These recordings of past webinars are free to view for NHWP members. Please do not share the links. We hope you find these resources helpful in your writing journey.
- All 2022 603 Conference Videos
- Meet AutoCrit
- Your Guide to No Problem Point of View
- Scrivener 1
- Scrivener 2
- The Art of Blogging
- Writing About Exotic Locales
- Stealing from Theater: Character Creation
- Unifying Your Story Around a Meaningful Theme
- Up the Ante with GMC: Writing Conflict in Romance Fiction
- How to Track Your Online Submissions
- The Secret Architecture of Short Fiction
- Flash Fiction
- The Prose Poem: Lost at the Heart
- Tackling the NanoWrimo Monster
- The First 250 Words
- The Podcast
- Literature Out Loud
- Editing Your Own Manuscript
- How to Create a Stir Before Your Book’s Launch
- A Picture Book Primer: We All Have a Story to Tell
- Master Amazon Ads to Sell Your Books
- WordPress Part 1: Building Your Website
- WordPress Part 2: Design Basics
- WordPress Part 3: Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
- Book Marketing for Indie Authors
- Show and Tell
- The Art of Authentic Memoir Writing
- Reading Like a Writer
- Having Fun with Edits
- Copyright Law for Authors
- Character Toolbox: How to Create Compelling, Memorable Characters Readers Will Love
- Speaking Of…Women of Color
- First Impressions: Opening Paragraph Critique
- Speaking Of…Sci Fi: Reaching the Outer Limits of Great Storytelling
Meet AutoCrit
Built to match the genuine demands of publishing professionals and discerning readers, AutoCrit adds a technological edge to your creativity. The actual content of real-world books, fused with the eagle eye of a veteran book editor, takes you leaps and bounds beyond anything you’ve seen before. This webinar demonstration by AutoCrit rep, Beth Power, will show you how AutoCrit gives you step-by-step recommendations for improving your manuscript based on what real readers want to see. Produce cleaner dialogue, eliminate needless filler, keep readers interested by perfecting your pacing, and even fine-tune the emotional tone of your writing with the click of a button. Feel unshakeable confidence in your book and leave worries in the dust.
Your Guide to No Problem Point of View
First? Second? Third? Cinematic? Omniscient? Limited? Direct Address? Before you can begin to tell your story, you need to decide how to tell it. This crucial decision has important implications throughout the writing process since different points of view offer unique challenges and opportunities. How many times have you realized on page eight that you’re in the wrong point of view? How many rejections has a wobbly point of view earned you? (I know I’ve got a few!). This webinar with Jim Kelly will pass quickly over theory to hacks, tricks, checklists and other useful tips to staying on point when you’re narrating.
Scrivener 1
Have you tried Scrivener, the writing software meant to help writers organize their manuscripts or writing projects, but found yourself overwhelmed by it? This webinar is for you! Whether you’re just starting out on a book-length work or you’re deep into your twentieth revision, Scrivener can help you organize your thoughts, improve your writing process, and finish your manuscript. In this webinar, Alison Murphy will teach the basics of Scrivener: the binder, and how to organize your scenes and chapters, research, and other necessities, as well as introduce to the editor and some of the tools that will help you keep track of your writing. You will leave the class with a better understanding of how to use Scrivener for your particular project, and the tools to get started.
Scrivener 2
Can’t get enough Scrivener? Neither can we! In this follow up workshop, Dan Pouliot takes you through the basics of Scrivener and introduces techniques you can use to format and research your documents.
The Art of Blogging
For many writers, blogging is seen as a necessary evil to maintain an online presence and nothing more. But blogging can also be a fabulous connecting point between you and the world. A robust blog can compel people to follow you and share your words with others. That’s the key – making what you blog about and how you blog accessible and addictive to your followers. Blogs also serve as vehicles to connect other authors together, promote books, and hone your writing craft. Like novels, blogs must be tailored in content and purpose and not just jumbled, random thoughts from writers. In this webinar, Kate Conway will cover the technicalities of blogging and the nuances of building a blog following with exceptional content.
