INSTRUCTOR: Lori Wilde

COST: $15 for NEORWA members/$20 for nonmembers. Registration information can be found at www.neorwa.com or contact Kristine Thompson at thompos@ameritech.net.

WHEN: March 2 to March 13 (6 lessons posted over 2 weeks)

WORKSHOP:

You’ve probably heard of Goal, Motivation and Conflict, but what about the most neglected, yet all-important aspect of the Disaster? Learn how to build on goal, motivation and conflict to effectively use your scene outcome to hook your readers and keep them turning those pages.

The single most common failing in the manuscripts of newer authors is the inability to understand and successfully execute goal, motivation, conflict and disaster to create a gripping read. And yet it’s the most teachable element of fiction. Whether you’re a plotter or a seat-of-the-pants writer, this workshop will give your story the strong foundation it needs to grab readers by their emotions and keep them turning those pages.

Topics covered include

1. Stimulus and Response
2. Author Goals
3. Story Goals
4. Scene Goals
5. Motivation, Motivation, Motivation
6. External Conflict versus Internal Conflict
7. Disaster! Raising the story stakes.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:

Lori Wilde has sold forty-seven novels to four major New York Publishing houses. She holds a bachelors degree in nursing from Texas Christian University and a certificate in forensics. She volunteers as a sexual assault first responder for Freedom House, a shelter for battered women.

IN 2006, she received a two book contract from Warner books based solely on a 25 word ‘high concept’ pitch. When the sale—along with the pitch—was announced on Publisher’s Marketplace, she was approached by nine film production companies—including Paramount and Warner Brothers—interested in optioning her completed novel for a movie. She is an instructor for a company who provides online community education to over 1500 colleges and universities.

Lori is a past RITA finalist and has four times been nominated for Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award. She’s won the Colorado Award of Excellence, the Wisconsin Write Touch Award, The Golden Quill, the Lories, and The More than Magic. Her books have been translated into 22 languages and excerpted in Cosmopolitan, Redbook, Complete Woman, and Quick and Simple magazines. She lives in Texas with her husband, Bill.

This post was submitted by Kristine Thompson.