Breathless In the Bush: Glenelg

Monday, 22 August 2016

Ain't Love Grand? Yes it is! RWAustralia Conference Round-Up.

By Cassandra Samuels

Is it that time of year again already? August is when RWAustralia has their annual Romance Writers Conference. This year in the picturesque Grand Stamford in Glenelg, Adelaide.

Photo by Cassandra Samuels

It's a time to nervously pitch that story to an agent or editor. To go to workshops and listen to keynote speakers and hopefully, have a light bulb moment or two. It's a great place to meeting old friends and make new ones.

We are very lucky here at Breathless in the Bush to have an inaugural member of RWAustralia as one of our own, Enisa. Karen is also a member of this group and daughter of the founding member of RWAustrallia Lynne Wilding. This year marks the 25th Anniversary of Romance Writers Australia and how very far we have come from those very early days.

Enisa gave a wonderful speech at the opening of the conference about her friendship with Lynne and how RWAustralia came about. She used a quote from the movie Field of Dreams to express the the founding members hope for the organisation. "If we build it will they come?" The answer, of course, was YES!

Photo by Cassandra Samuels

The cocktail party was a fun event, made even more so by the fact that the First Sale Ribbons were given out this year. Both Karen M Davis and Marilyn Forsyth received a ribbon this year.


Photo by Cassandra Samuels

And I may have picked up a little something myself at the Awards Gala Dinner.

Photo by Cassandra Samuels

The conference keynote speakers were wonderful this year. Here are a few memorable quotes.

Michael Hauge

Photo by Enisa Haines

"You must elicit emotion in your reader"
"Stories at their core, are built on a simple foundation consisting of character, desire and Conflict."

Nikko and Jim McGoldrick

Photo by Cassandra Samuels

"To be a writer you need to be a glass half full type of person."
Nikko writes because, "It's the only time you can kidnap someone and it be legal.
Jim writes because, "In the fictional world we create, good can conquer evil."
Nikko writes because, "If I don't write my life is incomplete."
Jim writes beause, "I touch peoples lives and there is value in that."

Fiona McIntosh

Photo by Cassandra Samuels

Fiona made us laugh and think.
"A clear theme is crucial, especially for marketing."
"Where is the heartbeat of your story?"
"Fall in love with your male character and you'll be on the road to success."
"Write down your goals and then get on with it."
"Stop questioning the universe. The only way to find out if you're good enough is to do it."

One of the workshops that I really enjoyed was the, Honour and Honourable Quarrels - Dueling in the Age of Romance by Nic and Shay. What a comprehensive and informative workshop it was.