Blogging My Way Through #RWA13: Day 1

View from my hotel room!

Hi there from beautiful Atlanta, Georgia! I’m at the annual RWA (Romance Writers of America) Conference where over one thousand folks in the romance fiction industry come together for workshops, meetings, pitch session and networking.

The conference always kicks off with the “Readers for Life” Literacy Autographing event on Thursday night. This was my first book signing and it was a blast. Authors are arranged in alphabetical order and I ended up across from popular YA author, Ally Carter. She had a steady stream of very excited preteen girls. It was sweet and fun to watch, however, those of us with more *clears throat* adult books were shielding covers. Friendly suggestion to RWA: think about a YA signing section next year!

Thanks to the readers who came over to say hi and took copies of Marooned with the Millionaire and The Satin Rose Experience! I’m honored my books were among your choices.

Friday kicked off bright and early with a steady schedule of workshops.

Elizabeth Boyle

The two I really enjoyed were Elizabeth Boyle’s Hooks: Baiting the Reader and Susan Elizabeth Phillips’ Writing Great Characters. These two talented authors were hysterical and happy to share their experience.

Here are a few points I took away from those sessions:

Most authors should throw out the first chapter of their MS. It’s usually filled with backstory. It’s not where the story should start.
Readers don’t need to know everything the authors knows.
Character growth arc: The H/h should be capable of something at the end of the book they weren’t able to do at the beginning of the story.
Beware of the ‘Romance Nazis’ who believe there’s one way to write a romance. They’re wrong. You can break a rule, just do it well.
Don’t abandon a story when it gets tough and move onto something new. Push through it and finish.
Don’t just hook the reader – impale them.
Engage the reader with emotion from the very beginning. Give them a reason to want to know what happens to your characters.
Your title and cover are hooks. Consider them carefully.
Hooks should ask a question, answer a question or beg a question.

After the workshops, it was party time! Lots of different events were going on last night. I went to the Passionate Ink and the newly formed Contemporary Romance RWA chapter parties. Between parties I met author Jillian Chantal for a drink and placed my bag down with my party favor from the Passionate Ink party sticking out.

Here’s a visual. It’s a crop~>

Well, it created quite a stir with a group of people here for a Microsoft convention. They asked to borrow it and the crop was a prop in a few photos. It was a great opportunity to discuss the romance publishing industry and I even sold a book or two.

So, the next time you go to a bar, don’t forget your riding crop. It’s a great conversation starter.

More from RWA tomorrow!

xoxo

~S