The club will be meeting on Jan 10, 2026 at 9:00 AM Pacific Time via Zoom.

Speaker Amy Z. Chan begins at 10:00 AM PT.

The Keys to Kissing Stories with Kishōtenketsu 

An Introduction and Practical Guide for Romance Writers 

An introduction to the no-conflict story structure behind popular manga, anime, video games and East Asian Dramas tailored for romance writers writing in markets more accustomed to equating conflict as story. Learn to identify and utilize this no-conflict-necessary story structure with examples drawn from globally popular multimedia examples (film, manga/anime, etc). Expand your concept of story and add to your writer’s toolbox by learning how to use this structure as a tool for planning, plotting, and revising stories plotted to a more traditional three-act structure and to Gwen Hayes’s Romancing the Beat.

About the Speaker

Amy Z. Chan has had too many pen names. A graduate of Vassar and Clarion West, she once was a reviewer for Publishers Weekly. Under previous indie author pen names, she has spoken on marketing at Clarion West, Romance Mastermind, and many ex-chapters of RWAs. A pandemic author existential crisis led her to rebranding under this new name to pursue traditional publishing. She now writes romcoms and fantasy and gives talks on kishōtenketsu, Asian dramas, and writing with the female gaze. She is represented by Hillary Fazzari at Bradford Literary and is also one of the current Authors Guild Ambassadors for the San Francisco Bay Area.

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