Upcoming Meetings

Not a WRW member? You can still join us! Many WRW programs and events are open to non-members for a small registration fee. Check individual event listings for non-member availability and pricing.

AUGUST

WRW Plotting by the Pool

Date: Tentatively Saturday, August 22 | 3-7 PM
Location: Michelle Willingham's home (Check our private Groups.io for address)

Join your fellow WRW members for an afternoon by the pool to do all the plotting!

WRW Board Meeting: August 3 | 7:30 PM on Zoom — All members are welcome to join.

SEPTEMBER

Welcome to Canva: The 20% You'll Use 80% of the Time

Presenter: Skye Knight

Date: Monday, September 14
Time: 7pm
Location: Zoom

New to Canva? This beginner-friendly session will introduce the tools authors use most often to create professional-looking graphics for social media, newsletters, presentations, and more. You'll leave with practical tips and the confidence to start designing on your own.

Skye Knight is a romance author and former National Geographic executive with more than 15 years of experience in marketing, digital strategy, and audience development. She now runs her own author business and serves as Communications Director for Washington Romance Writers, where she enjoys helping authors make technology a little less intimidating.

Annual General Meeting & Writing Workshop

Presenter: Golden Angel

Topics: Writing Steamy Scenes that Stick and Writing A World Readers Keep Coming Back To

Date: Saturday, September 26
Time: 10:00 AM–4:00 PM
Location: Hybrid | on-site location TBD

Spend the day with bestselling author Golden Angel as she explores how to write compelling, emotionally resonant love scenes that deepen character and advance plot—not just raise the temperature. Golden will also share insights from her own publishing journey.

Golden Angel is a USA Today bestselling author of heart and bottom warming romance. Publishing since 2012, she's now a full-time, six-figure romance author who is known for dispensing publishing and authoring tips on Tiktok and Substack. Former Vice President of the Maryland Romance Writers, she has given presentations and run roundtables on marketing, publishing, and craft to a variety of writers including InkersCon, Romance Author Mastermind, the Write Women's Festival, the Romance Writers of America, Regency Fiction Writers, etc. When she's not behind her computer or a book, she can be found wandering the grounds of the Maryland Renaissance Festival.

We'll also hold WRW's Annual General Meeting and conclude the day with a hands-on Canva Clinic designed to help members create polished graphics for newsletters, social media, and promotional materials.

Schedule

• 9:30–10:00 — Attendee arrival window and chat time
• 10:00–10:45 — WRW Annual General Meeting
• 11-11:50 — Golden Angel: Writing Steamy Scenes that Stick
• Noon –1:25 — Lunch Break
• 1:30–2:20 — Golden Angel: Writing a World Readers Keep Coming Back to
• 2:30–4:00 — Canva Clinic (Tutoring and Work Session — bring your laptop, and we'll put Skye's lessons to good use!)

OCTOBER

How to Write Like a Unicorn

Presenter: Grace Burrowes

Date: Sunday, October 18
Time: 2:00–4:00 PM
Location: TBD

How to Write Like a Unicorn

Once upon a time, an acquiring editor was asked—at a WRW retreat!—what single factor she found most often responsible for manuscripts ending up in the slush pile. The editor thought for a moment and then explained that there was nothing specifically wrong with most of those unsuccessful submissions. They were clean, devoid of protracted backstory dumps, grammatically correct, structurally sound, sensory details in place, not too passive, not too filtered, but they just did... not... sparkle.

Grace Burrowes delights in analyzing how storytelling acquires sparkle. In this two-hour live/webinar presentation, she will pass along a dozen simple, specific techniques that lift prose from competent to captivating. Whether you are pre-published or have been enjoying the writing gig for years, you'll leave with insights, tips, and tools to immediately up your prose game in the best possible way.

About Grace Burrowes

Grace Burrowes loves to write and to discuss writing, publishing, and the writer's life. She has penned more than one hundred titles, including Regency, Victorian, and contemporary romances, as well as Regency mysteries, many of which have hit the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists. Her books have been both traditionally and independently published. She is a former child welfare attorney, a certified therapeutic riding instructor, an avid flower gardener, and an appreciator of good dark chocolate. Learn more at graceburrowes.com.

WRW Board Meeting: October 5 | 7:30 PM on Zoom — All members are welcome to join.

NOVEMBER

Meetup November: Connect with Your Writing Community

Throughout November, members will have multiple opportunities to connect through both in-person gatherings and Zoom sessions.

We'll kick things off with an in-person meetup early in the month, followed by additional virtual programming.

Also coming this month:

A special Zoom presentation spotlighting a popular writer-assistant platform such as AutoCrit, Vellum, or Publisher Rocket.

WRW Board Meeting: November 2 | 7:30 PM on Zoom — All members are welcome to join.

DECEMBER

Holiday Party

Date: Sunday, December 6
Time: 11:00 AM–3:00 PM
Location: TBD

Celebrate another wonderful writing year with your WRW friends! Join us for food, fellowship, holiday cheer, and plenty of opportunities to connect before we head into the new year.

WRW Board Meeting: December 7 | 7:30 PM on Zoom — All members are welcome to join.

JANUARY

15K Writing Challenge

Start the new year strong by joining WRW's annual online writing challenge. Whether you're writing every day or squeezing in words whenever you can, this challenge is designed to keep you accountable and motivated.

Also coming this month:

A Zoom spotlight featuring a popular writer-assistant platform.

WRW Board Meeting: January 4 | 7:30 PM on Zoom — All members are welcome to join.

FEBRUARY

Mid-Atlantic Writers Conference

Date: February 6–8

Join WRW and fellow writers from across the region for the Mid-Atlantic Writers Conference at Randolph-Macon College.

Additional details and registration information will be posted as they become available.

WRW Board Meeting: February 1 | 7:30 PM on Zoom — All members are welcome to join.

MARCH

Monthly Meeting

Date: Saturday, March 6
Time: 10:00 AM–4:00 PM

Topic to be announced.

Also this month: a Zoom spotlight on another writer-assistant platform.

WRW Board Meeting: March 1 | 7:30 PM on Zoom — All members are welcome to join.

APRIL

Monthly Meeting

Date: Sunday, April 18
Time: 2:00–4:00 PM

Topic to be announced.

WRW Board Meeting: April 5 | 7:30 PM on Zoom — All members are welcome to join.

MAY

Monthly Meeting

Date: Saturday, May 1
Time: 10:00 AM–4:00 PM

Topic to be announced.

Also this month: a Zoom spotlight on another writer-assistant platform.

WRW Board Meeting: May 3 | 7:30 PM on Zoom — All members are welcome to join.

JUNE

Annual Potluck Picnic

Date: Saturday, June 12
Time: Noon–3:00 PM

Wrap up the WRW year with one of our favorite traditions! Join fellow members for an afternoon of good food, great conversation, and celebration of another year of writing together.

WRW Visioning Retreat (Board): Sunday, June 6 | 11:00 AM–2:00 PM