I travelled to the amazing city of San Francisco the weekend after Valentine's Day to the fantastic San Francisco Writers Conference. Writers conferences offer a tremendous opportunity to connect with other writers, to learn from the very best speakers around, and to really rejuvenate the creative spirit. I met some amazing people, had a wonderful conversation with my fantastic agent, Jill Marsal (who was my rockin' co-speaker!), plotted with my amazing teaching cohort and beta reader, Claire Cavanaugh, and in general had a wonderful time. I want to thank Michael Larsen, Elizabeth Pomada, Laurie McLean and the wonderful staff and volunteers for making the event so nice.

I also want to send a shout-out to the Intercontinental Mark Hopkins hotel. The staff was friendly and efficient, and I really appreciated them.

I gave three workshops throughout the weekend, and since they were standing room only, several attendees were unable to get the handouts. So, as promised, guys, here are the handouts for the hour-long workshops and the presentations. I hope you enjoy. Send me an email through the website if you have questions. I'll get back to you as soon as possible.

Discovering Story Magic: Nitty Gritty Writing Techniques (Robin Perini and Claire Cavanaugh) (1 hour)

Handout

Powerpoint Presentation

Agents, Booksellers, Readers Survey

Secrets of Selling: Writing Techniques that Matter (Robin Perini and Jill Marsal)

Handout

PowerPoint Presentation

I hope you enjoy!

Robin

As many of you know, this year I sold my first book, my 2011 Golden Heart Finalist Manuscript, In Her Sights. My agent, Jill Marsal, placed the book with Amazon's Montlake Romance. I was so excited to be part of this new venture. Especially when Connie Brockway is the launch title with The Other Guy's Bride. To my excitement and surprise, my book and Melinda Leigh's She Can Run, were the two follow-up titles in the launch month—November, 2011.

It's been an exciting adventure since that call and signing my first contract. Montlake Romances are available through Amazon, of course (click here to order), but also via Ingram and Baker & Taylor. My paperback is available at Barnes & Noble (click here to order), and hopefully other retailers. As has been said, most eloquently by JA Konrath, it's a whole new world out there.

Recently, Amazon hired former Harlequin Senior Editor Kelli Martin who will be heading up Montlake's submission process. In the midst of conversations, I was able to get access to Montlake's new submission guidelines, so I thought I'd share.  Because SO many of you have asked for information on how and what Montlake is acquiring, I'm providing the submission guidelines on this blog. In a month, I'll be putting out an article on what Harlequin Intrigue is looking for as well, where I sold my next three books. So keep an eye out. Good luck everyone. And Happy Writing.

Montlake Romance Submission Guidelines...

Romance Writers of America was in New York this year.  The hub of publishing.  It was an awesome conference, and I was lucky enough to be invited to speak.  This year, I delivered a Reader's Digest version of the workshop that Laura Baker and I developed, Discovering Story Magic using the movie, Good Will Hunting as a template.  Discovering Story Magic is a three-step method for creating a story they can't refuse.  The story is created from the characters up.

Now, I'm the first to admit--and those of you who read my blog know--I plan my books.  The great thing about Discovering Story Magic (DSM) is that it can be used after-the-fact to revise and fine-tune your book. I'm not going to go into the entire workshop here.  There are packets available on the Discovering Story Magic website--100-page packets that analyze several different movies using DSM.  However, today, I thought I'd provide a chart that compares several plotting methods as well as a link to the presenatation I gave at RWA in New York (especially for those who wanted the Self-Image worksheet).

I was very excited to finish the first draft of my latest manuscript, Unwilling Witness.  Of course, it is my first draft!  Over the years I've sort of figured out how I need to write, though this is constantly evolving.  I have friends who are final draft writers.  Before they move on, each sentence must be perfect.  Each emotion must work.  By the time they finish the book, they just send it in.  I wish I could write that way.  I've tried to.  Believe me I have.  

However, one of the most important lessons I've learned over time is that each writer has to learn what works for them.  When I try to final draft write, my pacing suffers.  In fact, my pacing is so slow, I fall asleep reading my own story!  I've learned that my stories are best when I write iteratively.  It's irritating, actually--my process, I mean...

I've been writing quite a bit lately.  Most every day in fact.  I'm trying to increase my productivity, but also the quality of scenes.  Who cares if I write ten pages if I have to scrap eight of them because they don't go anywhere.  So, that brings me to this article. 

As you know, I am that kid who always asks 'why.'  Why does this author blow me away with her characters?  Why does that author's plot surprise me every time?  How can I keep from writing a completely boring scene that I then have to chuck?  (The last is the real reason I care, btw.)  The answer I discovered recently blew me a way.  Too simple.  Too straightforward.  And something I've known since I read my very first how-to-write book, Writing Novels that Sell by Jack Bickham.

This has been an interesting week for me in the writing department.  I’ve been working on a proposal for the second book in a series while editors are considering the first book.  I want to have the proposal ready to go as soon as possible, and have been working on it for a while.  The issue: they’ve been the toughest beginning chapters I’ve ever written.  Truthfully, in the past, the first three chapters usually came pretty easy for me…once I’ve plotted a story out.  So what’s my problem this time? 

There's nothing worse than writing a synopsis...is there?  I haven't found it.  My first piece of advice on writing a synopsis is...get someone else to do it :-).  Seriously, as a writer, we love too much of our book to ever boil it down to its key elements.  My other bit of advice is to write it before you write the book...that way, you don't know what you don't know yet :-).  Of course, that's not always possible...either way, however, I have found a quick recipe for writing a short synopsis.  I hope it helps some of you.  It sure helped me.

The way things are going in the marketplace, most selling synopses are 5 pages or less, no matter what the length of the book.  Here's how I do it.  That being said, there are as many ways to write as there are writers, so take what you want and leave the rest.

I've been around the writing block more than once...but I've yet to see my book on a bookshelf.  Why, you might ask?  I've asked myself that question more times than I'd like--and others have asked it of me.  I believe I can string sentences together pretty well; I have a fantastic critque group; I studied the craft.  I've even had a few people credit me with helping them push their way from unsold to sold.  So why haven't I sold a book yet?  And more importantly, why have I kept writing?

There have been times I wanted to quit; times I wondered if it was worth it.  Then I'd dream the stories again and realize, for good or for bad, I'm a storyteller.  I want to share my stories with the world. 

So, what's stopped me? 

Well, I attended the Romance Writers of America National Conference in Orlando, Florida the last week of July. I was lucky enough to be chosen to present a workshop with my fellow writer and three-time Golden Heart Finalist, Claire Cavanaugh. Our topic was Inside Scoop: Analyzing Openings as an Agent, Bookseller and Reader, Then Problem Solve as a Writer.  (presentation, handout and support material are below).  Somewhere between 200 and 250 people attended, and we didn't scare anyone off, so it seemed to be a success.

In this workshop, we used small examples of openings from Orson Scott Card, Nora Roberts w/a J.D. Robb, Jayne Ann Krentz, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Dean Koontz, Mary Kay Andrews, Gregory Maguire, and Deanna Raybourn. Then, several amazing writers submitted their openings and we analyzed them for strengths and weaknesses.

One of the most interesting aspects of the workshop was a survey we took of agents, readers and booksellers.

This is the first of a series of podcasts I have recorded on elements of writing.  This podcast is a little over 30 minutes long and discusses how Character's Goals can be leveraged to further braid character and plot, as well as add dimension to your characters.