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DARA Speakers
Below is a listing of DARA authors who are available to present workshops or speak at libraries or other venues. To arrange for a DARA author to speak to your group, you may contact the author directly or contact DARA and we will help you arrange a speaking engagement.
Members are encouraged to add their listings to this page here.
| Baldwin, Kathleen |
The Secret Life of Pantsers—Magic Tricks and Delightful Games
Where do you fall on the pantser versus plotter scale? Take the quiz and find out. You might be a frustrated Pantser living in a Plotter’s world. Why do you write the way you write? Explore how your creative mind operates. Plotters and pantsers alike will benefit from discussing tricks, tools and delightful games that make a writer’s life easier. The creative mind is fabulously brilliant but also temperamental. Learn how to nurture and protect your unique type of creativity.
No Banana Peels Please! Writing Humor with Style and Finesse
Learn the SECRET INGREDIENT underneath humor, and how to develop comedic characters.
Critique Groups: Pods of Destruction or Allies for Success?
Critique is one of the most powerful forces for good or evil in our industry. What really works? What doesn’t? What are the danger signs? Identify the earmarks of successful groups. Build the best crit-group ever!
| Blair, Sandy |
For writers:
MAKING YOUR READERS REALLY CARE
Methods for creating the deepest POV possible, for crafting the most memorable characterizations and scenes possible.
THE ABCs of Solid Storytelling
Like the wooden building blocks children have, this program outlines--A-Z--the blocks needed to write a compelling and marketable story.
PLOTTING ON THE FLY: For the Pantser!
Do you find plotting graphs and story boards intimidating? Have you ever interviewed characters, worked on character profiles for hours only to learn halfway through the book that they lied to you? Welcome to my world. Yes, I plot by the seat of my sweatpants. Let's talk about why graphs and such don't work for us and how plotting on the fly can still produce a compelling, marketable story.
I DINNA KEN
How to successfully incorporate dialect, archaic and foreign language and research into manuscripts.
IRELAND: THE MYTHS
Separating fact for fantasy through the centuries.
MEDIEVAL CASTLES
They weren’t palaces. Their evolution and life within.
BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE
Whether to hire a publicist or not. Advantages and disadvantages of both. What you can do yourself and what is better left to the pros.
WRITING A SELLING QUERY AND SYNOPSIS
Tips and examples
HAVE MUSE, WILL TRAVEL
Tips for turning every trip into a tax deductible research project.
For libraries and general public:
GETTING PUBLISHED 101
Focuses on preparing a manuscript, critique groups, contests, finding an editor/ agent.
A FUNNY THING HAPPENDED ON THE WAY TO THE PUBLISHERS
Anecdotes from the path to the publisher's.
For more information contact Sandy@sandyblair.net or visit www.Sandyblair.net.
| Bradley, Shelley |
Writing Love Scenes with Emotional Punch provides instruction making love scenes more relevant to plot, character and relationship. Discussions include hints and tips to keep sexual tension high, both before and after sex. Available in both in-person and online formats, the latter in 8 lessons with applicable homework.
Internal Conflict discusses the structure of internal conflict, how to make it work in tandem with character development and an external conflict to create an emotionally-gripping book.
10 Publishing Myths is a great program, particularly for writers poised on the brink of publication. It discusses some of the crazy expectations and pitfalls of being a published author.
For more information, visit www.shelleybradley.com
| Causey, Cindy |
1. Books in Motion--creating compelling video book trailers.
2. Websites 101--Creating a professional website
3. Cinematic Sexual Tension--using popular movie clips to demonstrate the level of sexual tension and how to ramp up the heat in your writing.
4. Point of View--Whose Story is it Anyway?
5. When Body Parts Lose Control--style and grammar pitfalls to avoid in your writing.
6. Dotting Is and Crossing Ts--spelling and punctuation pitfalls to avoid in your writing.
For more information, email cindy@cindycausey.com or visit her website www.cindycausey.com
| Chancellor, Victoria |
Writing a Synopsis That Sells
(45 minute presentation)
Category versus Single Title; What Are The Differences?
