All Passionate Ink workshops will be held on our IPS forums. Access to the workshop forum will end two weeks after the workshop concludes, so be sure and download all related materials before that time.
Upcoming Workshops
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DeMystifying Ménage
By Louisa Bacio
May 6 – June 2, 2013
$15 for Members
$20 for Non-Members
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION:How do you write a love scene between a vampire and a werewolf and make it believable? How about sliding a third lover into the common bed? De-Mystifying Ménage explores the titillating combinations of sex with multiple partners.
The course builds upon establishing basic chemistry between characters to developing realistic storylines to finally describing the acrobatic acts.
Come prepared to build up a sweat writing, and leave your shyness at the door.
Topics Include:
Week 1:
Lesson 1: Why write ménage? What’s happening in the market, and what’s selling?
Lesson 2: Setting up the triangle: Characterization/motivation and the psychological dynamics of a love triangle
Week 2:
Lesson 4: Let’s talk about Sex: Terminology & How hot do you want it?
First look: Male/Female
Lesson 5: What’s fur got to do with it? Genre Setting and Genre Blurring
Bringing in Paranormal Elements
Week 3:
Lesson 5: Bedroom Acrobatics: Writing a sex scene with three people
Same-Sex Scenes
Lesson 6: Complications & Conflict
Week 4:
Lesson 7: The Ending: Happily Ever After with a Threesome
Lesson 8: The Publication Process: A look at Calls for Submission and the Query Letter
At least two lectures/assignments per week
ABOUT THE PRESENTER: Louisa Bacio writes paranormal and contemporary erotic romance. Bacio’s writing crosses genres, from the traditional m/f pairings to m/m/f in “The Vampire, The Witch & the Werewolf: A New Orleans Threesome.” Her novel “Sex University: All-Girls Academy” features a f/f/f foray.
Bacio also teaches college courses in writing, and edits romance for several publishing houses. She’s also highly involved with her local chapter, OCC/RWA.
HOW TO REGISTER:
To pay via PayPal, please send payment to workshops@passionateink.org and make the subject line WORKSHOP: MENAGE. Please be sure the information field includes the name and email address you will be using for the workshop.
To pay via check, please make checks payable to Passionate Ink and include WORKSHOP: MENAGE in the memo area. Also, please include a note containing the name and email address you will be using for the workshop.
Mail checks to:
Robin L Rotham, Treasurer
P.O. Box 2412
Norfolk, NE 68702
***Permission to forward granted and encouraged.***
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Puncuating Your Way to a Contract
By MM Pollard
August 1 – 28, 2013
$15 for Members
$20 for Non-Members
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION:Are you guilty of apostrophe apathy? Has comma chaos taken over your writing? Does simply thinking about punctuating dialogue give you hives? If so, fear not. During this workshop, MM Pollard, editor with Black Velvet Seductions, will use her unique way of distilling information that will have you punctuating like a pro, and editors will notice.
MM throws in a bit of humor to make the lessons much more fun than your jr. high English classes were. Cross her heart!
She will cover in this month-long workshop
Lessons 1, 2: apostrophe use with singular and plural nouns; to show dual ownership; with numbers, dates, letters, and words mentioned as words;
Lessons 3-8: comma use in introductory words and phrases, in non-restrictive clauses and participial phrases; commas in compound and complex sentences; the dreaded comma splice; dash and parentheses use and how they differ from commas; the comma conventions;
Lessons 9, 10: punctuation in dialogue; comma, period, question mark, quotation marks, em-dash, and ellipises
Lesson 11: those other marks you have no clue how to use but might need to some day because you are a writer – hyphens, slashes, italics, quotation marks not in dialogue, colons.
Lesson 12: review of all punctuation marks covered in workshop
Yes, there will be homework with each lesson. MM was an English teacher for fifteen years, after all.
Reward for doing your homework: If you post all of your homework when due, she’ll proofread your 1,000-word submission for grammar, usage, and punctuation errors.
ABOUT THE PRESENTER: As an English teacher and acquisitions editor for Black Velvet Seductions, MM Pollard has had the mission to find ungrammatical grammar, misused usage, and problematic punctuation in others’ writing. Mistakes seem to jump off the page for her – yes, she’s that good.
Her goal is to teach writers what they need to know about English grammar, usage, and punctuation so that they won’t need an editing service to correct their mistakes in these areas.
MM has presented or will present workshops for Muse Online Writers Conference, Savvy Authors, Writers Online Classes, Novelists at Work, and Orange County Chapter RWA, in addition to those in her virtual classroom.
HOW TO REGISTER:
To pay via PayPal, please send payment to workshops@passionateink.org and make the subject line WORKSHOP: PUNCUATING. Please be sure the information field includes the name and email address you will be using for the workshop.
