The Anson County Writers’ Club, South Piedmont Community College, and the Carolina Romance Writers teamed up to present the Carolina Writers’ Conference on Saturday 4 April at the Lockhart-Taylor Center in Wadesboro, NC. For their first conference, they did a … Continue reading
Category Archives: Workshops and conferences
During March, I took an online course taught by Margie Lawson. “Empowering Characters’ Emotions” is designed to help a writer add psychological power to her writing, improve the pacing, and hook the reader viscerally. Here are the highlights: Basics of … Continue reading
Here’s a fun little slice of history. In early 1781, General Nathanael Greene and his army retreated across the Dan River into Virginia ahead of the pursuing Crown forces in North Carolina commanded by Charles, Lord Cornwallis. The famous “Race … Continue reading
This week’s assignment for Kris Neri’s class is writing the dust jacket blurb. In her lecture, Kris gives a number of examples and points out that all good blurbs contain the following elements: Introduction Triggering action Complication Hook Here’s the … Continue reading
Q1 2009, I’m writing the first draft of Regulated for Murder, book five of my series. I’m also taking two online courses and participating in the Chocolate Challenge. Kris Neri’s online course runs through the end of February. “Mystery and … Continue reading
The Southeast chapter of Mystery Writers of America (SEMWA), the Triad chapter of Sisters in Crime (Murder We Write), and the Writers’ Group of the Triad united efforts to sponsor a free, one-day writers’ workshop Saturday 18 October at the … Continue reading
Come on, you know Mary, right? She’s the author of several novels, and she teaches outstanding workshops, online and in person. I was Grasshopper for her online workshop January 2007, “Plotting with the Mythic Structure,” aka the Hero’s Journey, and … Continue reading
Herein begins the four-day adventure of a mystery/suspense author in the World of Romance. Before I left Raleigh on Thursday 2 October to head for Norcross, GA (metro-Atlanta) and the Moonlight & Magnolias conference, I’d been forewarned that there was … Continue reading
For most writers on the get-published track, a huge hurdle is pitching a book concept and obtaining buy-in from an agent or editor. The art of pitching is so in-demand as a topic that writers conferences often provide attendees the … Continue reading
Saturday dawned early. Too early. What was amazing was how wide-awake and sensational Anna DeStefano looked while welcoming the crowd of hundreds during the continental breakfast. I’m a morning person, but I don’t look sensational in the morning, you know? … Continue reading