Excuse and an On-Line Class

Sorry for the long absence, my son contracted something that very well might have been Swine Flu (he had all the symptoms, but we have no official confirmation), and so I've had to keep him out of school for the required seven days. What, in June, you ask? Shouldn't he be on summer vacation anyway? Mason goes to a year-round school, so no. He's at school until August, which is actually nice for me and my writing schedule... usually. The ironic part of all this is that he's been fully recovered since Sunday (he had a very mild case), and so I have a very squirrely, happy kid that can't go to school until he's not contageous any more.

Anyway, I hope to be back to my writing posts soon, but in the meantime here's an on-line class forwarded to me by my local RWA group:

**Permission to forward granted and encouraged**

Yosemite Romance Writers is proud to present their online workshop for July.

Date: 07/06 - 07/31
Workshop title: Developing Plot and Tension in the Novel

Description: You may have wonderful ideas for your novel, fascinating characters, and beautiful writing, but those attributes alone won't tie a novel together. Plot and the ensuing tension that a carefully constructed story engenders are what keeps your readers tied to your words. In this workshop, we take your material and create a storyline, working on creating successful beginnings, middles, and ends. We also see how your characters and your writing style work in conjunction with your plot. Working from a complete draft of a novel, a partial draft, or an outline of an idea, we explore your stories. Through lecture, discussion, in-class writing, and workshopping, we follow the arc of your story, discussing how all the components work together. Among the topics considered are structuring an effective "hook," watching for the middle "sag," and tying up loose plot ends. We also work on creating effective, round characters and focus on the theme of your work.

About the instructor: Jessica Barksdale Inclán's debut novel Her Daughter's Eyes, published in 2001, was the premier novel published under New American Library's new imprint Accent. Her Daughter's Eyes was a final nominee for the YALSA Award for the best books of 2001 and best paperbacks for 2001 and has been published in Dutch and Spanish. Her next novel The Matter of Grace was published in May 2002 and was re-released in a mass market version in May 2004. Her third, When You Go Away, came out April 1, 2003. Her fourth, One Small Thing, was published April 2004, and has been published in Dutch and Spanish. Her fifth, Walking With Her Daughter, was published in April 2005. The Instant When Everything is Perfect was published in February 2006. In June 2006, she published the first in a trilogy from Kensington Books. When You Believe was followed by Reason to Believe and Believe in Me. Being with Him--the first in a second trilogy, was published February 2008 and the second, Intimate Beings, is due out October 2008.. She is a 2002 recipient of the CAC Artist's Fellowship in Literature. Inclán teaches composition, creative writing, mythology, and women's literature at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, California, and on-line creative writing courses for UCLA extension. She has studied with Sharon Olds, Anne Lamott, Kate Braverman, Grace Paley, Marjorie Sandor, and Cristina Garcia. Her short stories and poems have appeared in Rockhurst Review, Hotwired, The Salt Hill Journal, Free Lunch, The West Wind Review, The Prairie Star, Gargoyle and many other journals and newspapers. Her short story Open Eyes was given first prize by Sandra Cisneros for El Andar magazine's 2000 writing contest. She co-edited a women's literature/studies textbook Diverse Voices of Women (Mayfield Publishing, 1995). Ms. Inclán has degrees in sociology and English literature from CSU Stanislaus and a Master's degree in English literature from SFSU. Ms. Inclán lives in Oakland, California and is currently at work on her next novel.

Deadline to register: 07/05/09
Fee: $20 YWR members; $25 non-members.
RWA Membership isn't required; Anyone can take our courses.
Where to sign up: You may register online at our website,www.yosemiteromancewriters.com. Please click the Pay Now button and follow the instructions for Paypal. You will receive a confirmation from us once your payment is received. You may also contact YRW at YosemiteRomanceWriters@YosemiteRomanceWriters.com if you have any other questions.

Thank you for considering our workshops!!

Dawna Richard
President, YRW