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April’s OCCRWA Online Class is “Behind Bars: A Look Inside a Federal Penitentiary”, with Nancy Farrier and Gerry Legg, Jr.

March 26, 2015 by in category Archives

OCCRWA’s own Nancy Farrier is here today to talk about her upcoming online class:

Looking Behind the Bars into a Federal Penitentiary. 

As authors we always strive for authenticity in our work. This means doing a lot of research, even for the small details. For instance, if possible, we will visit a location where our story will be set to experience the feel of the setting. Sometimes this isn’t feasible so we have to rely on others who have been there and are willing to share their experiences with us.

This is what we hope to share with you in our class about Federal Penitentiaries. An authentic look at what happens inside. We’ll give you a chance to see how the prison system works on many levels. To research with accuracy isn’t easy, but taking a class from someone who knows what goes on behind the bars can help.

You might think this is only for writers of suspense, mystery or thriller, but that isn’t the case. Our books could contain characters in prison, or we may have a character who needs to visit someone in prison, or to speak with authority about something that might happen in a penitentiary. Maybe you’re plotting a fantasy and need to include incarceration and this class will give you some great ideas to make your world become real.

In this class you will learn some of the major mistakes many authors make – even some big name authors – errors that are glaring to anyone who knows about prisons. You will learn about the training for the Federal Correction Officers; what they can and can’t do at work. You will see what happens on Visitor day – what’s allowed and what isn’t. What jobs might those incarcerated be allowed to do? How soon can they have visitors and who is allowed to visit?

What kinds of things to inmates do that they aren’t supposed to and what happens when they get caught? Do murders occur in a Federal prison? Yes, of course. So, what happens then? How is the scene processed? Who handles the investigation?

When I first did this class with Gerry, I learned some facts that surprised and even shocked me. Facts that gave me some story ideas. I’m sure you will too as you sit in on Behind Bars: A Look Inside a Federal Penitentiary. Come prepared to learn and to ask questions.

For more information and to register go to http://www.occrwa.org/onlineclassApril15.html
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How to make the most out of your conference weekend

March 25, 2015 by in category Archives tagged as , ,

I can’t believe it’s finally here! I’m talking about this weekend’s California Dreamin Writers Conference. This will be my second conference so I thought I’d share some tips to help you get the most out of this experience.

1) Keep your business cards on you at all times

You never know who will be in the elevator with you or sitting next to you at lunch. It could be a potential reader, it could be your dream agent. Or it could just be someone you liked talking to for a few minutes and want to follow them on Twitter and vice versa. So have a business card handy to pass on just in case!

2) Go to at least one workshop outside your usual genre or track

Sometimes you can’t always judge a workshop or a speaker by a title or few sentence description alone. Who knows? You could learn something or meet someone important that will have an impact on your writing.

3) Have fun…but not too much fun

You wouldn’t want to miss out on some morning workshops because you stayed out all night partying, would you? There are so many great speakers at this event that it would be a shame to miss out on learning something from them because you overslept.

4) Mingle!

Even if you don’t know him or her, talk to the person sitting next to you during a workshop or at dinner. A conference is the best way to build your network of author friends.

5) Ask questions — even if you think you already know the answer
This is the only way we learn. Not only that, but asking questions can open doors that you thought were locked. So don’t be afraid!

Feel free to add your own conference tips in the comments below.

See you this weekend, I hope!

Sabrina Sol
www.sabrinasol.com
@theromancechica

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Power Corrupts…

March 24, 2015 by in category Archives
“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”   Lord Acton
Well, no, actually.

Power allows existing personality traits to manifest themselves–it may enhance, but it doesn’t create the traits.

Naturally military dictators willing to kill and crush all opposition to achieve power aren’t likely to be the nicest of people.  They are already “corrupt.” Though they may have initially put on a mask of niceness to get support, the moment they achieve their goals, the mask falls and their basic dictatorial personality is manifest. Absolute power does not corrupt them–it is simply an enabler to allow a preexisting condition to express itself.

Unfortunately, since they themselves are quite unpleasant people–willing to do anything to achieve power–they often assume everyone else is the same, and can be quite paranoid. And to paraphrase the joke, just because they are paranoid doesn’t mean they are not hated and that everyone is indeed out to get them. Again, the traits were all there to start off with, power is not the cause, though it does enable the effects.

