Meeting Hunter Romance Writers

I met up with the Hunter Romance Writers yesterday, where it was informative and fun. Great to see everyone again. Lunch was lovely, and we never stopped chatting. Thank you once again.

The lovely Kerrie Ptolmey spoke about  the art of the structured three act novel. She did an excellent job.

Alex Sokoloff had a full day workshop on this subject at the Romance Writers of Australia's Gold Coast Conference last year. She showed us how to use a similar structure that screenwriters do.
Act 1, Act 2/1, Act 2/2, and Act 3. Alex has a book the subject and is available on Amazon.

• The climax of Act 1 has your characters about to cross the threshold into action, or whatever it is you have planned for them.
• The climax of Act 2/1 is the midpoint of your story which changes the stakes.
• The climax of Act 2/2 is the black moment
• Act 3, naturally is the resolution.

Well Kerrie stated the advantage of setting up the structure of a novel. Armed with cork board and coloured post it notes, she explained how she went about tackling the three act structure.

Why, you ask? To be able to move scenes around and find out the impact it has on your manuscript. To make sure you have included everything in each scene, and that it is structured in the right way.

 

We also discussed Erin's character sheets, although we didn't quite finish, we delved into the plot, and I think she came away with many more ideas to think about. I love brainstorming. We also brainstormed a title for Mary De's novel. It's interesting to hear what titles people come up with.

 

And we had news of another member getting a contract. I won't say as it will spoil her glory. It should be announced soon. We have all but four members unpublished. But I see that changing, and soon. 

Enjoy your Sunday. And to my US friends, enjoy the beginning of your weekend. :) Have a good one.