Writing a Romantic Short Story. Leader: Diana Cranstoun. ARWA launches 2022 and our 35th year with Diana Cranstoun. In this workshop, she will explore what a short story is, how and why you should write one (or more!), and gain an understanding of the expectations of the romantic short story reader. A handy precursor for your contribution to our next “Treasures” anthology. From January 8, 2022.
Content Marketing. Leader: Calvin Jim. Blogs, newsletter and social media posts are examples of content writing and are a great way to get your author brand and writing noticed. Calvin Jim, lawyer-turned-author and well-known supporter of our Calgary writing community, will give you strategies to take your content writing to the next level in this must attend presentation. From January 27, 2022.
Panel: Romance Writing. Moderator: Tammy Lyn Carbol. Panelists Diana Cranstoun, Sarah Kades Graham, Jessica Jackson and VI Peace discuss romance writing. From February 12, 2022.
Goodreads for Authors. Leader: Rachel Baird. Rachel will go through the aspects of Goodreads and how authors can benefit from placing their books on the platform. From February 24, 2022.
ARWA’s Challenge Groups and the 5W’s of Critiques. Leader: Diana Cranstoun. Join Diana Cranstoun for a discussion of ARWA’s Challenge Groups – its history and reboot – followed by an examination of the 5Ws of Critiquing. From March 12, 2022.
Book Review of “Writing Romantic Fiction” by Barbara Samuel. Leader: Darlene Maynard. Darlene will be reviewing the book “Writing Romantic Fiction” by Barbara Samuel. This book shows how to create a rounded and compelling love story. A perfect ‘romance’ themed workshop for our Treasures Along the Fenceline and for the upcoming WWC convention. You’ll also learn how to do some plotting and character development. From March 24, 2022.
Emotional Conflict and Humour Leader: Allison Gorner. Great stories have characters the reader feels connected to. But how, as writers, do we do that? To create an emotional response in the reader, the author must create characters with strong emotions. In this workshop we will be discussing two ways to effectively write emotion in your characters: emotional conflict (or internal conflict) and humour. Allison Gorner will share with you some strategies and tips on how to connect with your reader and hopefully make them laugh and cry. From April 9, 2022.
Character Development. Leader: Bret Cousins. (replay from September 12, 2020) When a character does something totally outside of his/her motivations, it confuses the reader and weakens the narrative. Characters must be kept consistent with the skills and personalities you start them with. They can evolve and grow like real people, learning as they grow, but not sudden without a reason. In this workshop, I will take you through establishing a back story for a character to create the personality and abilities they to create a map on how they will react under each circumstance in your plot. From May 14, 2022
Brain Exercises Leader: Shaa Dickson. Exercising the brain can help creativity. Join Shaa to learn a few brain exercises to help your writing. From May 26, 2022.
A Conversation with Mills and Boon/HQN Editor Laurie Johnson: Laurie Johnson, Editor for Mills and Boon Medical (UK) will be discussing the industry and answering your questions on the Romance Genre in general and Medical Romances in particular. From November 12, 2022.
The Road to Traditional Publishing. Leader: Felicity George. Felicity is a writer and teacher from Toronto, where she lives with her husband, her two teenage children, a large cat, and a tiny dog. A lifelong devotee of Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer, Felicity adores a happily-ever-after. Her debut novel, ‘A Lady’s Risk’, part one of a five-book Regency romance series for Orion Dash (Hachette UK), was published September 2022. From November 24, 2022.