Meetings

2013 SPEAKER SCHEDULE 
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Joanne Jones -- Scrivener
Tuesday, January 8, 2013, 7pm 
Angelo's Restaurant, 1830 130th Ave NE, Bellevue, 98005, 425.883.2777 

DESCRIPTION: 

Scrivener was created for writers and has a plethora of features that are flexible enough to bend to different creative processes. For example, Scrivener provides different views of the same information, including a note card view and a chart view in addition to the standard (verbal) view.Whether you are a plotter or pantser, straight romance writer or a mixed genre writer, Scrivener has features for you.   

This class will attempt to demonstrate ways Scrivener can be used to:

• Plot the book
• Make templates for your character and location backstory forms
• Track research including photos, websites and more
• Track turning points, and other key plot elements

It will help you with editing issues such as:

• Formatting the book (or screenplay or other document)
• Identifying frequently used words
• Version control (multiple draft tracking)

Scrivener can also help with productivity issues, such as setting writing goals and tracking daily progress.

For those who want to get started early, Literature and Latte (the makers of Scrivener) allow you to download the software for a free 30-use trial. Their website has a great tutorial for getting started (http://literatureandlatte.com/). The Scrivener Facebook page contains links to authors’ blogs describing how they use Scrivener in their own creative processes.  
INSTRUCTOR BIO: 

Joanne Jones is a recovering lawyer who comes from a long line of writers who don’t write. She has high hopes that with Scrivener she will be the first in her family to finish writing a book.  

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Christy Karras and Jim Thomsen -- Self-Editing Tips from the Pros: How to Find and Fix Common Manuscript Mistakes
Tuesday, February 12, 2013, 7pm 
Angelo's Restaurant, 1830 130th Ave NE, Bellevue, 98005, 425.883.2777 

DESCRIPTION: 

Everybody needs a professional editor. Why? If you’re self-publishing, as one author put it, “your family and friends love you too much to be honest with you.” These days, most traditional publishers don’t offer full editing services, either. Other authors hire editors to give their work a thorough scrubbing before handing it to their agents for submission or directly to the publishing house if they have deals.

With authors spending their own money on editing, they’re naturally looking to keep costs down. One of the best ways is to do as much self-editing as possible.

What should you be looking for that you haven’t already seen? In this entertaining and lighthearted look at common grammar, punctuation, and usage errors, Jim Thomsen and Christy Karras will show you how to spot common problems they’ve come across as they’ve edited novels for dozens of authors. More important, they’ll show you ways to fix those issues on your own — so you can pay your editor to just focus on the big stuff.

INSTRUCTOR BIO: 

Christy Karras specializes in editing large-scale projects including books, magazines and websites. Although her favorite thing is making writers’ sentences correct while maintaining their individual voices, she has also done proofreading and even design.

As the author of four travel and history books, Christy knows both sides of the publishing process. She was a newspaper and magazine staff writer and editor before launching her own editing business, Christy Karras Editorial Services.

Find out more at www.christykarras.com or connect via Twitter at @christykarras

Jim Thomsen is an editor of book manuscripts, specializing in polishing fiction for self-publishing authors. He does developmental editing, line editing and proofreading. Before launching his Seattle-based business, Desolation Island Editorial Services, in 2010, he spent twenty-four years as a newspaper reporter and copy editor.

In 2012, his second full year in business, he worked on sixty-seven projects — paranormal romances, hardboiled crime, literary fiction and erotica, among other genres — for forty-eight author clients.

He can be reached at thomsen1965@gmail.com, and found on Facebook and at @jimthomsen on Twitter.
  

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MEETING CANCELLED--SATURDAY 3/16 WORKSHOP INSTEAD
Tuesday, March 12, 2013, 7pm 
Angelo's Restaurant, 1830 130th Ave NE, Bellevue, 98005, 425.883.2777 


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Bob Dugoni--Writing Workshop (Plotting, Characters, Tension and Suspense)
Saturday, March 16, 2013, 10am - 4:30pm 
Angelo's Restaurant, 1830 130th Ave NE, Bellevue, 98005, 425.883.2777 

MEMBERS ONLY

Schedule: 10-12, lunch 12-12:30, then 12:30-4:30pm (participants can order lunch from restaurant)

DESCRIPTION: 

This workshop will be divided into two-hour segments devoted to the following topics:

Creating Plots for Page Turners
From your initial query letter to your published novel, the writer must convey that she understands classic story structure. Bob will teach the fundamental relationship between good stories and journeys and use in-class exercises and assignments to help students better understand story structure so they can evaluate their novel s plot. Students will also be better equipped to make educated choices on such things as the opening chapter, to make critical judgments about the middle of their book, and to ensure that the ending brings into collision the forces the writer has set in motion to deliver an emotionally satisfying conclusion.


