Event recap By Jennifer Carole Lewis Standing out in today’s market is one of the more challenging things for authors today but one of the most important thing for creating dedicated readers is an author’s unique voice.  Stefanie London presented an informative workshop on how to best present your unique voice, concept and execution to…

Recap of March 2019 by Jennifer Carole Lewis Shirley Jump’s full day workshop on Show Not Tell and Scene and Sequel got ORWA and our guests buzzing and our keyboards clacking.  Both were full of great practical tips on how to deepen our descriptions and create faster-paced scenes to hold a reader’s attention.  She shared…

Event recap by Jennifer Carole Lewis Heather Elliott of Mindful Change began her workshop on overcoming impostor syndrome with a powerful anecdote.  She’d signed up for a program she was very excited about and when the feedback on her first assignment arrived and indicated she hadn’t fully grasped the material as yet, she was overcome…

Event recap by Jennifer Carole Lewis We started the year getting WIPped into shape. Eve Langlais explained the many different online services and programs available for independent publishing today, such as Vellum, Draft 2 Digital, Findaway and Ingram. We didn’t get many takers on the first page critique with Jenn Burke, but if you’re interested,…

Event Recap By Jennifer Carole Lewis Anyone who has ever sat in front of a keyboard to share the story in their head knows that writing is hard.  But there are some amazing prolific authors who are able to write tremendous amounts and ORWA was lucky enough to have four of them share their secrets…

Recap by Callie Amo: On October 14, 2018, local Ottawa historical/erotica romance bestselling author Sharon Page came to our group to discuss her five secrets to revising a work-in-progress (WIP). She has given her workshop before to ORWA, but it has become so popular that we had her give it again! Her workshop was very…

  The 4th annual Romancing the Capital (RTC) event, organized by ORWA’s own Eve Langlais, happened August 2 to 4, 2019! The event had over 40 authors and 250 readers, making it a unique and intimate event that allows new and meaningful connections.  Several ORWA members were sponsoring authors of the event, including Lucy Farago,…

Attend the ORWA spring social on June 11, 2017. It will be our last official event until we reconvene in the Fall. Awards ceremony We will be awarding members with our annual awards, including: Audrey Jessup Award Jo Beverley First Book Award Indie First Book Award Phoenix Award First Impression Award Make sure to let us…

Genre fiction is all about entertaining and engaging the reader.  This workshop will focus on ways to keep readers up into the night, turning the pages.  #1 New York Times Bestselling Author, Kelley Armstrong, will provide strategies for maximizing reader engagement starting with the planning stages and continuing through to tips and tricks for picking…

Join Eve Langlais and discover what tools are out there to help you succeed in self-publishing! Event details Sunday April 15, 2018 (2:30-4:00 pm) Workshop presentation PDF. Recap coming soon!

Local blackbelt Rick Lutes gave a fantastic and comprehensive look at hand-to-hand combat, as well as practical demonstrations of the techniques with his student, Jim Johnston. Every culture has a system of unarmed combat. There are usually two forms: hard (eg. Karate or jiu-jitsu) where the martial artist attacks the target directly, and soft (eg.…

After a well-enjoyed holiday break, ORWA hosted our January workshop, Back to the Plotting Board, as a way to encourage us all to get back to the keyboard.  We broke into small groups and spent time helping one another with plot challenges, title ideas, and general inspiration. Some people will tell you that the value…

Social Media Recap ORWA’s own Jessica Ripley gave us a comprehensive tour through the constantly shifting landscape of social media, particularly the big three sites: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.  With hundreds of different sites and apps to choose from, authors have a plethora of options for keeping in touch with readers and finding new ones. …

In December 2018, ORWA had the privilege and pleasure of learning the ins and outs of making things go bang with a member of the Ottawa Tactical Response Team. The Tactical Response Team provides assistance in high risk situations and has a stringent selection progress.  The sergeant’s stories about Hell Week and the psychological requirements…

November 2017 Event Description: Whether you’re tackling a timeslip or time-travel novel, a book within a book, a dual storyline, or simply a series of flashbacks, the technical challenges of interweaving two sets of main characters, two plots, and two story arcs stay the same: how do you switch back and forth without losing the…

October 2017 Workshop Description: How to Help your Characters Speak Without Saying a Word 90% of communication is non-verbal, but what does it mean when someone lifts their chin, twirls their hair, or shakes with both hands?  By understanding the fundamental emotions and how they are expressed and experienced, an author can create a richer…

September 2017 Workshop Description Workshop 1:  Emotion without Sentimentality In this interactive workshop, bestselling author Alicia Rasley will help you explore two “non-purple-prose” ways of creating a compelling emotional experience for your reader: Story Design and Scene Design. You will leave with some seriously useful (but easily applied) strategies to deepen your story and scenes,…

ORWA officers gave us the great opportunity of participating in a webinar with Mary Buckham on writing active setting in May 2017. It was a two-part webinar, with an initial presentation followed by a Q&A session a week later. This gave us plenty of time to review the information she gave us, re-watch the presentation,…

March 5, 2017 Workshop: Wattpad with Linda Poitevin Serialized fiction goes back to the time of Charles Dickens and is currently undergoing a revival in today’s digital world. Savvy authors around the globe are exploring this “new” way of publishing and reaping significant dividends. Join author Linda Poitevin for a look at Wattpad and Radish, two of the models currently…

The Plot and Sub-Plots Connection (10:00 – 12:00): No matter what your word count, subplots help create a rich, multi-dimensional world for your reader to escape to. In this workshop, using interactive exercises, RITA-winning and Bestselling Author Molly O’Keefe will help you figure out how to build subplots that will in turn create drama and conflict…