OCCRWA January Online Class
December 31, 2007 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives tagged as Online ClassJanuary 14 – February 10, 2008
Enrollment Information: http://www.occrwa.com/classes_January.htm
COST: $20 for OCC members, $30 for non-members
Enrollment deadline: January 12, 2008
Moderator: Kitty Bucholtz at kittyrosebucholtz@yahoo.com
ABOUT THE CLASS:
Pitch Perfect: Getting to the Heart of your Romance Novel or Women’s Fiction Story (for pitching and for querying)
Everyone needs to learn how to pitch. Okay, maybe everyone except those few heavy hitters who have the luxury of only having to share a vague idea about a story with their editors because their stuff always sells well (we hate them, but let’s move on…).
So, the rest of us need to be able to present our story ideas within query letters, synopses, and during frightening agent and editor appointments at writing conferences!
•Can you use a 3-word phrase to describe your story? How about in one sentence?
•Can you capture the essence of your tale in 25 words or less?
•When your listener wants to know more about your story, do you know what to say and, more importantly, what NOT to say?
•Do you know the biggest benefit of having an agent or editor appointment at a national or regional writing conference?
The main goal of this class is to help you understand the different types (and lengths) of pitches you need to prepare, and for you to learn several ways and styles of organizing your pitch (that you can utilize in query letters as well as agent/editor appointments).
What do you get? If you read and comprehend all the lectures plus complete all the assignments, you will create your very own pitch that you can utilize for query letters, synopsis blurbs, and/or as a verbal pitch to agents and/or editors at conference appointments. Or, this process will clearly point out where you need to do some more work on your story. It might be a painful awakening that you have some serious revising to do, but it will be time well spent.
Either way, you’ll have gotten to the heart of your story.
About the Instructor:
After much hard work and the help of many other published and unpublished writers, Janet Wellington sold her first romance manuscript in 1998. Now, in addition to her own writing, she also teaches writing workshops at conferences and online. And she believes in giving back to the writing community and coaches other writers on craft and how to navigate the publishing maze through her business called Wellington Word, where she offers line-editing and manuscript critiquing.
Her favorite mantra is: If you’re going to dream, dream big…and do it! And she adds, “Getting published is a miracle achieved by four things: (1) Courage, (2) Perseverance, (3) Luck, and (4) Talent…usually in that order!”
PITCH PERFECT with Janet Wellington
January 14 – February 10, 2008
Enrollment Information: http://www.occrwa.com/classes_January.htm
COST: $20 for OCC members, $30 for non-members
Enrollment deadline: January 12, 2008
For more information, please see the website http://www.occrwa.com/classes_January.htm or email moderator Kitty Bucholtz at kittyrosebucholtz@yahoo.com
My New Year’s Resolution
December 29, 2007 by A Slice of Orange in category ArchivesThis is one of my favorite times of the year. My family and I celebrated two birthdays and had a really nice peaceful, Christmas. I hope yours was the same. I definitely ate more this week than it takes to sustain life – and I enjoyed every bite of it.
Now its time to start thinking about New Year’s resolutions (if you’re the type of person who makes them). I could fall back on my annual vow of eating right and exercising more, but I know that will be history by my birthday in mid-January. I could vow to write more and procrastinate less, which miraculously I’ve actually been doing, so I don’t think that counts.
So instead how about this? I will challenge you to make a few small positive changes in your life whatever they may be and I will try to do the same in mine. Sometimes it’s the smallest changes that make the biggest difference.
Happy New Year Everyone!
A Fantasy Life – 4
December 27, 2007 by A Slice of Orange in category A Fantasy Life by Janet Cornelow tagged as Janet Cornelow, Janet Quinn
Happy New Year!
I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas. My family bought me a laptop, which was exciting. My oldest bought me a cool case with wheels and a handle to carry it around. He pretty much figured I wouldn’t be able to lift a regular case and get it across the room. So far I can play games on it. I was practicing using the touch pad. My oldest has promised to set up the internet connection and Word tonight, but he’s in his office making up characters for his new role playing game. The major reason I wanted the laptop is because I am going to become a online facilitator for Axia, a division of the University of Phoenix and my middle son and I are always fighting over the computer. He plays World of Warcraft and gets cranky when I want to use the internet. The whole family is into fantasy worlds. The youngest also does role playing games.
It’s almost the new year and time to look back at what was accomplished in 2007 and what I want to accomplish in 2008. I have a tendency make more goals than anyone person could accomplish. I’ve made a few less for 2008, but will add to the list. I always do. A new project comes up and I finish it, so I have to add it to the list so I can cross it off and say, “Look what I did.†I pretty much ignore those that didn’t get done. Some of them I really didn’t want to do anyway. Others get moved to the next year. I keep all of my goals in a journal so I can look back and see what I did and didn’t do in past years. When the same goal has been running for three years, it is time to rethink that project. I actually got one of those goals done this year.
I still have a few days left and am on vacation from my day job, so I have a list of what I have to do this week. Write two fantasy short stories for The Enchanted Hawk which comes out in February. I need give aways for a contest. Finish the rewrites I’ve been working on for two months that should have taken half that time. And venture into the world of trailers. I want to do one for my Augeas fantasy short stories before the next two come out in February. I also have to order new character pictures since the city scape is nearly done. I hope you enjoy the black and white version. I don’t have color yet.
Everyone take time and visit the fantasy world of your choice. Where would we be without a good book to read.
Happy Holidays!
December 23, 2007 by A Slice of Orange in category Archives tagged as Linda McLaughlin, winter solstice
Today is my first regular day to blog, and it may seem like an odd time to start, right before the end of the year. Or perhaps not.
Friday was the Winter Solstice, the shortest day, and longest night, of the year. It signals the beginning of winter, so we string up lights on our houses and city streets to keep the darkness at bay, for a little while, at least.
This celestial event has long been a cause for celebration. The Romans called it Saturnalia; the Celts called it Yule. Today we call it Christmas. Chanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, also occurs in December, though not always in conjunction with the solstice.
The one common element in all of these festivities is the notion of bringing light into the darkness, whether it’s lighting the candles on a Menorah, a yule log burning in the fireplace, electric lights on the tree, or a star shining brightly, leading the way to Bethlehem.
My wish for you this holiday season is that the light of inspiration will fill your mind with wonderful story ideas, irresistible characters, and sterling prose in the upcoming year.
Happy Holidays!
Linda McLaughlin / Lyndi Lamont
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