RIRW exists to promote excellence in women’s and popular fiction, to help writers become published and build careers in their writing field, and to provide continuing support for writers within the women’s and popular fiction publishing industry. Formed in 1983 as a Romance Writers of America chapter, we disaffiliated in 1988. We are an independent, nonprofit organization in Rhode Island.
If you are serious about writing popular fiction, we invite you to join us! Click here to see membership benefits.
We welcome everyone, without regard to race, color, national origin, disability, religion, cultural identity, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, physical appearance, or any other identity distinction. Furthermore, we recognize that because racism, homophobia, and other forms of bias are systemic in our national culture, people from marginalized communities continue to be denied advancement in our industry. RIRW strives to address this by raising awareness within our membership and increasing our efforts to attract members from a variety of backgrounds to enrich our community of writers.
We meet from September to June on the first Saturday of the month (except for February, when we hold our annual retreat). Because of holidays and/or other conflicts, the date or venue may change (scroll down to see list of dates). We will announce changes here on our home page. We do meetings via ZOOM.
Check us out on our public Facebook page (click here!)
Sept. 6, 2025 — Kimberly Kessler: The Story Plots Itself
Using your characters to unlock the plot.
Struggling to fix your plot? Start with your character.
In this session, we’ll explore how your protagonist’s specific desire on page one contains the seeds of your entire story arc. When you understand who they are and what they want most, your plot begins to emerge naturally—from the path of greatest resistance.
We’ll reframe plot not as a sequence of “what happens,” but as a direct expression of character-in-motion. You’ll learn how to reverse-engineer a satisfying narrative by using character transformation as your story’s internal GPS. You’ll walk away with:
- A fresh, character-first framework for plot and structure
- Clarity on how your character’s internal arc generates external events
- Worksheet to spot (and fix) plot problems by tracing them back to character
Get unstuck, stop forcing plot points, and learn how to let the story plot itself.
Speaker’s Bio: Kimberly Kessler is a story structure expert who helps writers interpret their characters’ motivations to craft authentic, meaningful transformations. She wants every writer to know: structure isn’t a straitjacket—it’s creative freedom, giving you the power to communicate what matters most.
Using her game-inspired systems—like Novel Pursuit and Story Sudoku—Kim helps high-masking neurodivergent writers (like herself) crack their stories wide open. When they see their stories with fresh clarity, they can’t help but fall back in love with writing it. From there, Kim coaches them through their nervous system’s unique creative process so they can weave real transformation into every scene.
If what you’ve been trying isn’t working—and only makes you feel like sh!t—it’s time to try something radically different. Like being yourself.
Embark on your Novel Pursuit at kimberlykessler.com.
Note: We welcome Visitors for up to two regular meetings before you need to join. If you want to check us out, please send us a message by NOON on Friday (day before meeting) and we’ll send you a ZOOM link. Come join your fellow writers for a free-ranging discussion!
For regular meetings, we gather to chat at noon; Meeting starts at 12:30, with workshops starting about 1:30
Fall Schedule, 2025:
September 6 – Kimberly Kessler
October 4 – Kristina Stanley
November 1 – Daniel David Wallace: POV Shift Execution
December 13 (ARIA Expo is Dec 6) – Rebekah Manley: DIY Publicity
Winter/Spring Schedule 2026:
January 3 – Roundtable?
February 6-7 – TBA(Retreat, separate registration)
March 7 – Moniquill Blackgoose: Interview
April 11 – Rebekah Manley: “Mentor-shipping”: Work with an intern
May 2 – TBA
June 6 – TBA