The 2024 Romance Writers of Australia Trope Actually conference was held in Glenelg, Adelaide from Friday 16th to Sunday 18th August, and what a fabulous conference it was!
Writers from all over Australia and other countries attended, and the atmosphere was alive with excitement as we mingled, caught up with old friends and made new connections.
There was a book signing event, the Trope Actually cocktail party, the key note speakers - B.J. Daniels, Elana Johnson, and Christina Lauren duo. Concurrent workshops ran on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday night was the Gala Awards dinner, and pitching to publishers and agents.
Selina at the 2024 Trope Actually RWA Conference held in Adelaide.
Each speaker shared their insights on writing romance and took us deep into their creative worlds.
One of the highlights was the keynote speech by Elana Johnson, who spoke about how we can use romantic fiction to explore and confront the human condition. She encouraged writers to see the hope they bring to readers through their stories of love, and made the point that both the writer and the reader can experience healing through romance stories. I don't think there was a dry eye in the audience when Elana finished her presentation, and I think many of us felt a deep emotional connection and resonance with her insights.
I Don't Just Write Kissing Books presentation by Elana Johnson, 2024 Trope Actually RWA Conference.
Elana Johnson presenting 'I Don't Just Write Kissing Books' at the Trope Actually 2024 RWA conference.
One of my favourite romantic suspense authors,
B. J. Daniels taught a workshop titled, Suspenseful Seduction. Here are some of B.J. Daniels' top tips:
- being mindful that a romantic suspense is 50% romance, 50% suspense.
- don't open a romantic suspense story with a love scene unless one of the characters gets killed.
- think about who will die in the story and why - this is important for weaving suspect motivations and especially important to the big reveal at the climax of the story. Knowing this early in writing the draft helps with foreshadowing, planting clues and red herrings to misdirect the sleuths/detectives in the story.
- find a setting that inspires you as a writer and let that inspiration filter through your story because setting can be as much of a character as the characters themselves.
Selina with B.J. Daniels at the Trope Actually RWA conference 2024 book signing event
I attended the Trope Actually Cocktail party as a runaway bride, and it was fantastic meeting up with so many other romance writers who I've met online.
My advice is don't be afraid to attend a RWA conference. They are extremely friendly and supportive. Every year, they have a newbies group and first time attendees are well cared for.
No-one is left alone and many seasoned authors will chat with you about writing.
You'll be surprised at all the connections you can make when attending a RWA conference.
Selfie of Selina dressed as a runaway bride at the 2024 Trope Actually RWA cocktail party.
When you attend a RWA conference, you'll be filled up and overflowing with information, tips, tricks and ideas for your romance fiction. All sub-genres are welcome, and I've found it to be one of the most nurturing writing communities I've come across.
I'll leave you with some key messages that resonated for me both as a fiction writer and as a fiction coach:
- Careers in writing fiction are filled with peaks and valleys. Remember, you can only control the writing of the book. You can't control anything else apart from your mindset/attitude and response to the ups and downs of writing and publishing.
- Lean into your super power, for example, if you can write fast, then write fast and leverage that power, but maybe your super power is in marketing or story structure. Whatever it is, leverage it and make friends with like-minded writers. Find your community and give each other a hand up along the way.
- Doubts are perfectly normal. Remember why you're writing and know that not everyone will like your story. That's okay. You can find your readers. Keep persevering.
- Read to learn and grow as a writer. Always lift your peers up rather than allowing professional jealousy or resentment take root.
- Be in writing books for the long race. Don't give up. There'll be bumps in the road but if you have a community of like-minded writers around you, you'll have the support to keep going. You've got this!
- Remember that romance is a genre of hope and love. Our characters are flawed, filled with pain and conflict, and as we both write and read about their journey to find love, we too can heal parts of ourselves. Romance has the emotional power to touch people's lives in a positive way.
Until next time, happy writing!
