Our Meetings
The Basics
When?
3rd Saturday of each month
Where?
La Hacienda Ranch Restaurant on Hwy 121 in Colleyville, TX unless otherwise specified
Times?
10:30 AM --Gather / Visit
11:00 AM -- Speaker
12:00 PM -- Business Meeting
Come visit us at one of these upcoming meetings
Join us Saturday August 20 at 11 am via Zoom for
Writing Across Generations
As writers we know that every character has their own unique set of aspirations, goals and personality. But those exist within a larger context. Every generation has its own set of expectations, shaping experiences, relationship with technology and ways of interacting that are norms among that cohort.
Marketers study these to hone messages to sell products and services. As authors we can use this information to shape realistic conflicts and build authentic multi-generational relationships among our characters.
We’ll cover each of the generations living today—what experiences shaped them, what makes them unique, how their values conflict with other generations. Join an experienced marketer and fiction writer in this interactive journey to improve how you write across generations.
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Jenna Grinstead is a whimsical Midwesterner with a penchant for magic and a deep desire for a world where the weird and different are embraced and celebrated.
She is a graduate of The Ohio State University where she studied journalism. She found a way to turn her imagination and creativity into a career in marketing, while writing contemporary romance, young adult and middle grade fiction. She often conducts workshops and speaks on writing, world-building, social media and marketing.
Jenna is a member of The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Central Ohio Fiction Writers, Romance Writer’s of America and Women’s Fiction Writers Association. Her young adult romance manuscripts have won several regional writing awards, including The Maggie and The Indiana Golden Opportunity.
When she’s not plotting her next story you can find her devouring novels and mint chocolate chip ice cream in her house with California Poppies painted across the garage.
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Zoom meeting info will be shared on Facebook and via an email or newsletter.
JOIN US VIA ZOOM
on July 16, 2002 at 11 AM
for Stuck in the Middle
by Tere Michaels
This class focuses specifically on the middle of your story, the bulk of the action that takes place after the set-up and builds up until you reach your “disembarking point” and the book’s ending.
- How do you crank up conflict and emotion without writing yourself into a corner?
- How do you fulfill the promise of your beginning (and your blurb), to deliver the book you’ve promised readers?
- How do you keep readers emotionally engaged without having to use tricks and red herrings to make sure those pages keep turning?
Whatever your process—from highly detailed outlines to seat-of-your-pants writing, and everything in between—this class will help you build a framework for a successful, satisfying book. We will map out the high points (and low points) of the middle of your book. We will discuss how your “midpoint” is not exactly in the middle, nor does it indicate one moment in time. And we’ll help you decide precisely how to shake up the world you’ve created (so you can fix it in time for the end).
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Tere Michaels writes happily ever afters in the big city with heaps of snark, angst and humor. Her focus is on characters and all the ridiculous ways they trip through life and love. She has written fifteen books including her popular Faith, Love & Devotion series and the superhero saga, The Vigilante. Her new series is Broadway or Bust.
She has been presenting workshops on the writing process for ten years. She has taught at RT Booklovers Convention, Liberty States Create Something Magical Conference, RWA online classes, and done presentations and workshops for chapters of RWA, Liberty States, Sisters in Crime, and Horror Writers of America. She taught and managed RT Booklovers Convention Boot Camp. Currently she is a plot whisperer/consultant/developmental editor and teaches frequently at SavvyAuthors.
Send her a message through her website (www.teremichaels.com) or connect with her on Instagram and Facebook.
We’re meeting in person on June 18, but there won’t be a speaker.
Bring your writing / publishing issues with you and we’ll break out in small groups to chat and brainstorm.
Gathering begins @ 10AM.
VIA ZOOM
Spotting Trends and Profitable Markets For Romance Authors: Latest Market Research To Up Your Game
In this session, Alex Newton from K-lytics will open his book market data vault to share latest insights from the romance market. Alex will help us maneuver through the Amazon jungle of sales ranks, categories, keywords, pricing, KU vs. Non-KU, trends, competition, profitable tropes, high-selling covers, and more. Alex makes data palatable and fun. So if you love to write but hate math, this event is for you.
Non-members are welcome to attend! Register here.
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About Alex
Alex Newton is the founder of K-lytics.com, a leading provider of book market research. His Genre Reports and Amazon category performance database have made the power of “Big Data” accessible to individual authors and smaller publishing houses. Alex’s research from analyzing millions of books over the last seven years has helped thousands of authors to spot opportunities, sell books in attractive market niches, and optimize their book marketing.
