Yes! I will be providing “therapy” for RT 2010! Woot!)
For updates on her books, her sexy, sassy, smart neurotic writer’s life blog, and for a schedule of future muse therapy sessions, visit her website www.DDScott.com. While there, sign-up for her mailing list for chances to win fabulous tchotchkes.
10/01 thru 10/29
Witches, Kelpies and Fairies, Oh My!
Instructor: Cindy Vallar
My first introduction to the Otherworld, as Highlanders call it, came when I joined the Brownies. My Girl Scout handbook included a tale that explained who brownies were. Little did I realize that many years later, I would immerse myself in this strange world in order to better understand my Scottish characters. I invite you to step into the unknown as we explore the supernatural Scottish Highlands. The Scots believed the creatures and forces of the Otherworld were real, and sometimes more menacing than one’s neighbors. In this workshop you’ll learn about the differences between Highland and Lowland witches; second sight and seers; water creatures; portents of death; the world of fairies and elves; other supernatural beings; and ghosts.
Lessons are enhanced with a resource bibliography and excerpts from my novel, The Scottish Thistle, where I incorporated the Otherworld into this tale of the Rising of 1745. We will also discuss whether you believe and which elements of the Otherworld you would weave into your Scottish stories. At the end of the workshop, I offer to edit a chapter from each participant’s manuscript involving the supernatural.
Past Workshop Participants’ Comments:
This class far surpassed anything I could have imagined. You are so kind to go the extra-extra mile for your students. The info is more than I ever dreamed I might need and your resources are worth a pirate's ransom. Thank you so much for a wonderful class. ~Kati
Thank you SO much for this workshop. You're an incredible teacher and always give killer workshops! – Diana Cosby, author of His Captive
You are such an engaging presenter. And I always enjoy your workshops -- just can't believe that the return on my dollar is so high. ~Evelyn Marentette
The class was well structured and the amount of information was amazing! I have never attended a class that has provided so much information pertaining to the subject being taught. The resources listed and the information given is invaluable! You're a wonderful instructor and giver of knowledge. ~Shannon Robinson
This was the first workshop I have ever tried and it more than exceeded my expectations. Not only did it provide a ton of factual information and resources, it really triggered a lot of plotting and character ideas. This was an A+ class in all respects. ~Millie Bullock
Cindy Vallar, Associate Editor of Industry for Solander, writes the “Red Pencil” column where she compares a selection from an author’s published novel with an early draft of that work. She also reviews for the Historical Novel Society’s journal, Historical Novels Review. She is a freelance editor, the editor of Pirates and Privateers, and the author of The Scottish Thistle, her debut historical novel about the Camerons and MacGregors during Scotland’s Rising of 1745, and Odin’s Stone, a romantic short story of how the Lord of the Isles settled the medieval feud between the MacKinnons and MacLeans on the Isle of Skye.
She belongs to the Historical Novel Society, the Red River Branch of the Clan Cameron Association, the Scottish Clans of North Texas, and the National Maritime Historical Society. In 2005 at the Clan Cameron North American Rally, Cindy received the first Friend of Clan Cameron Award. Prior to becoming an author and editor, she was a school librarian for twenty years, and she also taught computers and social studies. She invites you to visit her award-winning web site, Thistles & Pirates (http://www.cindyvallar.com/), to learn more.
11/01 thru 12/10
Anglo/Scottish Borders
Instructor: Jody Allen
In 1237 the Treaty of York established legally the Anglo/Scottish border, but over the next 366 years this ”legal” border between two often warring nations, was as fluid as each Border family’s allegiance to their country: family before all else. This 96 mile border (Scotland’s only land border) reaches from the Solway Firth on the west to the city of Berwick on Tweed and the North Sea on the east encompassing three Marches on each side: East, Middle and West. This area has seen more of Scotland’s history unfold than anywhere else in Scotland. Home to the Briton tribes of Ptolemy’s map, they were first invaded by the Romans, then it was Anglo/Saxons (mercenaries left by the Romans), the Scots/Picts from the North, as well as the Vikings and Danes from the East and lest we forget the Normans. For the people of the Borders, scorched earth was not just a policy of war but a way of life and yet they survived to create their own culture and their own laws unique to anywhere else in Scotland: the Reivers. This class will explore their history (ancient to Union of the Crowns), the Riding families and the culture of the Anglo/Scottish border from the English and Scottish perspective. The Borders were much more than just a place for the English to elope to; Gretna Green.
The class will run six weeks with two lessons a week:
Week One--- Ancient to Treaty of York
Week Two--- Families/ Culture
Week Three-- Eastern March Scotland/England
Week Four--- Middle March Scotland/ England
Week Five--- Western March Scotland/ England
Week Six--- Border Battles/ Union of the Crowns
Jody Allen first visited Scotland in 1994 and fell in love with the Borders when she found the small border cottage her great-great-grandmother was born at. She has BA in history, a postgraduate certificate in Family and Local History from the University of Dundee Scotland, and is currently pursuing a certificate in Celtic Studies from the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee. She has been researching her own family's origin in Scotland for 20 years using the Scottish National Archives and many local Scottish historical societies. An avid Romance and Historical fiction reader for 45 years, she is currently developing a clientele of authors and editors who are using her Historical Copy Editor service.
12/06 thru 12/19
MS Word Workshop for Writers
Instructor: Catherine Chant
Course Description:
This online workshop focuses on teaching you the aspects of the Word program that are most useful for fiction writers, and the subjects presented will help you streamline your on-screen tasks so you can think more about your story and less about what the computer is doing (or not doing). Included in this workshop will be lectures on proper manuscript formatting, creating headers/footers, working with page numbers, creating a pre-formatted manuscript template that can be used on all your new book projects, customizing the toolbars, understanding and customizing the Auto-Correct feature, using the Work menu, formatting the query letter, creating a template for the query, printing envelopes, printing labels for SASEs, and backing up your computer. This workshop is designed for both Macintosh and Windows/PC users, and has been written for versions of Word from '97 to the lastest 2007/2008.
Catherine Chant is an award-winning writer from New England. She is a PRO member of the Romance Writers of America (RWA), a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and webmaster for her RWA chapter, From the Heart Romance Writers (fthrw.com). A graduate of Boston College, she worked for fifteen years at her alma mater as a computing & communications consultant and now provides freelance web editing and design services to other writers and clients such as BC's Lynch School of Education. Her short fiction and non-fiction work has appeared in RWA newsletters, CharacterS, SchoolArts, MetroKids, Twilight Times, Apollos Lyre, and on websites controlled by SEO content provider DemandStudios.com. Her young adult time travel romance WISHING YOU WERE HERE was a finalist in the 2008 Golden Heart® awards. She is currently working a new young adult novel.