Last week I attended a courage blitz focusing on How To Pitch offered by writers Lena Diaz, Selena Fulton, Ava Milone, and Heather Nickodem, at the First Coast Romance Writer’s monthly meeting. These presenters far wiser in their craft than they will admit publicly are FCRW members.  Their delivery of their topics was exuberant and critical to any writing career. The fact that I don’t write in the romance genre had little to do with what I learned Saturday. These workshops are beneficial for writers in any genre.  Writers get perks, perks, and more perks because FCRW meetings are open to the public. Membership is open to all RWA members. Additional information regarding membership requirements is available at http://fcrw.com/jacksonville.

Fate seems to strategically time my arrivals to meetings. This Saturday was no different. Workshops were engaging enough to pull me into topics I thought I had already grasped. Honestly, other commitments in my over extended life requires me to pitch, listen to pitches, and critique pitches from other people.  When you think about it, we are all pitching something whether we admit it or not.  I digress. That’s fodder for another article. 

My late arrival deprived me of Ava Milone’s session. Her advice was probably very proactive. Anyone who spends five minutes with her knows she is a woman of action.  Her website http://avamilone.com is a chronicle of her adventures.  Ava is also the author of Dark Side series. Ava’s Dark Water placed 2nd in the Maggies Single Title.  

Selena Fulton author of novella, Never Let Go was an opportunity I almost missed. Her fitting a Square Peg Into A Round Peg is not to be taken lightly. The material was full of great encouragement. You can visit her site at http://selenafulton.wordpress.com for more details about this empowering topic.

I did get to see Lena Diaz’s How to Pitch Without Striking Out. Her presentation was a fresh look at elevator pitches.  Lena is the author of suspense romance novels.  She generously supplied me with a copy of He Kills Me, He Kills Me Not.  I haven’t put it down yet. Oh Lena, I like the yellow cover on Simon Says Die.  It’s easier to find in the book store. Or you can just drop by her website at http://lenadiaz.com to check it out. Lena delivered her topic like a seasoned professor. My colleagues would turn green at the sight of her rubric/outline and those humorous role plays.  

Award winning author Heather Nickodem, is a sharp shooter when it comes to hitting the mark. She zoned in on the subject preparing every writer to use strategic word placement as their ammunition. Heather reminded us to use our words to aim for our targets with precision for that coveted request.  This is a writer who knows that strategy is an invaluable weapon for a hero in warfare of publishing. Reading Red Sky At Night should remove any doubt from any wavering writer. Writers pay attention.  She knows a thing about heroes.  

Author Abigail Sharpe, a self-described grammar queen believes in pushing writers over the edge with her exuberant delivery of How to Face Your Fears. Her advice was given in a non judgmental manner that encouraged everyone to embrace their fears. Silently I vowed to face something beyond that dreaded blank paper. Well for me, it’s untangling the mess of a chapter I left on-screen to get to this meeting.  Abigail you might have brought me one step closer to my milestone. Who knows, I might consider that sky diving family outing.  Nah, maybe I’ll just kill off the character I am wrestling with in chapter sixteen of my debut novel, Three Eight Two.

This meeting exceeded my expectations. Abigail, Dena, Heather, and Lena’s platform command, their energy, and neon colored pitch buddies catapulted me back into writing mode. No excuse was my mantra driving home.  All of the FCRW presenters brought it.  I, like many other writers will bring the rest. Next it will be your turn in the pitching cage. Write, pitch, write some more and pitch fervently.  You can’t strike out with tools from FCRW.

AvaMilone, Lena Diaz, Selena Fulton, Heather Nickodem, & Abigail Sharpe