Do you have creaking characters or plodding plots? Has your tale lost its zip? Did you pants your way into a blind alley? From time to time, everyone needs help in getting cooperation from their characters and keeping their stories on track and moving forward. This clinic is design to help you figure out what’s wrong and what to do through a series of questions, tips, discussions, diagnostics… and a little handholding. You can bring your own problems to the course and you can learn even more by joining in as others search for answers.

So whether you have a secondary character taking over or are caught in the mid-novel slump, this interactive workshop is for you.

Lesson 1 Introduction. The curriculum and approach.

Lesson 2 Diagnostics. Exploring where you might have opportunities to improve your manuscript.

Lesson 3 Plot problems. Holes, discontinuities, departures, and blind alleys.

Lesson 4 Uncooperative characters. Protagonists that need dimension and secondary characters who try to take over.

Lesson 5 Beating out a scene

Lesson 6 Holding reader attention

Lesson 7 Pacing. Too fast, too slow, just right.

Lesson 8 Language problems. The right word, the right phrase, and the best images.

Lesson 9 Notes on endings

Lesson 10 Becoming a standout. How to take what you’ve learned and make your work more involving, effective, and extraordinary. Plus, a look at pulling things together with a powerful theme.

Peter Andrews is a full-time, independent writer of speeches, articles, and blogs. He has dozens of short stories and hundreds of nonfiction articles in print. He has worked professionally in PR and as a Web producer, speechwriter, and radio producer. He teaches writing for the Hudson Valley Writers’ Center, Westchester Community College, the Westchester Center for the Arts, and various online venues. He belongs to the National Association of Science Writers and Romance Writers of America, and he is past president of RWA’s young adult chapter (YARWA). His How to Write Fast blog can be found at http://howtowritefast.blogspot.com/

Romance Writers Online will conduct this workshop via a discussion board forum located on this website.  However, access to the site is restricted by login and password to ensure that the workshop is only available to those that are authorized to attend.  This is not an email loop workshop.

How is this workshop held? This workshop is held on a forum-bulletin board based system.

Will I get a reminder that the workshop has started? The best way to be notified is to click the ‘Save to Calendar’ button below. It is set up to notify you five hours before the workshop begins.

I still have questions, help! Not a problem! Please email workshops@romancewritersonline.org