Monthly Chapter Meetings
Our Chapter Meetings are a time of connection and growth. Each month, we host speakers who educate, enlighten, and challenge us to grow through their training and experiences. Past speakers include librarians, historians, medical professionals, actors, audiobook narrators, law enforcement personnel, Facebook Group Coordinators, BDSM Masters, advertising and marketing professionals, Yoga Instructors, and – of course – authors!
Hospitality begins at 10:00 am or when the coffee arrives! We are a friendly group of authors – a mix of introverts, extroverts, and ambiverts – who are passionate about writing romance ! We do hope you will join us. Our Hospitality Committee is available to answer your questions and help you get to know more about us.
Meeting Fees
The Meeting Fee is still just $5.00 for members and $10.00 for visitors. Your first visit is free!
Members can pre-pay their meeting fee here! Alternatively, you can pay for the entire year here.
Virtual Meeting Information
Earlier this year, the LARA Board chose to act with an “abundance of caution,” and moved to virtual Chapter Meetings. Until the State of California deems it safe for groups to gather, we will continue holding virtual meetings. Access instructions are sent via email immediately after PayPal processes your meeting payment. If you are joining us as a Guest, please email treasurer (at) lararwa.com to receive login information. We look forward to meeting you.
Click here (or the Zoom logo) to install the app on your device.
Standard Meeting Agenda
9:00 am Every other month is a Published Author Chat (all published authors are welcome)
10:00 am Hospitality
10:30 am Chapter Meeting
11:00 am Craft or business presentation (see presenters below)
12:00 pm Closing Remarks & Preview of Next Month
Upcoming Meetings
- May 15, 2022
- June 26, 2022
- July 17, 2022
- August 21, 2022
- September 18, 2022
- October 16, 2022
- November 20, 2022
- December 18, 2022
- March 20, 2022
- April 24, 2022
May 15, 2022
Pre-Meeting: Virtual Check-In
Speaker: Martha Alderson
Topic: Start Plotting Your Novel from the End
From my experience writing fiction and helping writers with plot, I’ve found that we often obsess over the beginning of our stories, developing detailed backstories and writing, revising and rewriting – and rightly so. Beginnings hook readers. At the same time, endings create fans, though often writers neglect to give their endings the same sort of time and attention either by stalling out before ever reaching the end or by slapping on an ending with the hope it works.
For now, forget the beginning of your story and turn your focus to the end. This approach of plotting from the end allows you to visualize the whole of your story rather than simply juggle a loose collection of its parts or scenes.
Whether you have a firm grasp of what happens at the end of your story to satisfy both the inner plot and the outer plot or simply a vague idea, come prepared to try out some new strategies.
You’ll be given time to experiment with some the foundational skills needed to:
• preform a task analysis of your outer plot
• deconstruct your main characters to satisfy the inner plot
June 26, 2022
Pre-Meeting:
Speaker:(IN PERSON) - Jennifer Graybeal
Topic: "Goal Setting the Rest of the Year"
July 17, 2022
Pre-Meeting:
Speaker: TBD
Topic:
August 21, 2022
Pre-Meeting:
Speaker: TBD
Topic:
September 18, 2022
Pre-Meeting:
Speaker: TBD (IN PERSON)
Topic:
October 16, 2022
Pre-Meeting:
Speaker: TBD
Topic:
November 20, 2022
Pre-Meeting:
Speaker:Tracee Garner
Topic: Disability and Inclusion Writing
December 18 2022
Pre-Meeting:
Speaker: TBD (IN PERSON)
Topic:
March 20, 2022
Pre-Meeting:
Speaker: Stephanie Burdett - Author Services (AT NOON because she's in Australia)
April 24, 2022
Pre-Meeting:
Speaker: Jacki Renee
Topic: "Developing Your Author Business Plan"
Previous Meetings 2022
February 20, 2022
Pre-Meeting: Virtual Happy Hour
Speaker: Kilby Blades – “How to Uplevel Your Author Career”
Topic:
Previous Meetings 2021
December 10, 2021
Pre-Meeting: Virtual Happy Hour
Speaker: Debut Author Panel
Topic: Join us as we celebrate this year’s Debut Author’s: Alexa Santi and Leigh Adams! We will meet Alexa (Leigh is going to record her session later) and get to know more about her author journey, debut title, AND what’s next!
November 21, 2021
Pre-Meeting: NaNoWriMo Write-In
Speaker: Brandon Leibowitz
Topic: How To Get Free Traffic To Your Website From Google
Click for more information about Brandon.
October 17, 2021
Pre-Meeting: BEN-P Q&A
Speaker: Stacy Gold, Award-Winning Author
Topic: Finding Your Author Voice (And How It’s Different from All the Other Voices in Your Books)
Click for more information about Stacy.
September 19, 2021
Pre-Meeting: Mini-Con Welcome
Speaker: Zoe York, Author
Topic: Romance Your Goals and Romance Your Plan
Click for more information about Zoe.
August 15, 2021
Pre-Meeting: Fun with Blurbs!
Speaker: Becca Syme, Author
Topic: Write Better-Faster with Becca Syme
Click for more information about Becca.
June 13, 2021
Pre-Meeting: Content Planning Challenge
Speaker: Ally Robertson, Author
Topic: Filter Words and Showing vs Telling – How to make your writing more active and engaging
Click for more information about Ally.
February 21, 2021
Published Author Chat: TBD
Speaker: Talia Hibbert, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author
Topic: The Intimacy of Third Person Click for more information!
March 21, 2021
Board Meeting
Speaker: La Rhonda Crosby-Johnson, Author
Topic: Honoring Your Writing Process
January 17, 2021
Published Author Chat: Planning Your Writing Year
Speaker: Georgette T. , Owner, 3B Design Co
Topic: Why Do You Need A Content Creator?
*The Zoom meeting link will be sent via the LARA Confidential. Guests should reach out to the Chapter Secretary for the information.
