All year round, but especially with the holidays coming up, finding time to write can be difficult. How do you keep putting words on the page when you can’t block out big chunks of time to sit down and work? Whether you struggle with stealing time to write, or you’re an expert with all the answers, come share your knowledge and your struggles with us on Sunday, November 19th @ 4pm PT | 7pm ET.
Author: Alexis
Coming Nov. 12th…Series Proposals
Writing a whole book, or even a whole series, and having no publisher sign it, can be very discouraging. If you’re pursuing traditional publishing, writing a proposal (a series blurb, synopsis and first three chapters or so, depending on the publisher), can be a great way to see if an editor is interested in your idea before you put in the blood sweat and tears to write the whole book. Join us to discuss how you write proposals or learn from others how they’ve done it. Sunday, November 12th, 4pm PT / 7pm ET.
Coming Nov. 5th…Romance Subgenres
RWA has a list of subgenres on their site, but the last time we asked for topic suggestions, this one came up a few times. Do these sub-categories still represent the breakdown of Romance as a genre? Should there be more? Fewer? What happens if you’re writing genre hybrid–how do you decide how to pitch, market, and sell your books? We’ll talk about all of that and more on Sunday, November 5th, 7pmET/4pmPT.
Coming Oct. 29th…In-Person vs. Online Marketing
Self-promotion is one of the biggest struggles we face as authors, but it gets even more complicated when you factor in introvert/extrovert strengths. You might have finally mastered (or at least come to terms with) the ins and outs of digital promotion, only to freeze up when pitching your book face to face. Or maybe you feel way more comfortable recommending your book to someone you can have a real, live conversation with, while digital promotion feels like shouting into the void.
Bring your strengths, or your utter befuddlement towards any kind of marketing, on October 29th, when we discuss in-person marketing vs. online marketing.
~Kimberly Bell
Using Research to Deepen Characterization
The October 22nd chat is about research! #RWchat co-host Alexis Daria weighs in on doing research for her debut contemporary romance, Take the Lead.
I thought writing a contemporary would be easy.
Wait. Let me backtrack: I hate doing research. So I thought writing a contemporary romance would be easier than, say, a historical. No research, right?
Little did I know.
When I set out to write Take the Lead, I thought I had obtained enough dance knowledge from years of watching Dancing with the Stars to write a book that was kind of about dancing and mostly about people getting out of their own way to find love. And then I hit the first dance scene…and I was stuck. I didn’t know enough about dance to write a character who was a professional dancer.
Sure, I suppose I could have just skimmed the details and said, “They danced across the porch,” and left it at that. I knew which dance they were doing—a sensible waltz—but I wanted to use more dance vocabulary and detail. So I opened a browser and did a quick bit of research.
Coming Oct. 22nd…Research!
Last month we asked for topic suggestions at the end of one of the chats, and we got quite a few! One topic that many chatters mentioned was research. Research isn’t just for historical writers! Even if you’re writing fantasy or paranormal, you might still find yourself falling into Wikipedia rabbit holes. Let’s talk about it next Sunday at 7pm Eastern, 4pm Pacific. See you then.
Coming Oct. 8th…Failure & Rejection
Writing is a craft, a calling, a creative endeavor, but it’s also a business. The writing process is intensely personal, but once your words are out in the world, it’s a whole other story. (Pun intended.) Rejection letters, canceled contracts, agent breakups, even unfinished manuscripts that never make it out from under the bed—writing careers have ups and downs, but it’s how we deal with the setbacks that make all the difference.
Let’s talk about it at the next #RWchat, Sunday, October 8th.
Coming Oct. 1st…Autumn Goals
Whether you’re in the northern or southern hemispheres, it’s a new season, which means it’s time to talk about goals! Let’s look back over the last nine months of the year and see how far we’ve come, as well as reassessing what we want and where we’re going.
See you at 7pmE/4pmP on Sunday, October 1st!
10,000 Hours
Alexis Daria
Some people have always known they wanted to write, while others came to it later in life. I’m in the first group, although art was my first and main creative love for most of my life. Still, even as I pursued art in high school (fine arts) and college (computer arts), writing was a constant. This week’s #RWchat topic is “your evolution as a writer,” so I’ll mark the different eras, like Picasso, but if he had the internet.
Coming Sept. 17th…Editing & Revising
You worked your ass off getting to “The End”—but it’s not really the end, is it? Whether you’re working off your own revision notes or suggestions from an editor, there’s still a ton of work to do to get your work in publishing shape.
On Sept. 17th, we’ll be talking with #RWChat writers about how they tackle edits and revisions. Bring your insights, bring your frustrations, and come join us at 7 PM Eastern / 4 PM Pacific.
Romance Writers Chat 