(45 minutes to 1 hour using various examples of contemporary romance & the author's work)
Analyzing a Favorite Book ... and Your Own
(1.5 to 2 hour presentation using a RITA award-winning book as an example & providing a useful form)
Setting as Character
(30 to 45 minute presentation on creating a fictional world)
Creating Heroic Characters
(30 to 45 minute presentation)
Creating Believable Characters
(45 minute presentation)
Writing for Fun & Profit
(Beginners guide. 30 - 45 minutes)
| Chand, Elise Gaston |
| Cornelison, Beth |
So You'd Like To Sign With An Agent Before You Sell...
Discusses the ways to market yourself to an agent as an unpublished writer, the unpub/agent relationship and how to screen agents to find the one that is right for you.
Secondary Characters – The Good, The Bad, and the Quirky
Discussion of the importance of secondary characters and how they function in your story to support the H/h.
Breathing Life into a Scene
How to add detail and depth to your scenes without slowing your pace.
RWA Judge Training
The judge training program developed by Jill Floyd and her RWA committee to help train judges for RWA chapter contests
Perfect People Are Boring! A Study in Character Growth
Your character should grow and change over the course of your story, learning through the changing circumstances and trials about himself and his view of the world.
Getting Your Story Off To The Right Start
An overview of the elements and strategies needed to write a story opening with an interesting, well-paced hook that is sure to catch the attention of editors and readers.
For more information visit my website or email me.
| Cosby, Diana |
This workshop is designed to help the author write tighter, or during revisions, to tighten their work to give their story its greatest impact.
Writing The Synopsis - You Gotta Love It!
A presentation on why the synopsis is the most powerful tool in a writer’s arsenal. In addition, we will discuss how an author can utilize the synopsis to ensure:
-their story meets line requirements.
-their story is well motivated to give their novel the greatest impact.
Writing Historicals
Research, Writing & Achieving A Satisfying Ending: The basics of how to take an idea and craft it into a story.
For more information, contact Diana at: diana@dianacosby.com
Or, you can view her website.
| Davis, Jo |
Crafting The Winning Series Proposal
Are you on the cusp of publication, so close you can taste success? Are you published, but temporarily stalled? What does it take to get the green light with a publisher, from the editor(s) to the marketing department? With many publishers, the selling point lies far beyond the query and that first shiny chapter. This workshop will take you through the process of crafting a tight proposal, including the inception of your high-concept series idea, the series outline, the synopsis of Book 1, and hooking those first few chapters with fast-paced, can’t-put-down action.
The Road To Publication: Ditch The Map
This motivational, anecdotal workshop focuses on the various personal “potholes” a writer faces on the road to success and how to survive when we hit them. For libraries and civic groups, this workshop is offered as The Road To Success: Ditch The Map.
Beyond The Serial Killer: Crafting Sexy, Heart-Pounding Romantic Suspense
Does your story offer the creepiest bad guy ever conceived, yet the manuscript is languishing in Rejection Hell? This workshop will explore how to inject common themes and tired plot devices with a fresh twist, how to build your plot based on the characters’ fears and desires, deciding on the perfect level of sensuality, and how to keep your reader flipping the pages with fast-paced action and dialogue.
Deep POV Demystified
Do your paragraphs describe your characters’ thoughts and actions with all the zing of a grocery list? Want to add sparkle? This interactive workshop focuses on using deep point of view that will pull your reader headfirst into your story and never let go. *Materials for this workshop*: bring a scene or chapter from your current work in progress, a pen or pencil, and a highlighter.
Taming The Man-Eating Synopsis
Do you shiver in dread at the mere thought of sitting down to tackle writing the synopsis for your finished manuscript? Or worse, creating a synopsis from a premise, for a book you haven’t yet written? In this workshop, Jo will show you how to use main idea mapping and cause-effect flowcharts to provide a framework for your story.
Speaking fees are negotiable. Travel expenses waived for groups within the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. Contact Jo at Jo@JoDavis.net.
| DeLeon, Jana |
Crossing the Mystery and the Romance with Success
Preparing the Tax Return for Writers
You can contact her at speaker@janadeleon.com
| Ellis, Leanna |
Author Takes a Back Seat
Moving from the ABA to the CBA was a difficult road to travel but worth it. Leanna gives tips and tools for determining if you’re ready for that journey and helping you along the way.
