Act One: Elements of Story

The latest WINE AND WRITING WISDOM video is now available and it’s one you don’t want to miss. We continue the discussion on the importance of recognizing and applying structural elements into our writing. We explore the set up, the inciting incident and the doorway of no return. If you enjoy the video, leave me […]

Imaginarium 2018

I’ve got great news! If you’ve never heard of the Imaginarium Convention, stop and Google now! This conference, held annually in Louisville KY, may be the literary world’s best kept secret. Fans, writers and filmmakers of Sci-Fi, Fantasy are in heaven but it’s not just limited to this genre. I found my niche as a […]

Writing Competitions: Not for the faint of heart

  Most of you are probably thinking I’m referring to entering a writing competition. But no, this post is about coordinating a writing competition. I belong to a writing group, Malice in Memphis, a local mystery writers group, whose number one mission is to foster an environment where writers develop their craft. My naïve self […]

The Call to Adventure

Throw your characters right in the middle of the action. Don’t keep your readers waiting. While I get the point, the advice is trying to steer new writings against Dark and Stormy Night openings, if we take this advice literally, we lose readers. If we open with car chases, explosions, violent death . . . […]

Perfecting the Opening

Last week, on the Malice in Memphis blog, we introduced the 2018 Hit Me With Your Best Shot writing competition.  The post provided helpful hints and some Do’s to writing a compelling opening. This week, I want to focus on a few of the common Don’ts. The opening paragraphs, the opening pages should be an […]

Suite T Guest Appearance

I’m so excited to be a guest today at Southern Writers Magazine Suite T blog, talking about writing compelling openings and the 2018 Hit Me With Your Best Shot Writing Competition. Hop on over for some Suite T and leave a comment to let me know you were there. See y’all!