$10 per person, free for NJRW members
Beginner writers all suffer the same challenges: passive characters, uneven pacing, meandering plot and the dreaded “Happy People in Happyland.” Readers crave active protagonists, characters who chase their goals and drive the story forward with the choices they make in the face of adversity. Non-stop action can be just as boring as a story where nothing happens. Finding that balance between action and reaction is the key to writing a character driven story that’s full of delicious page turning tension.
In this workshop, we’ll delve into scene structure and how understanding the cause-and-effect trajectory of your character’s journey not only strengthens your novel’s conflict and internal story logic, but also means richer, more three-dimensional characters. Whether you’re a discovery writer letting your characters take the reins or hardcore plotter writing to narrative goalposts, you’ll find that understanding scene structure can be a key part of your prep process, the secret to better flashlight drafting, a gut check to guide your revision, or a tool for diagnosing story issues and beating writer’s block.
Have you ever noticed that your best writing ideas always seem to come when you’re nowhere near a keyboard? Stuck in traffic, doing the dishes, folding the laundry… if only there was a way to write hands-free! Fortunately writing with voice-to-text has never been easier or more accessible. Writing with your voice can be faster[…]
(limited to 25 people) Prerequisite: Must have a story idea you are interested in developing. Stories don’t only come from novels. We see them at the movies, on our TV screens, live on stage or in our favorite video games and comics. As novelists in the modern world, our competition for readers’ attention often isn’t[…]
Advanced Self-Publishing Aug 3- Aug 14, 2026 Hearts Through History [Forum Workshop] There’s never been a better or easier time to self-publish or be an indie author! But the market is crowded and there’s a big difference between doing it and doing it right! Author Hillary DePiano hasn’t just self-published over three dozen titles for[…]
Save the Book: A Novel Approach to Writing Cinematically Presenter: Hillary DePiano October 10, 2025 2 pm EST 90 minutes $15 (Free for RWO General Members) Unlock your creativity and conquer writer’s block in this Zoom workshop on using scriptwriting tricks to take your novel to the next level! Draw on techniques used in theatre,[…]
Hillary DePiano is a playwright, fiction and non-fiction writer who loves writing of all kinds except for writing bios like this.
