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Events - Workshop Details

All ORWA Workshops are held in the Ottawa Citizen building on Baxter road in Ottawa. If you need directions, we've pre "Googled Mapped" it for you. Alternate workshop locations will be specified.

In consideration for those who have allergies and asthma, please refrain from wearing scented products at our workshops and meetings.

2010 - 2011

 
Event
Date
Time

Bah Humbug! Character Arc, The Scrooge Way with Teresa Wilde

If there was ever a character arc that shouldn't work, it's Ebenezer Scrooge's, from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Not only is Scrooge too old to change, he's convinced he doesn’t need to. And he ends up making the biggest transition of any character in Western
literature. Every year, families across the globe cheer on Scrooge's heart-warming transformation from misanthropic miser to a man who carries the spirit of Christmas in his soul all year round. If it's such a huge arc, why do we believe it so thoroughly that we watch it
every year?

Dickens set out not only to change Scrooge, but to make a little change in all of us, too.  Teresa Wilde will analyze how the author created a believable character arc for this unbelievable transformation. As we go through the steps that Dickens used to hammer home Scrooge's change, you will pick up ideas you can use to make your own character arcs more believable, too.
December 5 2:00PM

Laura Byrne PaquetteResearching for Novel Writers with Laura Byrne Paquette

Author of six Regency romances and three travel and social history books, Laura Byrne Paquette will be showing us the ropes on reasearch. 
November 7 2:00PM

Opal CarewUsing POV to Enhance Emotional Intensity in Your Writing with Opal Carew

As writers, we know all about POV, right?  We know the difference between first person, third person, omniscient, camera eye view, etc.  We know how to climb into a character’s head and immerse the reader in the story through that person’s perspective.  Make the reader see what that character sees, feel what that character feels.  In fact, to provide the whole gambit of sensual experience.

But do we really understand how we’re doing that?  Because if we do, we can do it more effectively.

As an analytical, computer programmer type, when I was learning to write, I wanted to really understand how to write effectively.  I tend to look for methodologies I can apply to a task, especially when I’m learning something new, and adding emotional intensity to my stories was something I felt strongly about.  Thus, I came up with a technique to evaluate how to thoroughly get into a character’s head and convey to the reader a deeper insight into that character, and thus provide a deeper emotional journey.

How do I do this?  I look at the actions in a scene and evaluate how the character will react based on those actions.  This involves looking at different levels of consciousness, from basic physiological reactions to stimuli, emotional repercussions to those actions, and so on to more cognitive responses.

Come to the workshop prepared to roll up your sleeves and do some work.  I believe we learn by doing, so I’ll take you through some examples, then give you a starting point so you can use the techniques and share your results with the others in the workshop.  If you have a basic scene, or part of a scene (about a page), you’d like to bring along, please feel free to do so. 

Opal Carew is an award winning author who writes three books per year for St. Martin's Press, as well as various projects for other publishers. She writes in several subgenres of romance, but all hot.

October 3 2:00PM

Stephany EvansStephany Evans, President of FinePrint Literary Management

With a background in theater, film, and painting, Stephany Evans began agenting in 1990 with Sandra Martin/Paraview. In 1992, she formed her own agency while serving as editor for alternative health, healing, and personal growth magazine, Free Spirit.  Stephany is the ghost author of five published books, in the areas of memoir and spirituality. In fiction, her core interest is in stories with a strong and interesting female protagonist, both literary and upmarket commercial – including chick lit, romance, mystery, and light suspense.

FinePrint Literary Management is a full-service literary agency based in New York and representing both fiction and non-fiction for adults and young adults. The agency welcomes a wide range of fiction, both literary and commercial, including thrillers, mysteries, fantasy, women’s, romance, chick lit, YA and middle grade readers.

Stephany will be taking pitches for completed manuscripts from paid-up ORWA members. Contact the workshop coordinator for details.

 
September 12
2:00PM

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