To pay via check, please make checks payable to Passionate Ink and include WORKSHOP: PUNCUATING in the memo area. Also, please include a note containing the name and email address you will be using for the workshop.
Mail checks to:
Robin L Rotham, Treasurer
P.O. Box 2412
Norfolk, NE 68702
***Permission to forward granted and encouraged.***
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Incorporating Humor Into Your Writing
By Ally Broadfield
Sept 3 – 27, 2013
$15 for Members
$20 for Non-Members
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION:Humor is a part of our everyday lives. It can inspire hope, relieve tension, and help connect us to one another. Learning to use humor effectively will enhance your work and may even boost your creativity by challenging you to approach your craft in a new way. Even if your subject matter is serious, the subtle use of humor can help ease tension and give your readers a chance to breathe again after an intense scene. Learning to be funny is one of the most difficult writing skills to master, but as long as you possess a sense of humor, this class will teach you the skills you need to add humor to your storie
Course Syllabus:
Lesson One: What Makes You Laugh?
Lesson Two: The Building Blocks of Humor
Part I-Wordplay
Part II: More Tools
Lesson Three: Adding Humor to Dialogue
Part I: Dialogue Basics
Part II: Modes of Comedic Dialogue
Part III: Action & Narrative
Lesson Five: Situational Humor
Lesson Six: Physical Humor
Lesson Seven: Things to Avoid
Lectures will include examples and topics for group discussion, and homework assignments will be used to reinforce lessons. Individual feedback will be provided on all exercises.
ABOUT THE PRESENTER: A graduate of The George Washington University, Ally Broadfield is a former school librarian whose passion is sharing knowledge. She has participated in several RWA sponsored workshops and has studied every book about writing she’s been able to get her hands on since she decided to stop dabbling and get serious about being published. She is a News Writer for the Best Friends Animal Network and an RWA PRO. Her first manuscript she didn’t consign to the dust bunnies under her bed is currently on submission. She writes historical romance and young adult paranormal/fantasy romance, and is an active member of SCBWI and several RWA chapters, including YARWA, FF&P, HHRW and NTRWA.
HOW TO REGISTER:
To pay via PayPal, please send payment to workshops@passionateink.org and make the subject line WORKSHOP: HUMOR. Please be sure the information field includes the name and email address you will be using for the workshop.
To pay via check, please make checks payable to Passionate Ink and include WORKSHOP: HUMOR in the memo area. Also, please include a note containing the name and email address you will be using for the workshop.
Mail checks to:
Robin L Rotham, Treasurer
P.O. Box 2412
Norfolk, NE 68702
***Permission to forward granted and encouraged.***
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BDSM for Writers
By LD Madison
Oct 7 – Nov 1, 2013
$15 for Members
$20 for Non-Members
WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION:Want to create a world rich with masters and submissive, whips and chains, leather and ropes? BDSM for Writers is the perfect place to start your trip into mysterious dungeons and fetish clubs.
In this month long workshop, participants will get an overview of BDSM, and should glean sufficient details to use when adding BDSM to their own writing. The workshop will consist of lectures and assignments as well as a day of Q&A.
The content to be presented will be appropriate for authors at all levels of writing experience. And, while there are no specific ‘prerequisites’, an open mind and the desire to learn the ins and outs of weaving believable BDSM into fiction is essential.
Workshop Schedule
Week One: Introduction to BDSM and a look at bondage, discipline, domination and submission
Week Two: Playing with toys, getting to know BDSM equipment, and rules and safety
Week Three: Role playing, setting up a scene and a discussion about dungeons
Week Four: BDSM as a Lifestyle, online resources and course wrap up
End of workshop: Q&A
Lessons and Assignments
Lessons will be posted on a schedule and I will assign homework where the students have to write a short scene – 500 words or less – using information learned in the ‘lesson’. For example, during “All Tied Up”, participants will have to write a scene using Bondage. For “Playing with Toys”, authors would pick one toy and write a scene using it.
ABOUT THE PRESENTER: LD has been writing and researching BDSM subcultures for the past ten years. In addition to publishing erotic romances, LD has a degree in organizational behavior, and is currently working on a graduate degree in criminology.
If you have any questions, please feel free to email at: ldmadison.author@gmail.com.
HOW TO REGISTER:
To pay via PayPal, please send payment to workshops@passionateink.org and make the subject line WORKSHOP: BDSM. Please be sure the information field includes the name and email address you will be using for the workshop.
To pay via check, please make checks payable to Passionate Ink and include WORKSHOP: BDSM in the memo area. Also, please include a note containing the name and email address you will be using for the workshop.
Mail checks to:
Robin L Rotham, Treasurer
P.O. Box 2412
Norfolk, NE 68702
***Permission to forward granted and encouraged.***