Taking Care of Business
Is writing a career or a hobby for you? Leanna gives you tools and interview questions to determine what you need to work on to make your career a success and get you ready for the next sale.
Me, Myself and I
Moving from 3rd person to 1st person can be challenging. Leanna helps writers to consider the consequences and ways to make the change more successful.
If you are interested in one of these workshops (or would like her to work up a workshop specifically for your group), please contact her at Leanna@leannaellis.com.
| Garrett, Tracy |
When a writer receives a rejection, the toughest thing to do is step back from the mss, take an objective look, and try to see what the editor/agent/contest judge saw. You have to decide: ignore them, take their word and fix it--or toss it under the bed and move on to something else. [Presentation or Online class (10 days)]
THE EIGHT YEAR JOURNEY TO MY OVERNIGHT SUCCESS: A CAREER IN THREE ACTS
A humorous look at the climb to publication.
THE TEXAS RANGERS: WARRANT OF AUTHORITY
From one man protecting the Texas frontier to the elite of modern law enforcement, the history of the Texas Rangers is as colorful as the land and people they protect. Tracy Garrett looks at the myths and realities of the legend called the Texas Rangers.
Speaker fees are negotiable. For more information on these workshops, please contact me: tracy@tracygarrett.com.
www.tracygarrett.com
| Graves, Jane |
Jane has presented workshops and programs at RWA chapter meetings, regional conferences and the RWA national conference. After selling sixteen books spanning four subgenres to five different editors at three Harlequin lines and two single-title houses, she knows what it takes to get an editor's attention. In light of that, she's offering the following program to writers' groups:
THE SPARK THAT MAKES THE SALE
Are you getting positive responses to your writing, but you still haven't made that first sale? Are you a published author who wants to move to the next level, but you just can't seem to make the leap? Are you told by editors and agents that your writing is competent, but it just doesn''t grab them? This workshop will show you some specific tips, tricks and techniques that will give your writing that elusive spark that will make it stand out in the crowd.
* * *
Jane is also eager to speak at libraries, bookstores and civic organizations and offers the following program:
ROMANCE WRITING: THE INSIDE STORY
In this fun, interactive program that includes a PowerPoint presentation, Jane Graves takes a humorous and irreverent look at the romance novel industry from the point of view of a multipublished romance author. Dispelling the myths that surround the romance industry, she'll give you the straight story on what romance novels are all about and explain why romance is the number one selling genre in all of fiction. The program includes a laugh-out-loud trip around the world of foreign romance novel covers.
Speaker fees are negotiable. For more information, contact Jane, or visit Jane's website.
| Griggs, Winnie |
For more information, contact Winnie at winnie@winniegriggs.com .
| Haddock, Nancy |
An inspirational session recounts Haddock's 20 plus year journey to selling, and offers encouragement and pitfalls to avoid.
THE ONE SENTENCE PLOT
This hands-on exercise demonstrates how to develop a plot from a single declarative sentence. The method can be applied to current WIPs and revs up the creative flow.
| Harris, Leann |
For more information, contact me at leharris@swbell.net. Speaker fees are negotiable.
| Havens, Candace |
For more information contact tvscoop@sbcglobal.net or visit www.candacehavens.com.
| Kelly, Diane OBrien |
(1) the myth of the "Hobby Loss" rule;
(2) tax forms a writer may need to file and how to prepare the forms;
(3) business expense deductions, including the options available and the pros and cons of each option;
(4) self-employment taxes;
(5) red flags to be aware of; and
(6) record-keeping.
Both newer writers and seasoned pros are sure to benefit from this seminar. And, as always, Diane adds a touch of her offbeat humor to bring some fun to the presentation.
Contact Diane at Diane@dianeobrienkelly.com to schedule a talk or to request a presentation packet. For more information about Diane, check out her website.
| Middleton, Phyllis |
Death Scene Investigations: Facts and What to Expect.
