Montana Romance Writers Conference 2012

As some of you may know, I am an officer for Montana Romance Writers.  This is a group I am immensely proud to belong to.  Each member brings a different perspective, talent, or expertise in which has helped the group grow and become a successful and nationally recognized organization that has touched lives of authors from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and even Africa.  For the first time, this group of prestigious writers have come together to create an opportunity for new and seasoned writers from around Montana and the United States to come together, share ideas, network, and learn.  I proud to announce we are having our first official Montana Romance Writers Conference.  I hope to see you there!

2012 Montana Romance Writers Conference**

 **(From the official Montana Romance Writers Website)

Montana Romance Writers

2012 Writers Conference

Fairmont Hot Springs Resort September 28th, 29th & 30th

Come join us for a few days of fun, learning and networking! Our talented group of Montana romance writers include

New York Times Best Selling Author Kat Martin as well as

USA Today bestselling author, B.J. Daniels.

We're committed to helping the writers within this great state of ours succeed as writers.

The inaugural Montana Writers Conference will give far-flung Montana romance writers the opportunity to learn, meet and re-energize for the work it takes to complete a novel and still have a life! Benefits for attending include:

• Better understanding of the positive/negatives of your writing
• Marketing of your published works to other writers in Montana
• Networking opportunities

Keynote: How to Become an Overnight SuccessAfter 19 years and 60 books, B.J. Daniels will share her secret to building a long-term writing career. She'll talk about being true to yourself as a writer, hanging in there and how important it is to write a lot of books!

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To Register or Learn More Please Visit:  The official Montana Romance Writers Website!!!

The Key to Becoming a Great Romance Author is Having a Sense of Humor...

“A sense of humor...is needed armor. Joy in one's heart and some laughter on one's lips is a sign that the person down deep has a pretty good grasp of life.”  Hugh Sidey One of my favorite and least favorite conversations is when I introduce myself to a new person.  I wait for the inevitable question, “What do you do for a living?”  My heart quickens, because I love my job.  I love writing.  I love creating.  I love imagining the impossible.“I’m a romance author.”  I smile proudly.Then from their reaction I know who the person is:  the non-romance reader cringes, the romance reader smiles excitedly and spills over with questions (I love these meetings—can you say ‘instant friendship?’), literary writers smirk and genre writers smile proudly and exclaim ‘Me too!’.It is truly amazing what you can learn from a person in the five seconds following my simple statement.Next I’m often asked, by the non-romance readers, “Why would you do that?”  It’s almost as if, by writing romance, in their mind, I’m instantly delegated to the social rank of a stripper or porn star.  Little do they know I’m far different than a porn star…I’m a professional writer—I know no pole dancing moves (not that I wouldn’t give it a shot), I don’t know camera angles, or movie making lingo, and I’ve never (intentionally) shown my ‘girls’ in public.What I most dislike about this assumption is the fact that they believe I’m writing smut.  My internal dialogue goes crazy.  Don’t they realize the amount of work that goes into writing a novel?  Story structure?  Pacing?  Dialogue?  Plot?  Acts?  Critiquing?  Editing? Going to conferences? Teaching classes?  Writing blogs?  Pitching the novel? Writing the queries and the dreaded Synopsis?   I’m sure they don’t mean to offend me, but the ‘smut’ that they are judging me for, is about 5 pages out of my 300 page novels.  It’s less than 1% of my work.  Yet, it comprises 100% of their opinion.  I don’t walk into their job and point at their coffee cup and say, “Why do you do that?”  (Though now, I think I just may.)During these lapses in conversational etiquette I always bite my tongue and give them the well-worn answer.  “I love it.  It’s a lot of fun.”  And I leave it at that.  If the person eventually becomes my friend, they begin to learn all that goes into writing, all the victories and the defeats, and soon they come to realize that most writing (even some literary) is, at their core, romance.  And over a glass of wine, they come to learn that most writers are not porn stars or stippers, instead only humorists in disguise.

The Types of Critics

"Dear Author, You suck, your books are complete literary garbage, and you smell like rotten socks.Signed,An Angry Eunuch" I have some good news.  As much as you may think you will receive this type of letter when you first publish your work, you won't--because really, what reader knows how you smell?On a more serious note, there are two types of critics:  the helpful critic and the angry critic.  Both serve valid purposes.The helpful critics are friends, family, beta-readers, editors, and readers that bring up flaws in your work (often minor) and call attention to your weaknesses.  As a writer, the initial response by most is to brush off the feedback and call the critic crazy.  However, once the writer sets aside their overly personal relationship with their material and looks at it from the helpful critics eyes, one can see the merit in their comments.  When I began writing a few years ago, I often got the comment:  "Where's the emotional response!"I would immediately get emotional...Wasn't that enough of an emotional response?  No...  And as I grew and opened up to the advice my fellow writers were bestowing upon me, my writing ability increased.  My critics did exactly what they were supposed to do--they helped me to become a better writer.As for the second type of critic, or so named 'the angry critic' they too have a purpose.And yes, as a writer you will occasionally run across these types of critics.  By far, the most distressing letter I ever received came from an anonymous source after I had entered my first writing contest.  It was my first novel, my first major attempt at becoming a professional writer--and I had much to learn (that novel rests comfortably at the back of my closet, under deep layers of pillows).  The angry critic told me that my writing was terrible.  In fact, they went on to say, it was so bad that I should seriously consider going to college (which FYI to them I have a degree from a University which had granted me a scholarship for my writing).After crying and flipping the bird at my computer, I came to a firm conclusion.  I would not let one angry mean-spirited critic win.  I used that low point in my writing to lift me.  Using a line from Dirty Dancing,  "No one puts [Danica] in a corner."I joined my first critique group.  Took every class and read books on writing.  I studied until the wee hours of the morning about the market, core market interest, effective dialogue, pacing, query and synopsis writing, and my favorite Strunk and White.That one angry critic lit a fire--one that will never burn out.  So thank you, my angry little eunuch.  You have helped me to excel.When you write, you must develop a thick skin.  You will receive negative and positive.  You will laugh with pride and cry with despair, but hold your head high.  Use the criticisms that comes your way and you will have the writing wind at your back.