Alex spent more than 20-years in top management consulting for Fortune 500 companies. He lives in Switzerland with his wife and daughter and looks forward to joining us to share his latest insights. Want to get a taste of Alex’s research beforehand? – Get the free Christmas Romance report and seminar at => http://k-lytics.com/christmas
IN PERSON
Please join us March 19, 2022 at 11am for
(this will be a two-hour presentation)
Allie Pleiter Presenting
The Chunky Method
The Chunky Method identifies and wields your unique style and speed into a clear step-by-step program to get the work done. No stuffing your style into someone else’s frustrating structure! You’ll feel the energy that happens when you build success upon success. We’ll work together to formulate a perfect, personalized plan that won’t fail because it’s built around how you naturally write.
This program gives you everything you need to:
~ Accurately discover your “Chunk”—the key to your productivity
~ Uncover the unique traits that make writing possible for you
~ Plot a path to completion that works in the real world
~ Fine-tune that plan with me so that it works even better than before
In as little as 4 to 8 weeks, you can have a solid, personalized plan for how to finish that book.
Bio
Bestselling international author Allie Pleiter honed her talents in the world of popular fiction, where she still releases multiple books a year. Allie has over 50 published titles to her name, and over 1.5 million Allie Pleiter fiction and non-fiction books have been sold around the world.
Her well-known Chunky Method system trains writers at every level to formulate plans and meet deadlines in a way tailored to their unique working style. Allie runs an active coaching practice helping writers and all kinds of creative people be more productive, as well as training productive people to be more creative. Already a national speaker among writing associations, Allie now extends her reach to entrepreneurs, speakers, consultants, and anyone who needs to bolster their productivity and creativity in a demanding marketplace.
Allie is an avid knitter, confirmed coffee junkie and firm believer that “pie makes everything better.” She holds a BS in Speech from Northwestern University and lives in the suburbs of Chicago with her husband and the world’s most adorable dog.
Link to buy books that go with program:
Here’s a link to the book.
And to the series, if people also want to order HOW TO WRITE WHEN IT ALL GOES WRONG.
An intro video to the Chunky Method!
Please register if you plan to attend…
The speaker would like a head count.
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IN PERSON
Please join us May 21, 2022 at 11am CST for
Shayla Raquel Presenting
Your Book Marketing Recipe for Sizzling Sales
From authentic branding to social media, from your website to consistency, I’ll cover everything you need to know so you can create a tribe of book ambassadors and do the author thing forever. This is my most popular class!
BIO:
A self-publishing mentor, best-selling author, and public speaker, Shayla Raquel works one-on-one with writers every day. A lifelong lover of books, she has been in the publishing industry for eleven years and teaches on author branding, indie publishing, book marketing, and the craft of writing.
Her award-winning blog teaches new and established authors how to write, publish, and market their books.
She is the author of the Pre-Publishing Checklist, “The Rotting” (in Shivers in the Night), The Suicide Tree, The 10 Commandments of Author Branding, All the Things I Should’ve Told You, and “Savage Indulgence.” In her not-so-free time, she studies all things true crime and obsesses over squirrels. She lives in Oklahoma with her husband and three fur babies.
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Please register if you plan to attend…
The speaker would like a head count.
AUG 2022 ~ Jenna Grinstead: Writing Across Generations
SEP 2022 ~ C. Morgan Kennedy: Turn Your World Building into Marketing
OCT 2022 ~ TBA
NOV 2022 ~ TBA (will probably be the 2nd Saturday)
DEC 2022 ~ Holiday Gathering (2nd Saturday)
Join us Saturday, January 15, 2022 at 11AM for
SALLY KILPATRICK
Do your manuscripts get comments like “your story is too quiet” or “you have too much external conflict”? Do you find it hard to put your characters in sticky situations? Sally Kilpatrick relays her own journey to creating conflict even when, in real life, she prefers to run away. Starting with the tried and true concept of GMC, she’ll expand upon the concept and guide you through adding internal conflict and other strategies for making sure that your story has layers.
Non-NTRWA Members–if you’d like to join us for Sally’s program, sign up here.
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Sally Kilpatrick is the USA Today bestselling author of six novels. She has won multiple awards, including the 2018 and 2019 Georgia Author of the Year, the Maggie Award of Excellence, the Booksellers’ Best, and the 2016 Nancy Knight Mentorship Award. She lives in Marietta, Georgia with her husband, two kids, and two cats. You can find her at sallykilpatrick.com or on Twitter as @superwritermom.
Join us Saturday, December 11, 2021
10:30AM (CST) at La Hacienda Ranch in Colleyville.
Wear an ugly sweater and bring an ornament ($10 or less value) to participate in the annual white elephant exchange.
Also see your fellow writers! Live and in person…!!