Writing About Exotic Locales
One of the things a novel can do is take us somewhere we’ve never been. Unfortunately, though, these unfamiliar places can leave your readers feeling baffled! Whether you’re writing about a foreign country, an epic fantasy world, or a sci-fi dystopia, bringing readers somewhere new involves sharing traditions, foods, place names, histories, and even different languages, which can overwhelm even the most adventurous readers. In this webinar, Ian Rogers looks at the hazards involved with writing about exotic locales and examines some ways to make them more approachable to readers without limiting your artistic vision.
Stealing from Theater: Character Creation
Create new characters and expand your understanding of your current cast via theatrical games and exercises. Taught by William Alexander, National Book Award Winner and current chair of the Writing for Children and Young Adults program at VCFA.
Unifying Your Story Around a Meaningftul Theme
As author Leslie What says, “A story that tells a truth in ways that the reader cannot forget is one worth reading.” Do your stories “tell a truth”? Is it a truth you believe in? Few writers realize that unity is key to creating a powerful and emotionally resonant story, and theme is key to creating a unified story. In this workshop, Jeanne Cavelos identifies themes important to you and explore how to build a story from a theme so it is conveyed in an organic, not preachy, way. A way “that the reader cannot forget.” When the core of your story reflects your heart and mind, your unique way of seeing and understanding the world, it gives readers that experience we all seek: to see life through a new and unforgettable lens.
Up the Ante with GMC: Writing Conflict in Romance Fiction
Writing romance requires the conflict to be an emotional driving force behind the plot. There’s a fine balance between a want and an obstacle. In this webinar, Emma Leigh Reed will focus on using GMC (Goal, Motivation, and Conflict) to up the conflict ante in writing a romance.
How to Track Your Online Submissions
Catherine Deiley explains how to track your online story submissions.
The Secret Architecture of Short Fiction
Tom Paine explains how to craft short fiction.
Flash Fiction
Ed Ting explains how to craft three-minute flash fiction pieces.
The Prose Poem: Lost at the Heart
Marie Harris, former NH Poet Laureate, introduces the prose poem.
Tackling the NaNoWriMo Monster
R.W.W. Greene shows you tips and tricks for NaNoWriMo.
The First 250 Words
From James Patrick Kelly: You only get one chance to introduce yourself and your characters and in this webinar, we will look at the craft of starting a story or a novel. Let’s talk about the dos and don’ts of welcoming readers to your fiction.
The Podcast
Podcasts provide a unique opportunity for writers to distribute their work and promote themselves to a large, enthusiastic audience. Experienced podcaster Kevin Flynn shares tips on creating effective, entertaining podcasts and how to find your audience.
Literature Out Loud
Perhaps you’ve heard about the Hatbox Theatre Readings, where actors deliver lines from an author’s work-in-progress? This webinar features actor Katie Dunn reading from NHWP member Wendy Jensen’s work-in-progress, But I Already Said Goodbye, followed by a question and answer session with Masheri Chappelle, whose novel, The Oracle Files: Escape, was released in May 2017.
Editing Your Own Manuscript
Fiction ghostwriter and editor Jeff Deck discusses how to edit your own book manuscript, using the six essential stages — Reflect, Reassemble, Resculpt, Research, Refine, and Recruit (a Proofreader) — and the mindset most helpful to get the job done. Learn how to tame your monster of a book, then flip the switch and yell, in your best mad scientist voice, the immortal phrase: “It‘s aliiive!”
How To Create a Stir Before Your Book’s Launch
Author and professor Ann Garvin discusses the choices writers, publishers, and publicists make to get readers and reviewers buzzing about a new book release. Learn why your title may change at the twelfth hour and who chooses the cover art. Should you give away bookmarks, or release a book trailer on YouTube? What kind of social media is most effective when it comes to building buzz?
