Wondering what else you missed at the retreat? Tracy Wilson writes about her experience at the ROSA Writers' Retreat 2017 that took place in Cape Town in February.
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| Lalapanzi Lodge: image credit Lalapanzi Lodge |
Nestled in a tranquil forest of fir trees overlooking False
Bay, Lalapanzi Lodge provided an idyllic location for the Western Cape Writer’s
Retreat. The rugged peaks of the
Hottentots Holland Mountains accentuated the azure skies of the Cape behind the
timber lodge, while a gentle sea breeze offered relief from the heatwave that
had besieged the Mother City that week.
Yes, the setting inspired my imagination, and was a great
choice for a gathering of romance writers.
Sixteen ladies attended, including the speakers. The size provided an opportunity for newbies,
such as myself, to meet other writers. The
ladies were all friendly and lively and lovely.
Not surprising when one considers that romance writers focus so much of
their novels on the issues of the heart.
And I believe romance writers have the biggest hearts of all writers.
Romy Sommer, author and chairperson of ROSA, presented the
first session on Mastering Story Structure.
Michael Hauge’s Six Stage Plot Structure is a formulaic approach to
structuring a novel. The first “How to…”
writing guide I purchased taught me the
value of applying the three-act structure model to my writing. Hauge’s model strengthens this by teaching
that there are six basic stages within the three-act structure, which are
defined by five key turning points in the plot.
These turning points usually happen at the same point (or percentage) of
the running time of a movie, the pages of a screenplay or novel. I can almost hear the
plotters cheering and
pantsers
sneering, but I believe Hauge’s template can assist any writing method. It helps plotters outline their first draft,
while pantsers can use the template when editing their first draft, thereby
ensuring that each writer’s creative paradigm remains intact. Romy demonstrated this technique by referring
to examples from popular movies to highlight the inner and outer journey of the
main character. I’ve visited Hauge’s website,
www.StoryMastery.com to learn more
about his Six Stage Plot Structure and am looking forward to applying his
method to my writing.
Louise Fury, former Capetonian and literary agent extraordinaire
for the Bent Agency in New York, taught us the importance of Query Writing. I liked how she compared the query letter to
a business letter that a professional person (the author) with a business
proposal (the novel) sends to a professional organisation (the agent). The author-agent relationship is an equal
partnership between the author, who brings the “asset”, and the agent who
brings the contacts and expertise. I
learnt that a query letter is the point of first contact and should be brief,
clear, and professional. The ideal word
count is 250 words, but no more than 300 words.
It’s an introduction, not a synopsis which describes your plot. A pitch should tell the agent who the main
characters are, what they want (motivation), and what’s standing in their way
(conflict). A short bio should conclude the
letter, and your social media links included after your signature (thereby, not
counting toward your word count).
After lunch, Louise Fury taught us the importance of
Marketing and Social Media. These days,
more and more publishers are relying on authors to market their books on their
social media networks. In fact,
publishers take your social media reach into consideration when negotiating the
advance payment of your contract. With
so many platforms to choose from, it can become quite daunting. The pros and cons of various social networks
were discussed by the techies in our group, as well as ways to improve your
site’s ranking (SEO). Louise’s advice to
us was to focus on Facebook, Twitter, and building a personal website - with
Facebook, usually, generating the most sales for authors.
In case you missed it on Facebook, here's Louise Fury encouraging ROSA members to attend Rosa events and Meet-ups.
Rae Rivers, author of
The
Keepers paranormal romance series, presented the final topic of the day, Impostor
Syndrome from the book
The Secret
Thoughts of Successful Woman by Dr Valerie Young. Impostor syndrome describes high-achieving
adults who are unable to internalise their accomplishments and constantly fear being
exposed as a fraud. They‘re unable to enjoy
the success they’ve achieved, often dismissing it as luck. It affects 70% of the world’s population,
mainly women. Rae discussed the four
levels of competency - I’m a perfectionist.
And the coping mechanisms we employ to deal with failure – I tend to
procrastinate, which often stalls my writing. It’s vital to recognise how you feel, find
someone you trust to talk to, don’t be afraid to ask questions from other writers,
practice, practice, practice, and give yourself permission to fail. I liked the way Rae phrased it, “Acknowledge it. Accept it.
And move forward.” Thank you,
Rae, for sharing your own journey with us.
Thank you Romy, Louise and Rae for you presentations. I gained a lot of knowledge at the writer’s
retreat and made many new friends.
Tracy Wilson
If you live in Cape Town and want to hook up with a couple of locally based ROSA members, our next meet up is 8 April at 13:00 in Durbanville. More details HERE.
