The Truth About ePublishing Through the Eyes of Author and Publisher
Having been published through a Romance ePublisher and now taking on the responsibility of helping to create Who Dares Wins Publishing with NY Times Best-Selling Author Bob Mayer, I have a unique view point into ePublishing and traditional publishing.
Developing a Winning Presentation
Many authors/writers become public speakers. Whether it be keynote speeches or lectures on the ins and outs of writing and publishing, this is not a skill that all of us posses. Most authors spend their time aline, in their office, listening to their characters, not standing up in front of a room full of people waiting to be inspired. While writers are the masters of written communication, we are not always engaging speakers. Many times we rely too heavily on index cards, rehearsed speeches, knowing our themes, trying to open the hydrant so everyone can drink our wisdome. Sometimes it's not the material that makes for a not so great presentation, but it's the form in which the presentation was given. This workshop is designed to give you strategies to overcome your presentation crutches and engage your audience.
It’s Not Just Sex
A sex scene isn't about the sex, but about the emotion the characters are experiencing. It's an action scene and should have purpose. It should move the story and the characters forward. Many writers wonder about how far they should go in a sex scene. Should it be a closed-door scene? What kind of language should you use? What should you show? Do you even need a sex scene? How can you create sexual tension without sex?
What Came First; The Romance or The Suspense
Romantic Suspense novels include Hero, Heroine, Antagonist, A Romanic Story and A Suspense story. The question becomes what leads the story, the romance or the suspense? The answer is both. The romance is fueled by the action of the story. The suspense. One would not happen without the other. It’s the suspense that tosses the hero and heroine together and drives their actions as well as their emotions. In this workshop I will show story structure of a romantic suspense novel as well as how to keep both story lines intertwined leaving the reader turning the pages begging for more.
Narrative Structure in Fiction
This workshop is designed to help writers take their basic story premise and develop it into an exciting read. I cover the basics of creating a story premise, now to use the goals and motivations of character to create conflict on the page. I show how to use Narrative Structure of Inciting Incident, Escalating conflict (main story turning points) the dark moment, the climactic scene and the resolution to keep the story on the right path.
Outlining for Pantsers and Plotters
Do you write your stories by the seat of your pants, or do you map your way well ahead of time? Either way, learning to use various types of outlines to keep you on track or to keep track of here you've been will help you to develop incredible stories. Outlining isn't necessarily plotting every aspect of your story, but by using various techniques for character development and plot development, I will show writers how ensure they never get lost while writing again.
Creating a Killer Antagonist and Kickass Protagonist
Characters are what readers remember. Having strong characters are key to helping create the necessary tension and conflict to keep your readers turning the page. Students develop character sheets for both their major characters, making sure goals and motivation are in direct opposition. You will also develop character arcs to help guide the writer through each change a character will go through to reach (or fail) with their ultimate goals. You will learn techniques and strategies to help the writer stay on task with their characters so they stay true to who they are in the book.
Upping the Stakes
In this workshop you will learn how to create tension and suspense as you work from inciting incident to the climactic scene of your novel. The key to writing a good novel is conflict, and the key to creating good conflict is upping the stakes. Many authors think they do this my creating small incidents that “happen” to the characters making their life a bit more difficult. However, in order for your writing to be tight it’s important to have escalating conflict through turning points and creating situations where the character has to grow and change in order to make it through the increased conflict.
Book Done Yet?
The one question every writer dreads. I don’t know a single author who writes one draft and then is done. Most authors will go over their manuscripts many times editing and rewriting until it’s the best that it can be. Sometimes we will delete entire scenes and write new ones. Other times it’s sprucing up dialogue, or tweaking a character’s arch. I will go through a few basic check-lists and offer a few tools in how to make the rewriting process less painful.
Synopsis Writing
Many writers agonize over writing a synopsis. I know I used to. I lost sleep over writing them. I would put them off until the last minute. How long should it be? What do include? What do I leave out? I will show writers how to breakdown their main story line using the basic narrative structure to write a short and concise synopsis covering the inciting incident, turning points, dark moment, climax and resolution.
What is the perfect pitch? Or Query letter? It's the ability to sum up the KEY, ESSENTIAL, PARTS of your story in as few sentences as possible. The idea is to generate interest to get the editor or agent to ask to see material. Commercials are how long? 30 seconds? Not a lot of time, yet thousands of dollars are spent on them. And what is the purpose? Well, it's not to sell the product, but to produce name recognition and well, generate interest. That's the idea of the perfect pitch. Generate enough interest to get a request. I use my 20 years in the Marketing and Advertising field to help writers develop a great query letter that is based hook and the key elements in their book. This then transforms into your pitch!
Critique Groups and What to Look For and How to Start your Own.
Every writer needs feedback. One way to do that is to join a critique group. But are all critique groups created equal? No. I will go over ways to find good critique situations and how to create your own group that will meet your needs as a writer. I will also go over some dos and don’ts of critiquing and how to get the best out of even the harshest criticism.
NOVEL IN A YEAR (Given only at Writers and Books -- full year course)
Are you writing a novel, or thinking of starting one? Maybe you’ve started one before but the task seemed to daunting. This class will cover everything from brainstorming, outlining, basic novel structure, ensuring conflict, plot and sub-plot development, character development and arc, creating realistic dialogue, using setting, revision and editing and giving your manuscript the color it needs to stand out. Plus, this class, the peer energy and helpful atmosphere will keep your project on track and prevent you from hanging it up when the going gets tough.
For information regarding the above workshops please feel free to contact me at info@jenniholbrook.com