Creating Memorable Characters
What is it about certain books that when we finish the final page the characters stay with us for days? What is it about those characters that has made them so memorable? Using examples from his own and other writers, Bob will teach techniques to make your characters well-rounded individuals that will keep readers wondering about them long after they have finished your book.


Maintaining Tension and Suspense
What is it that keeps us biting our nails and turning the pages? Tension and Suspense. Bob will teach techniques employed by established writers to keep readers on the edge of their seats.

INSTRUCTOR BIO: 

A New York Times bestselling author, Bob Dugoni practiced law before turning to novel writing full time. However it was Dugoni's non-fiction expose, The Cyanide Canary, that gave him his start in the business. Published in 2004, the critically acclaimed true story chronicled the investigation, prosecution, and aftermath surrounding an environmental crime in Soda Springs, Idaho. It became a Washington Post Best Book of the year. The fifth book in his popular and bestselling David Sloane series of legal thrillers was published in June 2012. Dugoni's books have been published in 18 foreign countries. In addition to writing novels, he teaches the craft of writing and writing novels throughout the United States, Canada, and Mexico. 

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Theresa Meyers--Writing Killer Back Cover Blurbs
Tuesday, April 9, 2013, 7pm 
Angelo's Restaurant, 1830 130th Ave NE, Bellevue, 98005, 425.883.2777 

DESCRIPTION: 

More and more writers are taking on the skills that contribute to selling their work in a larger market. Research by Bowker has shown that backcover copy continues to be a pivotal point in purchases by readers. But writing killer backcover copy is more than just words, it’s marketing, writing skill and emotion designed to hit the target every time. Learn from former nationally known book publicist, now full-time multi-published author, Theresa Meyers how to craft killer backcover copy that can attract and convert reader interest into reader purchase.

INSTRUCTOR BIO: 

The progeny of a slightly mad NASA scientist and a tea-drinking bibliophile who turned the family dining room into a library, Theresa Meyers learned early the value of a questioning mind, books and a good china teapot. But it wasn’t until third grade that Theresa overcame her dyslexia and learned to read, going on to make words her life’s work. With a degree in Mass Communications she became first a journalist, then a public relations officer in both the corporate and agency realm. But by far the most challenging has been using her writing skills to pen paranormal and steampunk novels in the turret office of her Seattle-area Victorian home. She’s spent nearly a quarter of a century with the boy who took her to the Prom, drinks tea with milk and sugar, is an adamant fan of the television show Supernatural, and has an indecent love of hats.

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Joanna Gregson & Jen Lois -- Craft and Career: The Gendered Culture of Romance Writers
Tuesday, May 14, 2013, 7pm 
Angelo's Restaurant, 1830 130th Ave NE, Bellevue, 98005, 425.883.2777 

DESCRIPTION: 

Professors Joanna Gregson and Jen Lois will discuss some preliminary findings from their three-year sociological research project, “Craft and Career: The Gendered Culture of Romance Writers.” Jen and Joanna are studying the romance-writing industry through a method known as participant-observation: they attend romance conferences and meetings, interview writers and other industry professionals, visit websites, read romance, and have even tried to write some themselves. The goal is to understand the subculture of romance writers by allowing writers themselves to show what is important.  

Joanna and Jen have found that the feminization of the romance genre is the most important factor underlying many of the struggles romance writers experience along the career path, such as outsiders’ perception of the genre, writers’ family responsibilities, and the ways they deal with criticism and rejection. The feminization of the genre, however, also provides a buffer against these challenges by providing a culture of optimism and inclusiveness. This talk will highlight how the prevalence of women in the romance industry is the determining factor in how writers experience their careers.

Attendees will walk away with an understanding of how romance writers’ experiences are both positively and negatively shaped by gender, and how the industry can respond—at the individual and group levels—to enhance or mitigate these effects.

