Emily Bryan

WHAT A NOVEL IDEA! (Story Structure)

How can a writer be sure  her story isn’t full of holes or missed opportunities? Listen to the voices of the ancient bards. For centuries, story-tellers have been perfecting the craft of weaving tales. We can stand on their shoulders.

Based of Christopher Vogler’s The Writers Journey, Emily explains the mythic structures that form plot points your readers are already pre-programmed to respond to. WHAT A NOVEL IDEA will help writers be certain their plots will hit all the readers’ (and editor’s!) hot-buttons

John Flynn and Friends:

Expert Panel of Connecticut Law Enforcement Officials

Our speakers for this meeting will be:

Nikoo & Jim Goldrick (AKA Jan Coffey)

Collaborative Writing as a Couple

For our first meeting of 2009, Marie Force and Kristan Higgins will present:

Plotters vs. Pantsers: Can’t We All Just Get Along?

Published authors Marie Force (Line of Scrimmage) and Kristan Higgins (Just One of the Guys) will discuss the pros and cons of their writing methods and what can be learned from the other side in what promises to be a lively and entertaining discussion.

Holiday Party

At our December meeting, we will have our Silent Raffle.

All members are asked to contribute something to raffle off. Anything. Baskets with chocolate, wine, books, things to use to write, gift cards etc.

Bring your item to the December meeting. The chapter sells raffle tickets and you place your ticket in the bag/cup that is in front of the item you want to win.

Tomorrow:

We have our workshop for tomorrow!  Our very own Lindsay Downs will discuss being a male in a primarily female dominated field and writing from the female POV(point of view).  Also you can ask questions about a female writing a male POV!

“Why Manuscripts Get Rejected” — a bare bones nitty gritty look at why proposals don’t sell.

Thea Devine was a freelance manuscript reader over the course of 25 years for four major mass market publishers and an agent.  She’ll discuss what works, what doesn’t, where you get ideas, building a story, things to try when you don’t know what to do, tips and trends, and some hard-won wisdom she’s gained along the way.

Thea Devine is the author whose books defined erotic romance.  She currently writes erotic contemporary romance, for Pocket Books (Sex, Lies and Secret Lives, coming October 09), and Harelquin Blaze. (What I Did on My Summer Vacation – “The Guy Diet” — July 08).

Our first fall meeting approaches! An editor from The Wild Rose Press, Trish Owens, will be speaking.

Are you including a firearm in your next novel?

CTRWA’s June 14TH meeting will feature, Nick Errede, presenter of NRA safety programs to hundreds of Connecticut residents wishing to obtain a state permit to carry pistols and revolvers. He will be speaking about firearms from a writer’s perspective and pistols in particular in a workshop designed for writers. This workshop will not contain directions on the use of firearms for any other purpose except fiction writing. No ammunition will be present.

How To Pitch Your Book to an Editor or Agent

Pitching is your chance to get an editor or agent interested in your work. How do you do that? Good question.