Message from the President - October 2024 RWR
I truly enjoyed meeting new people and reconnecting with writer friends at the 2024 Annual Conference in Austin, TX. Introducing Brenda Jackson—a trailblazer and an inspiration to countless writers—at the Welcome Reception was one of my personal conference highlights. Another standout moment was celebrating our first recipients of the Volunteer Service Award and honoring two RWA presidents, who have dedicated so much of their time, energy, and expertise to our organization, with lifetime memberships.
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WHY PLOTTING IS GOOD FOR BUSINESS
By Diana Georgelos
Posted 10/30/2024
When companies launch new products, they spend a considerable amount of time on research and development. I would know. I’ve spent a significant part of my career working to create consumer packaged goods products, otherwise known as the products you find lining the shelves of grocery stores and pharmacies. The first step in any new product development process is to conduct a brainstorming meeting to generate innovative ideas. Then the team assesses the desirability and viability of the options and picks the best idea to develop. As part of the process, the team develops early-stage prototypes which they test and improve before launching the final version of the product into the marketplace.
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Write Your Christmas-Romance TV-Movie Script Today!
By Scott Kirkpatrick
Posted 10/30/2024
Ever thought about writing your own Christmas romance TV movie script?
You should! Christmas romance movies are cute, quaint and cozy. They’re also major business verticals for television broadcasters and video on demand platforms—which means there’s a huge audience out there.
Nearly 150 original Christmas romances are produced every year. Audiences seek them out as early as October. And although no writing project could ever be classified as ‘easy’, I will say that film/TV executives are slightly open-minded to receiving Christmas romance scripts from unknown and/or non-represented writers than other genres. (Why? Simply because they need a lot of them.)
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FINDING YOUR WHY, WHAT, AND WHEN FOR NANOWRIMO
By Leslie J. Wyatt
Posted 10/30/2024
Still deciding whether to participate in NaNoWriMo 2024? Then you already know what it is, why it exists, and the basics. What might be less clear is how to successfully complete 50,000 words in 30 days. If that sounds daunting, take courage. With a bit of planning and preparation, you’ll have everything you need to stay the course.
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Next Steps After NaNoWriMo (Even if You Don’t Get To 50,000 Words)
By Ann Kellett
Posted 10/30/2024
I’m not too proud to admit it: after three NaNoWriMo experiences, I have yet to reach the 50,000-word goal.
Along the way, though, I have learned to flip that statement into a positive: for three years in a row, I have successfully benefited from NaNoWriMo in many ways, but the word count is not one of them.
In fact, I believe the word count is not the only—or even the main—thing that counts in NaNoWriMo. Here are five take-aways to keep the momentum going for those of us who might not reach the (arbitrary) goal.
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National Novel Writing Month: The Most Fun You’ll Ever Have Writing . . . Really
By Mike L. Downey
Posted 10/30/2024
Stephen King wrote that writing long fiction is “. . . a difficult, lonely job; it’s like crossing the Atlantic in a bathtub.” Mr. King obviously never did National Novel Writing Month (NANOWRIMO).
Now this is not a dig at Mr. King since I’m obviously no Stephen King, but then who is? This is about you writing a novel in a month and having the most fun writing you’ve ever had.
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“Let’s Start at the Very Beginning…”
By Janet W. Butler
Posted 10/30/2024
Okay. At the risk of inflicting a massive earworm on you (!) or having you burst into song, let me issue an immediate disclaimer: this article isn’t going to be about “Do-Re-Mi.”
Or is it?
Consider this a love letter, if you will…to beginning again.
I’m not talking about rebooting a written work, or even an entire career. I’m not talking about taking stock of where you are in the process and deciding when, if, or how you want to proceed—or not. I’m talking about something way, way more basic.
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The Yeah, Buts, Yoda, and Marian the Librarian
By Flo Fitzpatrick
Posted 10/30/2024
The Yeah, Buts: Two little words we use every day, which, when found in the same sentence (whether sequentially or intermittently), can cause havoc in our lives and writing.
Easing into where to find yeah buts…quite often they sneak into excuses having to do with diet and exercise.
Ex. “Fat Freddie’s cheeseburger with the fries and shake is about 10,000 calories and 200 grams of fat.”” Yeah but Fat Freddie’s is having a half-off sale on the Big Blob Burger meal!”
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A Writer’s Voice, Part 1—Or, I Know It When I Hear It
By Janet W. Butler
Posted 10/30/2024
Voice.
Surely no subject (except maybe the Holy Grail, or the elusive "will of God for my life") has been so misunderstood, had more mistaken info bandied about concerning it, or been a greater mystery to all and sundry than the subject of a writer’s “voice.”
I once had a person ask me, “When I’m writing about the heroine, then I’m writing in her voice. And in the hero, I’m writing in his voice, right? So what do they mean when they talk about my voice? I’m not supposed to put my voice into stuff, am I?”
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Message from the President - September 2024 RWR
I am beyond excited and honored to serve as your 2024/2025 President, and I want to take a moment to share a bit about the journey that led me here. It all started at my very first RWA Annual Conference in July 2016, in San Diego, California. I remember sitting at the Annual General Meeting, watching the Directors-at-Large on stage, and thinking to myself, "One day, I'll be sitting up there too." That moment planted the seed for my journey—not just as a published author but as a leader within RWA.
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