But examine people that have not acquired power through force. Look at people who were born into power–kings and queens–to see how the opportunities that absolute power offers is always transformed by the personality in power throughout history.  Even though England’s present royalty doesn’t have much actual power, you just know that Prince Charles would not go around beheading people (except for a few architects perhaps) if he had absolute power. There’s even variety in dictators,  Stalin, Tito, Castro all present quite different profiles in power.
Even the “power” of modern day celebrities demonstrate a great deal of variety. Some achieve power through talent and/or luck, not trampling on others (actors Vs reality tv stars).  Some actors are clearly total egocentric jerks (and worse), using and abusing their spotlight.  Others clearly are fairly normal human beings.

So don’t blame power. It’s just a door opener to the jerk within…

Isabel Swift
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Women in the Civil War: North and South by Jina Bacarr

March 11, 2015 by in category Archives tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , ,

My favorite things are anything vintage.

Stuffed away in my closet I have a blue parasol trimmed with white lace, a pair of old lace-up, pointy boots.

And a hoop skirt.

As flighty and unpredictable as any belle from the Civil War.

But the reality of the role of women during the War Between the States is more than flirty belles twirling a pretty parasol. Women worked as nurses, volunteered as soldiers, risked their lives as spies. They were The Women of the Civil War: North and South.

This is the 150th Anniversary of the end of the Civil War. I’ve always loved this era since I first saw Scarlett sitting on the front porch at Tara with the Tarleton Twins and pooh-poohing the idea of war coming. So I’ve just finished my own Civil War novel–a time travel…more about that coming up. I’ll update as things progress.

One thing the women of the North and South had in common was their love for the men fighting. They became nurses, took wounded into their homes, sewed blankets and uniforms, baked breads and jellies, and fought beside them. They did everything they could to help their cause.

Can you imagine living in a time when wearing a corset day and night was required? Women found themselves not only hampered by stays, but petticoats and those hoop skirts.  I got my hoop skirt from the costume department in a theater where I worked years ago…they were throwing it away!! No, I couldn’t have that. I was thrilled to take it off their hands. Since then, I’ve worn it under a Civil War era gown to commemorative events, book signings, and costume parties.

When I was writing my CW time travel, I put it on again. Just to get the feel of what it was like.

Floating…is how I would describe it.

It’s so important to walk the walk, talk the talk of the time. I’m fascinated with the women who fought as soldiers. Imagine trying to keep your identity secret among a bunch of rowdy troops. Not easy. According to reports, many women signed up to get a regular paycheck. How about being a nurse? You had to be over thirty and plain.

And what about being a spy? Sounds glamorous…but dangerous. Imagine hiding a letter written in cipher in your pantaloons.

Thanks for stopping by…and as I mentioned, more about my Civil War time travel when I have news!

Best,
Jina

http://jinabacarr.com
@JinaBacarr

UPDATED:

I’m very excited to announce that my Civil War Time Travel “LOVE ME FOREVER” is up on Kindle Scout website for a month long campaign beginning Sunday, March 29, 2015.

For more info on the Kindle Scout Program CLICK HERE. This is where you, the reader, can choose which books are published. A super idea and fun for both readers and writers.

 LOVE ME FOREVER on Kindle Scout — you can read the first 5,000 words HERE. You’ll meet both my heroines and both my heroes in the excerpt. If you nominate my story and it’s published by Kindle Scout, then you’ll receive a free copy! It’s a saga of love and romance and war of more than 500 pages. Believe me, I walked every road, fought every battle with my characters, even walked around in a hoop skirt to “get it right.” This is a book of the heart…any questions? Please ask!!

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Rhetorical Devices Are a Writer’s Friends

February 26, 2015 by in category Archives tagged as ,

Guest-blogging today is MM Pollard of Workshops with MM, an editor with Black Velvet Seductions. MM will be teaching OCCRWA’s March Online Class, “Writing Fiction with Impact”

 

When you hear the phrase “rhetorical devices,” do you break out in a rash? Do you think they are only for lawyers and other people who argue for a living? Do you think including them in your fiction will make your writing sound artificial and too scholarly for your readers?

If you have a rash now, sorry. May I suggest Sarna Lotion? It’s great to ease itching. If you answered yes to the other two questions, we need to talk, seriously.

Good writers use rhetorical devices and don’t even know it. Why? Because writers have been using them since they first wrote stories. You do, too.

If that is so, then why should you take my workshop, Fiction with Impact? Because we will cover twenty of these devices, devices that are suited to all fiction writing. I’ll give you several examples of each device from fiction and a chance to practice. You will learn to use these devices to impact your writing and your reader intentionally, not in a haphazard way.

I promise you won’t sound like a lawyer or Socrates if you use the information you’ll gain from the workshop’s six lessons. Promise.  
 
“Writing Fiction with Impact” begins March 16th and runs through April 12th. For more information and to register, visit the OCCRWA website.

 

 

 
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