From the Coroner’s Investigator point of view - I will give an interactive workshop on what to expect from the scene and how to handle it – from working with the police, family and pathologists. How does a Medical Examiner or Coroner handle the body at the scene? Find out in this fun and sometimes ‘gross’ workshop!
Fingerprints: Fact or Fiction
I will explain the correct terms and preferred procedure information on fingerprint evidence from crime scene to lab. I will then guide us on how to take the facts we've been given and work them into your fictional masterpieces. You won't want to miss this workshop!
Crime Scene Investigations: Okay, you got the call -- Now, what? What to expect at a crime scene.
This will be an interactive workshop giving scenarios of crimes and how you would, should, or could handle it. I plan to make this fun and answer plenty of questions along the way to help your story read like the real thing. From the cop’s point of view to the writers, be sure to join in
Speaker fees are negotiable. Check out her website or email her.
| Rodriguez, Raquel |
PLOTTING FOR UN-DUMMIES
Plot a simple outline without stifling your creativity.
Description -
Have problems with opening hooks, sagging middles, weak conflict, or
tying up lose ends? What about just getting motivated to start that
book? Plotting For Un-Dummies is an intensive workshop filled with
guidance, help, advice, and suggestions. Learn how to plot and
follow a simple outline without stifling your creativity, beef up
your Hero, or develop your kick-ass Heroine. We will discuss the
difference between a complex plot and a convoluted one, and how to
clarify problems, how to stay on track, the importance of a strong Goal, Motivation, and Conflict (GMC), and writing your synopsis the easy way.
DOWN, DIRTY, AND QUICK PLOTTING BOOTCAMP
A Boot Camp style bare bones, no-frills nitty-gritty plotting approach with all the basics to structure your story from beginning to end.
Description -
Don't have time for extraneous plotting details and need character and/or scene help quick? This "Boot Camp" style workshop will give you all the basics and how to structure your story quickly from beginning to end. This bare bones, no-frills plotting nitty-gritty approach to getting the story outline done takes a different look at how to accomplish the exact same objectives as other plotting courses without the extra details. Hook your reader from the first sentence, get the action in there, and keep them reading. No more sagging or meandering middles. Your characters will have depth and dimension, and you'll even be able to put a complete synopsis together in 30 minutes or less. Shape up your ideas into a viable outline and get it done.
WRITING BY THE SIGNS: CREATING BELIEVABLE CHARACTERS WITH ASTROLOGY
Discover hidden facts about your characters with Astrology.
Description:
Do your main characters fall flat and fail or engage your reader? Are your characters 2-dimensional? Does your contest feedback suggest you need more substance for that well-rounded quality to endear your reader to your Hero and Heroine? Knowing and understanding the different traits of the 12 Astrological signs and how they do/don't work together can help give you insight into your characters to write them as fully fleshed-out individuals. In this class, you will learn the basics of each Astrological sign, their likes and dislikes, what makes them "tick," how they interact with other signs and the influences of the planets, sun and moon. Learn to create conflict through better believable motivations, and discover hidden facts about your characters you may not know in this workshop.
STORY AEROBICS: SHAPING UP SAGGING MIDDLES
Confront stumbling blocks and problem scenes with constructive methods and writing exercises that will move your plot forward.
Description -
After a brilliant start, does your story slow down and loose it's sparkle? Do your characters run out of things to say? Too early in the story for a love scene, and you don't have a dead body to thrown in?
Learn how to confront these stumbling blocks that cause your problem scenes with a few simple steps and exercises. Learn to define the who, what, when, where, why, and how of the real situation. Recognize how your story choices can help strengthen motivation, or change the direction for more realistic conflicts. Learn how not to get stuck on minor characters or problematic scenes, and put your time into pages that will move your plot forward. Get to the heart of the difficulty and extrapolate the answer to get your scene flowing again to engage your reader.
USING WRITERS BLOCK AS A BUILDING BLOCK FOR IDEAS
Work with several block-breaking writing exercises as building blocks to build your scenes and story in the right direction.
