The RWNZ 2019 Conference kicks off on Friday 23 August with a full day of workshops led by Sophie Jordan, bestselling author of contemporaries, YA, NA, paranormal and historical romance.
1 Sophie Jordan: Beginnings: It Takes More Than Once Upon A Time (Starting the journey by hooking the reader, 2hr)
In this changing market and society, the opening of your book is more important than ever. How do writers win out over readers’ busy lives, the clamor of social media and addictive Netflix marathons? You have to hook the reader immediately. Join Sophie as she leads you through tips to hook your readers right from the start – from the all-important first line, to the first few paragraphs, to the first chapter. Come prepared with your own first lines!
2 Unforgettable Heroines (Making the journey unforgettable, 1.5hr)
How do you write a compelling heroine that leaps off the page and doesn’t sound like every other heroine you’ve ever read? Lizzie Bennett. Scarlett O’Hara. Lisbeth from The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. All flawed but strong, smart and courageous. Memorable. Sophie will lead you through techniques on how to flesh out your heroines and bring them to life so that readers empathize and like them and remember them long after they finish the book.
3 The Dreaded DNF (Finishing the journey by keeping the reader, 1hr)
It can happen at any point in the book … a reader quits. D N F. We’ve all done it. Started a book that hooked us at first, but then we just stopped reading for some reason. In this workshop, Sophie will explore what those reasons could be with you. What can you do as a writer to deliver on the promise you made in your blurb? In the first chapter? Sophie will go through tips to help maintain reader interest . . . and, equally important, some all-important pitfalls to avoid.
4 Confessions of a Romance Writer (1.5hr)
Published for thirteen years, Sophie has written over forty novels under two names in multiple genres: historical romance, paranormal romance, new adult romance, contemporary romance and young adult fiction spanning paranormal, dystopian, contemporary and next up … historical YA.
Join her in this candid discussion about all the lessons and tricks she’s learned amid the highs and lows. From how Sophie keeps inspiration alive to meet a deadline to how she believes even not writing you can be writing. It’s all about the end game – building (and keeping) a career.
To learn more about Sophie, visit our international speakers page.
