Why did your manuscript get rejected?  Thea will discuss what doesn‘t work and why culled from her twenty-five years evaluatiing romance and women’s fiction as a free-lance reader. She‘ll talk about story and plot,  where you get ideas, and things to try for the times when you’re stuck and don’t know what to do, discuss trends and cultural themes and answer questions. This is a nuts and bolts, look under the hood to see how it works discussion, with specific examples and hopefully some practical advice.

Please note that we will be in our New Location at the North Haven Holiday Inn

Meeting Schedule:

9:30 – 10:45 Critique Group (for CTRWA members only)

11:00 CTRWA business meeting

11:30 Craft Corner – Member-led snippets of craft, info, and writing fun

11:45 (ish) Ask a Published Author – Got questions? Each month, one of CTRWA’s published authors will take your questions on the craft, industry and career challenges of writing.

12:00 Lunch! Order a plated lunch from the hotel (Use the Monthly Meeting RSVP Link at the top of the page and bring $1o*) or brown bag it

1:00 Guest speaker

2:00 Optional post-meeting hands on workshop.  CTRWA’s President, Toni Andrews, will present:

Plot my Proposal!

As a typical “mid-list author,” I’m in a position to sell a book I have not yet written BUT not yet in a position to get a contract based solely on an idea.

In order for my agent to get a book contract, I have to provide her with a proposal.  This includes:

1. A pitch:  A high concept description of the book idea that she can use when she contacts acquiring editors.
2. A detailed synopsis that becomes a selling tool, both for my agent and for the acquiring editor in those dreaded Acquisitions Meetings.
3. The first three (or so) chapters of the book, polished and ready to go, to give the acquiring editor a feel for the characters and my writing style and voice.

As it happens, I’ve recently come up with an idea for a new series, and my agent agrees that it’s an exiting, marketable concept.  However, in order to complete a proposal, I have to round out my cast of characters, figure out the primary external conflict, turning points and black moment for the first episode in the series, and fill in enough details about the internal conflicts and subplots to write that detailed synopsis.

And you’re going to help.

For September’s interactive workshop, I will reveal my “process” – show you the actual steps I go through to craft the characters and plot details needed to complete a proposal and, ultimately, a finished novel.  I’ll provide copies of the charts and cheat-sheets I use, and make suggestions about how you can customize the process for your own book.

Am I shamelessly using you as slave labor for my own purposes? Absolutely. But I have a feeling you’re going to gain some powerful insight in the process.

*10 rate is for members only; non-member guests pay $16 for lunch.

Monthly Meetings are held at: Holiday Inn Conference Center, 201 Washington Avenue, North Haven, CT  06473

If you would like to attend, please use the R.S.V.P.
link at the top of the page!

Previous Meeting Topics

Building an Online Community with Corrina Lawson

Think It, Believe It, Live It with Janet Messina

World Building with Jessica Andersen, National Bestselling Author

Medical Realism in Fiction with Karen Laugel, M.D.

Writing for the Young Adult Market with Kathryn Smith, USA Today Bestselling Author

The Art of Revisions with Kristan Higgins, RITA Award-Winning and USA Today Bestselling Author

Creating Your Personal Brand with Marketing Expert Jennifer Fusco

Finding the Right Agent with Tracy Lyon

Plotting Workshop with Toni Andrews