In my email in-box Friday, I found a congratulatory message
from the program director for 2008 M&M. The programming committee selected
my proposal to teach a workshop at the conference. My workshop is entitled
“Writing the Hero’s Journey: 12 Steps to the Elixir.” M&M 2008, a major
annual conference held by the metro-Atlanta chapter of the Romance Writers of America (RWA), is scheduled for 3-5 October in Norcross, GA.

I don’t write romance, and I’m not a member of the RWA.
However, basic principles of the craft of writing apply across all genres. The
Hero’s Journey is a venerable
storytelling framework that has integrated themes, characters, conflicts, and
values for thousands of years. It’s at the heart of stories as diverse
as “Star Wars,” “Lord of the Rings,” “The Bourne Identity,” “Pretty Woman,” “G.I. Jane,” and “Blazing
Saddles.” Writers apply it to romance, science fiction, fantasy, westerns,
mystery, suspense, and comedy.

As long as I’ve been writing, I have applied the Hero’s
Journey to my manuscripts. I began studying it several years ago at my editor’s
recommendation. In January 2007, I took Mary Buckham’s month-long online course
"Plotting with the Mythic Structure: Creating Surefire Plots that
Sell" to more deeply incorporate the Hero’s Journey framework
within my own writing. By selecting my proposal for the conference, the
programming committee acknowledges the value of teaching basics to its
membership. I’m grateful and honored that the committee also acknowledges my
qualifications to teach the workshop.