Leaving our traditional meeting format aside, we’ll take this time to cover plot structure basics, then spend the rest of the time in small groups, brainstorming and discussing our individual pieces.

CTRWA meets on the second Saturday of every month.

Our meetings are held at The Four Points Sheraton in Meriden, CT. Membership meeting begins at 10:30 AM. Our speaker begins at 11:00 AM and is followed by a pay your own lunch.

Published and non-published writers from all genres are welcome. Non-members can attend two times for free to check our fabulous group!

For more information regarding membership in CTRWA, please see our Membership page.

General Directions to the Hotel

The Four Points Sheraton

275 Research Parkway

Meriden, CT 06450

(203) 238-2380.

From East
Take Interstate 84 West into Hartford, then take Exit 56 to Interstate 91 South. From I-91 South, take Exit 17, to East Main Street and turn left. Take a right at the second light onto Pomeroy Avenue. The hotel is ahead 0.5 mile on the right.

From West
Take Interstate 84 East to Exit 27, then take Interstate 691 East. Take Exit 10 and stay in the right-hand lane until you reach the first Exit 67 West, East Main Street. Turn right onto Pomeroy Avenue at the second light and the hotel will be 0.5 miles down on the right.

From Bradley International Airport (North)
Take Interstate 91 South to Exit 17. Veer right to East Main Street. Turn left at the light. From there, turn right onto Pomeroy Avenue at the second light. The hotel will be 0.5 miles down on the right.

From South
Take Interstate 91 North to Exit 16. Take a right at the end on to East Main Street. Take a right at the first light onto Pomeroy Avenue. The hotel is approximately 0.5 mile ahead on the right.

Past Workshops & Speakers

12-Step Program for Revisions
with best-selling, award-winning author Kristan Higgins

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

World-Building
with best-selling author Jessica Andersen

One of our own members, Karen Laugel, M.D., will be speaking at our next meeting. A practicing pediatrician, Karen Laugel is also a novelist whose writings placed in the Top Ten in Amazon’s 2008 Breakthrough Novel Contest. Karen Laugel founded and directs The Fiction Doctor, a team of physicians who help fiction writers keep their medical scenes realistic and accurate.

Worldbuilding’s not just for paranormals!

It doesn’t matter whether you’re writing a historical, contemporary, urban fantasy, or whatever, you still need to ground your reader in the sights, smells, sounds … and, yes, the ’rules’ of your story world. In this fun, interactive workshop, we’ll look at the five questions I ask myself when I’m building my worlds, and see how they might apply to yours!

Jessica Andersen is the bestselling RITA and RT Reviewers’ Choice nominated author of more than twenty science-based romantic suspense novels for Harlequin, as well as the NOVELS OF THE FINAL PROPHECY (Signet Eclipse), a hot paranormal series about the Nightkeepers, a group of warrior-priests who must find their destined mates and rediscover a series of lost Mayan artifacts in order to defend mankind against the 2012 doomsday. FMI about the books or Jessica, please visit www.JessicaAndersen.com.

USA Today bestselling author Kathryn Smith talks about the growing YA market, and how you can be part of it. The genre has come a long way since Judy Blume gave us the ground-breaking ‘Forever’. Today’s young adult novels run from sweet to somewhat sexy, from light to dark and from reality to paranormal worlds. Teens are hungry for great books and they’re savvier than you might think. Find out how to become part of this amazing scene with points on research, knowing your audience, word count, publishers and more.

This workshop will take new judges through the use of contest scoring sheets and what to look for when writing feedback. We’ll review writing samples and discuss different approaches to the judging process.

“Promotional Fireworks:  Countdown to Book Launch Success”

In December of 2003, Toni Andrews had yet to write the first word of her first novel.  By December of 2005, she had published her first novel and was under contract for five more, including three by Mira Books.  How did she do it?  By using the powerful business tools she employed in her day job as a Business Analyst.

Members should check their email for more information.

Karlee Etter presents:

The Best or Worst Dressed Heroine, an Authentic Historical Wardrobe

~~~

CTRWA meets on the second Saturday of every month.

Our meetings are held at The Four Points Sheraton in Meriden, CT. Membership meeting begins at 10:30 AM. Our speaker begins at 11:00 AM and is followed by a pay your own lunch.

Published and non-published writers from all genres are welcome. Non-members can attend two times for free to check our fabulous group!

For more information regarding membership in CTRWA, please see our Membership page.

General Directions to the Hotel

The Four Points Sheraton

275 Research Parkway

Meriden, CT 06450

(203) 238-2380.

From East
Take Interstate 84 West into Hartford, then take Exit 56 to Interstate 91 South. From I-91 South, take Exit 17, to East Main Street and turn left. Take a right at the second light onto Pomeroy Avenue. The hotel is ahead 0.5 mile on the right.

From West
Take Interstate 84 East to Exit 27, then take Interstate 691 East. Take Exit 10 and stay in the right-hand lane until you reach the first Exit 67 West, East Main Street. Turn right onto Pomeroy Avenue at the second light and the hotel will be 0.5 miles down on the right.

From Bradley International Airport (North)
Take Interstate 91 South to Exit 17. Veer right to East Main Street. Turn left at the light. From there, turn right onto Pomeroy Avenue at the second light. The hotel will be 0.5 miles down on the right.

From South
Take Interstate 91 North to Exit 16. Take a right at the end on to East Main Street. Take a right at the first light onto Pomeroy Avenue. The hotel is approximately 0.5 mile ahead on the right.

You’ve finished your manuscript, polished it till it shines…and now you’ve got to send it out. Published authors Kristan Higgins and Lori Avocato will cover the basics of submission: writing a query letter, summarizing your book for a synopsis and cleaning up the manuscript so it’s ready for the eyes of an agent or editor.

*** There will be no critique group this week.