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. 12, 2026 – Linda McHenry: How Writers Can use Scrivener to be More Productive AND Creative
Regardless of a writer’s preferences and talents, each of us uses a combination of organizational skills to produce the materials we write. Scrivener is a tool that simultaneously stimulates our productivity AND imagination.
Some writers only use a few of its features; others embrace a wealth of the software’s components. In this presentation, Linda shares how Scrivener has improved her writing–from crafting fiction to developing and writing continuing education textbooks.
In the first half hour, she’ll show actual Scrivener projects for crafting a novel, maintaining research material and resources, and keeping the members-only content of her website organized. During this process, she’ll demonstrate the features she uses most often and how they work. She’ll complete the presentation by opening the conversation to questions from attendees.
Throughout, Linda will share her Scrivener projects in the Zoom presentation so attendees can watch the software in action.
Speaker’s Bio:
The foundation of Linda’s success is her ability to weave various areas of expertise into a tapestry of community and collective learning.
She has published a mystery novel, a business book, numerous magazine articles, a monthly newspaper column, and hundreds of educational texts in the insurance industry. Today, she uses that professional writing experience to focus on writer collaboration with authors all types (including novelists, essayists, and technical writers) to help strengthen their craft and build their own publishing careers.
Linda’s extensive background in the insurance industry as an agency owner and licensed producer allows her to bring real-life experience to her writing, teaching, and consulting. Through her specialized insurance career mentoring, she helps the next generation of professionals navigate the complexities of the industry and transition toward independence.
In all she does, Linda tells stories–she doesn’t lecture–and enjoys a reputation for actively engaging her audience, whether in a live or virtual setting.
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 1:15/1:30
Fall Schedule, 2026 (speakers TBA):
September 12 (Labor Day is Sept 6): Linda McHenry
October 3 – Maggie Cooper, Agents
November 7 – Julie Duffy
December 5 – Lisette C. Giroux
Winter/Spring Schedule 2027:
January 9 – Roundtable
February 5-6 – TBA(Retreat, separate registration)
March 6 – TBA
April 3– TBA
May 1 – TBA
June 5 – Roundtable, election