The club will be meeting on Apr 11, 2026 at 9:00 AM Pacific Time via Zoom.
Speaker Megan Landon begins at 10:00 AM PT.
Words carry power, from intensely plosive to subtly seductive. Once writers finish peopling, plotting, and pacing their stories, the nuanced work begins. That’s when we narrow our focus to consider the physical shape, semantic detail, and sensual impressions of words in polishing our literary darlings. Long and short stories, fiction and non-, all need to be slashed, smoothed, and stroked.
In The Allure of Words, we explore why each word should have a reason for being on the page. This workshop serves both novice and veteran writers. Newbies will acquire tools to tighten their prose, while seasoned wordsmiths refresh their knowledge of the subtle techniques that make language pop.
Content warning: This talk focuses on the sensuality of language in romance and erotic storytelling. Attendees should be aware that the examples include swear words, spicy language, and explicit descriptions. A PDF will be available with detailed notes.
About the Speaker
Megan Landon is an award winning, Austin-based writer of fantasy and sci-fi romance and erotica. She holds a Ph.D. in linguistics, and her intricately woven stories are inspired by nature, science, language, her Colombian and Dutch roots, her linguistic training, and magic. She enjoys exploring the complexities that live in the spaces between light and dark, magic and reality, and truth and fiction. She believes this all started in the womb when her mom was binging Dark Shadow comic books.
Megan's flash fiction has appeared in Bust Magazine, and she is a regular collaborator with the Erotica Consortium. Her short stories and novellas have been recognized by the Seattle Erotic Arts Foundation 2025, the Passionate Plume 2024 and 2025, All the Filthy Details podcast 2024, the PF&F Prism Contest 2025, and the Golden Pigtails 2023 and 2024.
TO ATTEND THIS MEETING
For BARW members in good standing, the meeting registration link can be found in our groups.io forum.
Non-members: Sign up here for $20