Description -
Want to just write? Stop fighting your Muse! Dry spells can indicate the dreaded writer’s block, a rough wall to hurtle. Teacher and writer, Raquel Rodriguez, can help you understand the possible causes for this challenge and offers several ways to break through. Learn what story options may be hiding from you and how to trust your instincts to make the right decision that can help move your story forward. Work with several block-breaking writing exercises you can use as building blocks to help get you writing again and build your scenes and story in the right direction.
GET IT UP AND RUNNING: ACTION THAT FLOWS AND GOES
Jump start your action sequences with 3 simple and effective techniques to enhance your scenes and excite your readers.
Description:
Action scenes that lack luster need to move! Learn how to get to the moving point, distinguish passive and active voice, showing versus telling what happens, and using the power of word choices in prose to draw your reader in. Long or short, make your sentences and paragraphs (and chapters) do what they're supposed to do. Move your plot forward, grip your reader, utilize a Universal theme to gain sympathy. Learn how to add and diminish tension and why each of these is needed. Get your characters up and keep them moving.
Please feel free to email me for further information, and thank you for the opportunity to help others with their writing.
Raquel Rodriguez
(aka, Ann Jones-Rodriguez)
| Swendson, Shanna |
| Wilde, Lori |
I. Got High Concept?
Do you want to razzle-dazzle editors? Earn a bigger advance? Create media buzz for your book? Inspire Hollywood to come knocking? The way to achieve these goals is to come up with a dynamic high concept pitch that will knock the socks of editors and agents alike.
This workshop is designed to provide you with the tools you’ll need to mold your story idea into an intriguing one sentence pitch that can magically unlock closed doors. It’s simply the most effective way to capture a publisher’s interest.
This workshop will cover the following topics:
1. A step-by-step method for creating a high concept.
2. First aid for low concept books
3. Ways to make a high concept even better
4. Where to find high concept ideas
5. How to think like a high concept writer
6. Creativity and brainstorming exercises
7. Hints and tips from top industry insiders
II. Layering Your Scenes For Maximum Impact
You’re a competent writer. You’re close to selling or you might even have sold a book or two. You get nice reviews. But you’re still get more rejections letters than contracts. What’s wrong? What’s missing? Why can’t you snag those contracts, collect sparkling reviews, hit bestseller lists and win lots of contests?
This course seeks to answer those questions. Layering Your Scenes For Maximum Impact will illustrate exactly what’s holding you back and keeping you from being the writer you’re truly meant to be. It’s designed to teach you how to find the hidden excellence in your work. What are you waiting for? Isn’t it time you shot to the next level?
Topics covered include:
1. The importance of identifying your theme
2. The secret to fresh fiction
3. The power of the concrete symbol
4. Motifs and marketing
5. The delight of surprise
6. How to evoke more emotion
7. A character’s true blue worldview
III. Make ‘em Laugh, Make ‘em Cry, Make ‘em Scream
We, as authors, are in the emotion delivery business. Honing your craft means learning how to evoke emotions. It means learning to use language to create a sleight of hand that causes your readers to respond on a gut level. It means getting in touch with what you feel, hope, or fear for every one of your main characters at every moment of the story. There’s no such thing as art by accident. Truly great writers are in charge of their readers’ emotion from the first page to the last.
Topics covered include:
1) Writer emotions versus Character emotions versus Reader emotions.
2) Emotional honesty.
3) Pumping up the emotional pay-off
4) Conflict and emotions
5) Change and emotions
6) Evoking emotional tension through subtext
7) Symbolism and emotion
IV. Dialogue That Dazzles
Dialogue that dazzles is about creating the most exciting, compelling conversations you’ve ever written. Stellar dialogue can make you story leap to life the way nothing else can. If you’ve gotten comments from editors and agents that your dialogue is trite or stilted or dull, we’ve got the cure for you.
This workshop is designed to teach you how to write fresh, natural dialogue that dazzles. You’ll learn new techniques for rewriting any lines of dialogue and improving them spectacularly. You’ll uncover secrets of incorporating these methods into your writing style. Learn how to make your dialogue stand out and dramatically increase your chances of selling your book!