INSTRUCTOR BIO: 

Joanna Gregson, PhD, is a sociology professor at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA. She teaches and conducts research in the areas of gender, sexuality, family, deviance, and popular culture. Joanna has published sociological articles on such varied topics as teenage motherhood, incarcerated women, and women’s divorce experiences. Her book, The Culture of Teenage Mothers (SUNY Press), was published in November 2009. http://www.plu.edu/sociology-social-work/contacts/home.php?details=joanna-gregson  

Jen Lois, PhD, is a sociology professor at Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA. Jen teaches and publishes in the areas of gender, emotions, motherhood, deviance, and popular culture. Her books have focused on the gendered culture of mountain-environment search-and-rescue volunteers (Heroic Efforts, NYU Press, 2003) and the emotional culture of homeschooling mothers (Home Is Where the School Is, NYU Press, 2012). http://www.wwu.edu/soc/bios/lois.shtml

Jen and Joanna have been collaborating on their research project, “Craft and Career: The Gendered Culture of Romance Writers,” since 2010. In 2011, RWA awarded them the annual Academic Research Grant. http://www.rwa.org/cs/academic_research_grant/past_recipients#Gregson
  

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Jami Davenport -- No Geeks Allowed
Tuesday, June 11, 2013, 7pm 
Angelo's Restaurant, 1830 130th Ave NE, Bellevue, 98005, 425.883.2777 

DESCRIPTION: 

Computer Tips for Organizing Your Book and Increasing Your Efficiency
 
Do you use a three-ring binder to organize your book details? Do you wade through countless notes and folders in an attempt to find a snippet of information needed in your WIP? Do you spend too much time searching for information you’d previously seen? In this course, we explore the use of IT tools to increase your efficiency in the areas of researching, plotting, organizing, and accessing book details so you have more time to write the actual book. Also covered will be quick backup methods, creating a filing system for your electronic documents, and creating electronic notebooks. The tools we'll be using are mostly free and available to anyone.

INSTRUCTOR BIO: 

Jami Davenport is an IT professional with twenty-five years of experience. Jami has degrees in Business and Education and was formally a high school teacher. After several years as the computer training coordinator for the Washington State Legislature, she has spent the last decade coordinating IT for the Washington State Senate, managing projects, and assisting in the design and implementation of many of the Legislature’s in-house and public-facing applications. Jami’s challenging day job often turns into a night and weekend job during the Legislative session. Jami ruthlessly uses IT tools to organize herself and her writing in order to find time for the actual writing and also have a life.
   
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CLOSED for RWA® NATIONAL CONFERENCE 
July & August 2013 
Have Fun Everyone!!!! 

Social dinners in July and August: Open to everyone!
Since these were so popular last year, we'll do them again. These are informal get-togethers (not official meetings) and are a chance for you to socialize with your fellow writers and catch up with each other during the summer. And hey, if you're struggling with your plot or characters, why not brainstorm with us over dinner? 

July 9th, 6:30 PM, Pogacha, 119 106th Ave NE, Bellevue, (425) 455-5670
August 13th, 6:30 PM, Pogacha, 119 106th Ave NE, Bellevue, (425) 455-5670 

Note different times. 

If you'd like to join us for dinner, email danasch@blarg.net by noon the day prior. Reservations will be under "Eastside RWA."

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April Rickard -- The Business Side of Writing
Tuesday, September 10, 2013, 7pm 
Angelo's Restaurant, 1830 130th Ave NE, Bellevue, 98005, 425.883.2777 

DESCRIPTION: 

Is your writing considered a business or a hobby? If you spend money to further your writing as a career or make any income from it, it may be time to explore the business side of writing. While incorporating a business has several benefits, it’s not always the right choice. How do you know?

In this workshop, we’ll discuss if incorporating is right for you and how to go about wading through the sea of federal, state and local paperwork. We’ll also sort through the start-up and annual expenses and how to draw up your corporate documentation. Attendees will leave with small business resources from Washington State and federal associations.

INSTRUCTOR BIO: 

After working for 12 years as an AVP in corporate banking for a Technology and Life Sciences bank, April Rickard recently chose to leave the field to become a full time mom, writer and graphic designer. When she’s not changing diapers or driving back and forth to school, she is geeking out with Civil War research or designing websites.

April has been an RWA member since 2009 and is writing a Civil War romance. She can be found on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Goodreads, and at her website, DewpointStudios.com.

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William Barbour -- Death Expert
Tuesday, October 8, 2013, 7pm 
Angelo's Restaurant, 1830 130th Ave NE, Bellevue, 98005, 425.883.2777 

DESCRIPTION: 

Come chat with William Barbour, a Forensic Medicolegal Death Investigator who has performed somewhere between 1,200 and 1,600 death investigations. Hear what it's like to respond to the scene of the death and all about the responsibilities of a death investigator. In addition, William has worked as a Forensic Autopsy Assistant, where he has assisted in close to 1,000 autopsies.