A Picture Book Primer: We All Have a Story to Tell
NH author Vivian Kirkfield and author/illustrator Gina Perry cover the nuts and bolts of writing a picture book manuscript, working with and leaving room for the illustrator, and tools to creating a successful start in children’s publishing.
Master Amazon Ads to Sell Your Books
Fiction ghostwriter and editor Jeff Deck discusses whether Amazon ads can help sell your books, and shows you how to get started and develop an effective approach that will meet your needs and budget.
WordPress Basics Series, with Jeffery Brown
These three webinars cover the basics of starting, designing, and optimizing your website. Jeffery Brown, owner, and designer of DPi Graphics covers the basics of WordPress in Part 1: what it is and how to set up your website fast. Part 2 shows how to make website design with WordPress easier for the novice. Finally, in Part 3, Jeff defines SEO and shows how you can use it to get found on search engines like Google and Bing.
Part 1: Building Your Website
Part 2: Design Basics
Part 3: Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Book Marketing for Indie Authors
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author, Ana E Ross shares the techniques she incorporated on Indie Book Publishing, Marketing, and Promotion to become a successful bestselling author—including, but not limited to free and paid avenues to get your books noticed by a multitude of readers, affiliate accounts with major retailers, newsletters, teasers, Facebook ads, and more.
Show and Tell
Show don’t tell is probably the most frustrating advice a writer can get! While there are times when showing is exactly what a slow scene or a sick story needs, there are other times when reckless dramatization can hinder reader comprehension and bring narrative momentum to a standstill.
James Patrick Kelly has published six novels and over a hundred and fifty stories; his work has been translated into twenty-one languages. In this lively presentation, he explains how you can know when it’s right to show and when to tell, resolving the never-ending tension between backstory and front story. You’ll learn how to record only those scenes that advance plot, character, and theme. Using examples from great literature (including his own works), Jim demonstrates where show and tell can succeed or fail, and which traps to avoid.
The Art of Authentic Memoir Writing
Travel writer and essayist Dan Szczesny explores the craft and challenges of memoir writing. From being comfortable with personal exploration to the nuts and bolts of note-taking and interviewing in the field, Szczesny will talk about how to be personal, authentic, and raw without sacrificing privacy. It’s a fine line between an entertaining read and oversharing.
Reading Like a Writer, with Bonnar Spring and Amy Ray
Don’t let an action-packed plot whisk you through a story. As a writer, slow down and pay attention to how the writer is getting you to turn those pages and stay up way past your bedtime. In this workshop, learn what it means to read like a writer. Bonnar Spring delves into the process of “micro” reading—looking at different elements of a book and figuring out what does, and doesn’t, work for you and how to translate your findings into your own writing. Amy Ray then discusses the “macro” observations that can be made about pacing and plot.
Having Fund with Edits, with Ana E Ross
Perhaps you’ve written the best story ever, and now you’re ready for the next step: Editing! It’s the most critical undertaking on the path to publication. Why? Nothing turns off readers more than improper grammar and poor punctuation. In this webinar, New York Times Bestselling Author, Ana E Ross, teaches you the basics of editing your own work. By doing this, the cost of having a professional editor follow up will be reduced dramatically.
Copyright Law for Authors (Encore Presentation), with Rebecca Christon
Patent Attorney, Rebecca Christon, presents the basics of US copyright law, with a few mentions of international law for points that might be relevant to US writers. She also covers some recommended best practices and a few potentially sticky situations to be sufficiently aware of to avoid.
Rebecca Christon practices intellectual property law at the Manchester NH office of Hayes Soloway. She is a registered patent attorney. She has a BS in Chemistry from the University of New Hampshire, and both a J.D. and LL.M in intellectual property from the University of New Hampshire School of Law.
Character Toolbox: How to Create Compelling, Memorable Characters Readers Will Love, with Gledé Browne Kabongo
Award-winning author Gledé Browne Kabongo describes how to create unforgettable characters readers will love. She pulls back the curtain on what makes characters memorable and provides a solid roadmap of techniques you can implement right away to hook readers from page one.