Topics covered include:
1. What is great dialogue?
2. Using dialogue to breathe life into your characters
3. Creating expressive language
4. People rarely say what they mean--subtext
5. Subtext part 2
6. Structuring dialogue to match real conversations
7. Dusting your book with dazzling dialogue
8. And much more
V. Guerilla Tactics for Writers in a Slump
Have you been writing a long time and while you’ve received some recognition for your work you’re just not getting the attention you deserve? Or, were you published once, then found yourself without a publisher and now you can’t get break back in? Or are you currently published but your career seems to be barely bumping along?
This workshop is designed provide answers to those questions and catapult you onto the publishing fast track. Guerilla Tactics for Writers in a Slump will illustrate exactly what’s holding you back and keeping you from being the writer you’re truly meant to be.
Topics covered include
1. Identifying What’s Holding You Back
3. Shifting Your Writing into High Gear
4. Toughing the Mind of the Writer Warrior
5. Toughing the Body of the Writer Warrior
6. Honing Your Battle Plan
7. Your Marching Orders
VI. Plotting from Theme
Theme will enrich a book faster than any other single element. Theme is a tool that drives a story on a deeper level. Think of theme as like the love in a marriage. It’s the core reason your story exists. Implications of theme colors and shapes everything in the story. It permeates character and the plot. Theme speculates on a possible truth. It is not an answer or law, but a supposition, a questioning, an exploration of potential.
This course seeks to teach you how to plot your story from the standpoint of theme first, story events second to produce a cohesive blueprint that will make building the backbone of your book easier.
Topics covered include.
1)The tyranny of theme.
2) Theme defined
3)Characters and Theme
4)Plot and Theme
5)Props, Symbols and Motifs
6)Closed themes versus open themes
7)Make your story sing through theme
VII. Creating Compelling Characters
For a novel to be successful it must be peopled with compelling characters. A character can be three dimensional and yet still be too passive or indecisive to create a satisfying reading experience. Active characters make for active stories. Think about the memorable characters you remember. More than likely they came alive through great passion and strong emotions: lust, envy, pride, greed, love, hate, fear, joy, vanity, hope, doubt. This course strives to teach you everything you’ll need to know about creating compelling characters that leap off the page and live on in the minds of your readers.
Topics Covered:
1) Building the bones
2) Through the characters eyes
3) The character arc
4) Fleshing out characters
5) Characters in action
6) Heroes, villains, allies and enemies
7) Character transformation
VIII. Disaster! Beyond Goal, Motivation and Conflict. Or the Key to Hooking Your Readers and Keeping Them Turning the Pages.
You’ve probably heard of Goal, Motivation and Conflict, but what about the most neglected, yet all-important aspect of the Disaster? Learn how to build on goal, motivation and conflict to effectively use your scene outcome to hook your readers and keep them turning those pages.
The single most common failing in the manuscripts of newer authors is the inability to understand and successfully execute goal, motivation, conflict and disaster to create a gripping read. And yet it’s the most teachable element of fiction. Whether you’re a plotter or a seat-of-the-pants writer, this workshop will give your story the strong foundation it needs to grab readers by their emotions and keep them turning those pages.
Topics covered include
1. Stimulus and Response
2. Author Goals
3. Story Goals
4. Scene Goals
5. Motivation, Motivation, Motivation
6. External Conflict versus Internal Conflict
7. Disaster! Raising the story stakes.
Contact Lori @ loriwilde@aol.com . Speaking fees $150.00 an hour, plus travel expenses. Special rates for libraries or charity events. Travel expenses waived for groups in the DFW area.
| Williamson, Carolyn |
• What to put in the first paragraph
• How to write an interesting back cover type blurb to describe your story and whet an editor's interest.
• What to include as credits and credentials
How to use viewpoint as a way to hook the reader into your character's life and feelings.
• Showing reaction
• Tailoring thoughts and metaphors to the character's interests and attitudes
• Making use of five senses
How to find time to write
• Putting writing first
• Writing smart (to the market)
• Curtailing time wasters such as too much research, not planning or thinking ahead before writing scene - okay, you pantsers, at least have some idea of the goal, motivation and conflict
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