INSTRUCTOR BIO:  

William Barbour got his start as a cytology lab technician at Harborview's Pathology Department, where he would prepare fluid biological samples for microscopic evaluation by pathologists. In 2001 William was hired as a Forensic Autopsy Assistant with a medical examiner's office and learned how to perform full forensic autopsy assistant duties. His job included undressing bodies, photography, x-ray, evidence collection, complete evisceration of all organs as well as prepping the bodies for release. In 2003 William became a Forensic Medicolegal Death Investigator with the same medical examiner's office.

As a death investigator, he takes reports of deaths from law enforcement, physicians and nurses throughout the county and determines if the deaths require further investigation. Mostly, he looks for deaths where the cause could be anything other than natural or cases in which the death appears natural, but there isn't any known medical history or no physicians currently treating the deceased. In these incidences, William responds to the scene of the death, conducts interviews, photography, body examination, evidence/property collection, and then transports the deceased back to the office for further examination. His responsibilities also include determining the correct identification of the deceased as well as notifying their families of the death. A very rough estimate would be that he's assisted in somewhere close to 1,000 autopsies and performed somewhere between 1,200-1,600 death investigations.

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Alan Davis - OMG – What Do I DO NOW!?!? - Survival Skills for Wilderness and Disaster Events
Tuesday, November 12, 2013, 7pm 
Angelo's Restaurant, 1830 130th Ave NE, Bellevue, 98005, 425.883.2777 

DESCRIPTION: 

Whether your car is stuck in a snowbank, your plane has crashed in the jungle, an earthquake has struck your region, an EMP has devastated our nation, or the Four Horseman have just ridden by… there are common fundamental skills to help you, your family, and the characters in your novels survive. This evening session will cover as many of those skills as possible in our time together.
 
Possible Scenarios:
 
Individual – Isolated Problems

• Car stalled in remote setting
• Small plane crash
• Lost hiking

Regional Disasters

• Hurricanes
• Floods
• EARTHQUAKE
• Winter storms

National and International Disasters

• Economic meltdown
• EMP or solar storm decimates power grid
• The Four Horsemen or whatever YOUR apocalyptic concern is….

Necessities

• Shelter – Depending on the geography and the time of year, shelter is likely to be a main priority... either to keep you warm, to keep you dry, or to keep you off the jungle floor.
• Fire – Used to provide heat, make water safe to drink, and to provide psychological comfort.
• Water – Gotta have it… one to three days without it and you are dead.
• Food – You can last a few days without it… but after a few days you become ineffective and eventually unable to function.
• Security – FROM? Animals? Criminals? Other Victims that want what YOU HAVE? Zombies? What can YOU do to Protect YOURSELF?

INSTRUCTOR BIO: 

Alan Davis doesn't purport himself to be a survival expert, or frankly an expert at anything. He does however have a wide range of education and experience to draw from and share.
 
To begin with, Alan grew up on a farm in North Carolina and spent his adolescence growing and hunting for his food. Since there were no local kids to play with, a lot of his spare time (hiding from chores) was spent running wild in the forests of his family farm and some neighboring farms. He became a Volunteer Fire Fighter at 16 and an Emergency Medical Technician at 18, serving a total of 9 years on two different fire departments in North Carolina and Wyoming.
 
Alan was recruited to North Carolina A&T and went on to earn a degree in Occupational Safety and Health, a rare degree that involves using engineering, chemistry, business and education to prevent injuries and illnesses in the workplace. He has worked for: Sara Lee, Arm & Hammer, Tyson Seafoods, University of Washington, and American Seafoods. As a recognized leader (trouble maker) in safety he has or does serve on: Seattle Fishermen Memorial, United States Coast Guard Fishing Vessel Safety Advisory Committee,  Maritime Advisory Committee for OSHA, National Academy of Sciences Panel, National Transportation Safety Board Fishing Vessel Safety Panel, and others.
 
For fun BEFORE CHILDREN, Alan climbed, hiked, hunted, back-country skied, and has served on Search and Rescue groups in North Carolina, Wyoming, and here in King County as a member of the Ski Patrol Avalanche Rescue Team.
 
AFTER CHILDREN. Alan is mostly involved in being a chauffeur for soccer, baseball, karate, chess and countless other activities his children are involved in…. which means he is the daddy to two junior ninjas.


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NON-DENOMINATIONAL WINTER FUN PARTY -- Our end-of-year celebration! 
Tuesday, December 10, 2013, 7pm 
Angelo's Restaurant, 1830 130th Ave NE, Bellevue, 98005, 425.883.2777  

MEMBERS ONLY! 

The white elephant gift exchange is always a blast! Please limit the cost of your gift to $20. 


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