Writing workshop!

I decided a few weeks ago to take a workshop called "Crafting the Category Romance" run by my talented cousin who writes category romance under the pen name of Michelle Karl. If you're wondering what category romance is, they're the books put out mostly by Harlequin (although other companies publish them as well) and are lines called "Intrigue," "Super Romance," or "Historical." All the books in the lines follow the same themes and I refer to them as "book candy" where you read them for 100% entertainment value which is a completely valid reason to read a book.

I've been knocking around the idea of trying to write fiction for awhile and have tried it a few times in the past but it always frustrated me because I never had a clear goal. Now my goal is to write a full book! Nothing like jumping in with both feet. I'm trying romance because I read quite a bit of the genre (although not many category books until the last few weeks) so figure it's a good place to start rather than attempting sweeping epic about dragons and zombies.

Michelle writes for the 'Love Inspired Suspense' Harlequin line which is the Christian themed romance line of Harlequin. There are pretty strict guidelines about what the characters can and can not do - no swearing, drinking, or gambling allowed. Only a few brief kisses by way of romance. I'm aiming for this line too because 1) I've read quite a few of them and 2) I feel more comfortable starting out if I don't have to write a open door passionate affair.

Mom and I spent a lot of time on the Footpath coming up with ideas for my class and since it's a suspense theme, a lot of ways the heroine could get in trouble or almost be murdered only to be saved by the hero. I'm going with a Fundy Footpath location because it's fresh in my mind and this way I don't have to dream up a new spot. After many discussions on how someone could be stalked or pushed off a cliff, Mom then ended up having nightmares about someone coming after us while hiking so then we started discussing different topics. But now I have a list called "ways to almost die while hiking" that I have to figure out how to incorporate into the story.

So far the workshop has a been really informative and very inspiring on ways to get started as a fiction writer. I hope that I can write the book, even if it never gets published, because I think it will help my writing overall and it's always fun to try new challenges.

Anyway, that's what I'm up to these days between avoiding the heat and dehydrating food for Mom and I's next overnight hike (to be determined).