~ Writers Are Always Learning ~

Are you a writer or interested in becoming one? Debbi Cracovia has some writing workshops for you.

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Welcome to my blog, Debbi….

 

What interesting jobs have you had? How have those jobs affected your writing?

I was a corporate trainer for an educational company and in that roll I learned how to give performance feedback that motivates the receiver. I have incorporate some of those techniques in my Workshop ‘How to Critique with Grace and Compassion.

Where do you get your ideas?

I grew up in Manhattan and there are characters and story ideas on every block. Most of my ideas just pop into my head. When I see something like a creepy old brownstone or a modern sleek high-rise I always think – What if?

Of course, watching The Twilight Zone and Night Gallery and Star Trek as a child opened my mind to the strange and unusual, which is why I write Sci-Fi, fantasy when writing fiction.

Do you ever experience Writer’s Block?

Yes, writer’s block is real and happens to almost every writer at some point in their writing career. The first step is to know the source of it. Where does it come from? The good news is writer’s block can be crushed with a little self-reflection and some work. I’m in the process of designing a workshop to help author’s overcome writer’s block. Look for it in 2020 at OIRWA. For me, there is nothing worse than staring at a blank screen.

Can you tell you about your challenges in getting your book published?

Since my first fiction novel is not yet out, I’m still facing challenges. First, there was the challenge of writing fiction. Fiction is a completely different animal than non-fiction. Just saying, if you try to write fiction in the same way as non-fiction you will have a very hard time getting anyone to read past the first or second chapter, No one, and I repeat, no one wants to read a novel with an omniscient, passive voiced, head-hopping narrator.

Second, once the novel is written, revisions begin. Don’t get me started, this is by far the biggest challenged for me.

Thirdly, once the manuscript is ready to go, the challenge becomes – how do I find the right people to send it too? This is where research comes in.

So do you have any advice to give aspiring writers?

Don’t give up!! Keep growing, read a lot, find your cheerleaders, and above all spend the time it takes to learn your craft. Editors and agents will love for it.

I began writing after reading a book by Sylvia Day entitled Pleasures in the Night. I loved it so much that I was inspired to share my stories. This past summer I was lucky enough to tell Ms. Day just how much she impacted my life.

I’m what I like call pre-published, but I do have interest in my series. Book one is written, and I’m currently working on book two. Yay me – no seriously it’s been long journey of which began as a sprint and ended up like slow, foot dragging jog. You know what I mean. While I have a number of non-fiction pieces floating around the world, I needed to learn how to write fiction plain and simple.

At one point I worked as a corporate trainer for an educational company where I designed and conducted trainings on various subjects for franchise and company employees. I’ve taken that experience and designed a few workshops I know will help authors along their writing journey.

The first workshop is entitled, How to Critique with Grace and Compassion. Need I say more? This came about because most writers know that at some point they have to share your work with an editor, agent, beta reader, or contest judge. This can be very scary especially for newer authors. But this is exactly why finding a critique partner or critique group is so important. But how do you find a good one? Where do you look? Once you found a critique group of partner how is everything suppose to work? Most critique partners or group want you to reciprocate or participate but what does that look like? You might even think, how can I help? I cover all this and more and I give everyone a chance to critique samples to hone their skills.

My next workshop is in November 2019 with https://pennwriters.org/critique-with-grace/

As I mentioned above in the questions and answer section, I’m currently researching and designing a workshop about Writer’s Block. Writer’s Block is Real, but it’s Not a Disease. This workshop will have simple fixes that will help most writers overcome what I like to refer to as Blank Page Syndrome. We’ll look at the reasons behind WB and examine the ways to get back your writer’s brain.

Look for dates and times at Outreach International Romance Writer’s of America 2020. OIRWA offers workshops each month and you don’t have to be a member of OIRWA or even RWA to sign up. http://www.oirwa.com/forum/campus/ or sign up for my newsletter at https://luv2write2.com/

 

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Pennwriters Online Class

November 4-29, 2019Critique with Grace & Compassion for Writers, Beta Readers, Contest Judges & Critique Partners

 

This workshop was designed for anyone who will give and/or receive critical feedback from others. Including but not limited to: Writers, beta readers, contest judges, and critique partners.

Topics Covered:

•     The many types of critique partners, groups, contests and critiquing outlets available to writers.
•     What to look for when critiquing other peoples writing.
•     The best techniques to motivate other authors.
•     How to work with less than helpful criticism with grace, even when you don’t agree.
•     What you need to start your own critique group.
•     Judging a writing contest? This is what you should do.

Participants will learn some tried and true ways to give constructive, professional and motivational critiques.

Each participant will have the opportunity to share a short excerpt (3-4 pages) from their WIP, but only if they choose;-) Everyone will have a chance to offer a critique to a live submission.

At the end of the workshop we’ll see if we can’t find a few people who want to continue to critique each other’s work after the workshop ends.

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More about Debbi Cracovia

With over twenty years experience in the corporate world, Debbi Cracovia has trained hundreds of people in the areas of Company Policies and Procedures, Management & Sales techniques. In her role as a Manager and Human Resource professional, she has motivated employees through constructive feedback and positive critique to help him or her to improve performance and feel motivated to do the best work possible.

It is her wish to bring some of those techniques and methods to writers, beta readers, critique partners, and contest judges so they can give positive helpful critiques that motivate not deflate. She is a current member of RWA, HVRWA, NJRWA, FFPRWA where she is FF&P’s Mudpuddle moderator – critique group, and your current OIRW Campus Coordinator. She lives and plays in the very cool state of New York and is close enough to the Big Apple to visit anytime she likes but far enough away she doesn’t hear the noise of the city at night. Email her at djcracovia@yahoo.com.

Connect with her on FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Luv2write2.co

 

 

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Do you have a question for Debbi. She would love to hear from you.