On Saturday, I was able to attend a writers workshop put on by Chris Wilk. Â The focus of the workshop was GMC(R) – or Goals, Motivation, Conflict and Resolution.
Taken from the workshop handout:
At the heart of every story are the goals and motivations of its characters, what they want and why. Â Conflict ensues when obstacles, setbacks and antagonists thwart their efforts. Â GMC is the bedrock for plot. Â In the end, characters achieve or fail, and are often changed, which adds the “R” — resolution to the GMC(R). Â
My current WIP has given me a bit of trouble and this is where the workshop helped. Â As I thought about my main character – about what makes her tick – I realized that I didn’t really know her. Â I’ve spent plenty of time putting her in awkward situations but I didn’t make the effort to get inside her head, to learn about what motivates her. Â That was a mistake – one that I am working to rectify.
This is why I love workshops and conferences – they give me an opportunity to learn, to step back and identify an area that can use some improvement.
As 2016 is right around the corner, I’ve added a couple of conferences to my calendar.
Book ‘Em North Carolina will be held:  Saturday, February 27, 2016 at Robeson Community College in Lumberton, North Carolina.  It’s Free and open to the public.Â
Carolina Writers Conference will be held: Â April 26, 2016 at Lockhart-Taylor Center in Wadesboro, North Carolina. There is a charge for this conference but it is nominal. Â If my memory serves me right, last year it was $20 or $25 and included a catered lunch – which was delicious!
For many people, attending a conference isn’t possible. Â If that’s you, there are online options that cost nothing but a click and your time. Â I have found the sites listed below to be very informative.
The Insecure Writers Support Group
Do you have a favorite site/blog that offers writing tips/resources? Â If so, please comment.
Welcome to today’s stop on the Blessed Are Those That Mourn Virtual Book Tour – Hosted by Reading Addiction Virtual Book Tours.
Without further ado, let me introduce author, Kristi Belcamino. 
Tell us a little about yourself.
I’m a newspaper reporter, crime fiction writer and Italian mama who bakes a tasty biscotti!
Each writer has their own rituals – some listen to music while others drink coffee. Â What do you do to bring on your muse?
I must have caffeine – usually a double espresso when I sit down to write. Other than that, I need a spot for my laptop and I’m good to go.
How important are names to you in your books? Do you choose the names based on their meaning or because you like how it sounds? What other things do you consider when naming your characters?
Names are very important to me. Before my first Gabriella Giovanni book was published, I was devastated to get a cease and desist order from a handbag company that was named Gabriella Giovanni! Luckily, the company’s claim (or concern) that it’s customers might be confused by the same name wasn’t a valid argument. Hard to mix up a fictional character with a handbag, right?
Thinking about your latest novel:Â If one of the supporting characters could step off the page and join you for lunch, which would you choose and why?
Chris Lopez. He’s the most badass newspaper photographer who ever lived! I love the guy!
Writers tend to spend a lot of time alone.  When it comes to socializing, do you prefer a small group of close friends or large and rowdy party?
I love throwing small intimate dinner parties. If I have to attend a party, I am the one off in the corner having a deep conversation with one other person.
Which would you prefer: Hiking/Camping  or  Dinner/Movie
Dinner and movie. I got all the hiking/camping out of  my system as a kid growing up in Northern California.
Everyone dreams but not everyone remembers their dreams. Do you remember your dreams and have they ever inspired a story or a scene in a story?
I remember my dreams, but they haven’t inspired a story. However, I have woken in the middle of the night with a breakthrough idea for my current novel. It’s why I keep a pen and paper on my nightstand.
At the end of your life, when it is all said and done, what would you want your tombstone to read?
Her family was her everything.
About her novel:Â 
San Francisco Bay Area reporter Gabriella Giovanni has finally got it all together: a devoted and loving boyfriend, Detective Sean Donovan; a beautiful little girl with him; and her dream job as the cops’ reporter for the Bay Herald. But her success has been hard-won and has left her with debilitating paranoia. When a string of young co-eds starts to show up dead with suspicious Biblical verses left on their bodies—the same verses that the man she suspects kidnapped and murdered her sister twenty years ago had sent to her—she begins to question if the killer is trying to send her a message.
It is not until evil strikes Gabriella’s own family that her worst fears are confirmed. As the clock begins to tick, every passing hour means the difference between life and death to those Gabriella loves…
Author Bio:
Kristi Belcamino is a writer, photographer, and artist. In her former life as a newspaper crime reporter in California, she flew over Big Sur in an FA-18 jet with the Blue Angels, raced a Dodge Viper at Laguna Seca, watched autopsies, and interviewed serial killers. She is now a journalist based in Minneapolis and the Gabriella Giovanni mysteries are her first books. Find Kristi on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/kristibelcaminowriter or on Twitter @KristiBelcamino
Contact Information
Website: http://www.kristibelcamino.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kristibelcaminowriter
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kristibelcamino
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Purchase Links
Amazon:Â http://www.amazon.com/Blessed-are-Those-Who-Mourn-ebook/dp/B00SG1ELNW/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/?ean=9780062389428&cm_mmc=AFFILIATES-_-Linkshare-_-MdXm68JZJz8-_-10:1
HarperCollins: http://www.harpercollins.com/9780062389428/blessed-are-those-who-mourn
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My writing group is pretty informal – we don’t have officers or go over the minutes of previous meetings. Â Â Instead, we get together for lunch, talk about our current projects, and discuss things like our latest marketing efforts. Â In September, we decided to change things up by taking a trip to an arboretum, bringing only paper and pen.
After a few minutes of “sharing,” we split up – each wandering through the gardens and the paths of our own imagination.
It was overcast with a passing sprinkle or two, a comfortable 72 degrees – perfect writing weather.
I thought I had found the perfect spot to write – a picnic table under a gazebo. Â I scratched out a few lines and after a moment, I moved to another location. Â It was there, sitting in an Adirondack chair that I met Grace.
Dropping the garden rake, she placed her hands on the small of her back and stretched as rain drops lightly fell around her. Â June had been unusually hot and dry. Â Grace refused to run inside. Â She thought it a sacrilege not to bathe in the prayed for precipitation, to not revel in the glorious wetness.
The clouds thickened, the droplets fell harder, faster. Â A low rumble signaled this would be no passing shower. Â This would be an electrical frenzy – a clashing of the elements.
The wind shifted. Â The trees found their rhythm, swaying to some mystical music. Â Grace closed her eyes, raised her hands into the air until she too, found the melody. Â she rocked to and fro, and as the storm increased in intensity, so did her movements. Â She danced – twirling like a tornado. Â A laugh erupted from deep inside as lightning crackled across the sky.
It was then he saw her – this beautiful madwoman embracing the storm – and the fairy prince knew she would be his.
dsmcknight.com 