Blasting through the Blah

Donna Alward (Copyright Marti Corn Photography)

Are you serious about writing romance?  Perhaps you were brave enough to enter Mills & Boon’s New Voices competition or are having a go at National Novel Writing Month?   

It takes guts to write a book, and we need all the help we can get while we do it.   So if you’re in the market for some hands-on advice, why not try award-winning Harlequin Romance author  Donna Alward’s on-line workshop, Blasting through the Blah, which is running next week, 14th-20th November.    

Blasting through the Blah … what a great title for a workship!  That’s EXACTLY what we need to do when we write. If you’re anything like me, you’ll get lost in the blah the first time you try to get your story down on paper (or on screen for you techies).   

I’m trying to write a rough draft at the moment, and I am wallowing in blah, I can tell you.  Reading through the  course description below, I found myself nodding along and thinking ‘yep … yep … yep, need to think about that … God, I always forget to do that …oh, yeah, that too …’  Even though I know what I need to do, it still always helps to have someone else remind me to keep on track, no matter how many books you’ve written.

Donna won a Bookseller’s Best award and a Colorado Award of Excellence this year and knows what she’s about when it comes to writing romance.  She's also a ridiculously nice person, so you couldn't be in better hands.  If you’re looking to sharpen up your writing skills, sign up at Savvy Authors  next week and start blasting through that blah ...

Blasting Through Blah! Instructor: Donna Alward. Most authors have written a scene that just doesn’t feel quite right, or lacks that certain spark. Saggy middles? Stilted dialogue? Can’t seem to see what’s wrong? This one-week workshop will introduce some fun techniques to blast through the blahs of your manuscript! Come prepared with a work in progress, as each day attendees will try their hand at employing the day’s technique. This is a five part (one week) workshop with assignments for participants. Assignments will not be graded. Target Audience: Mixed. Must have a work in progress ongoing. Topics covered by this online class will include: Lesson 1: Say What? Switching dialogue to tease out motivation and conflict. Assignment: take a scene and change dialogue attribution Lesson 2: Get Out Of My Head Play with POV: the benefit of trying opposite points of view. Assignment: take a scene and change the POV Lesson 3: Let ‘Em Have It Holding back on that crucial plot point? Do it now, and let the chips fall where they may. Assignment: introducing a crucial element earlier than planned Lesson 4: Everyone Can Do With A Change Of Scenery Moving the scene to a different setting can make all the difference! Assignment: take a scene and put it in a different setting. Lesson 5: You Big Meanie! Take away your character’s security blanket. Assignment: examine a scene for what your character wants most – and then take it away. This day will also be for any lingering questions/observations.