To thank Rebecca Petruck for her support and writing instruction, I'm offering a copy of her debut novel, Steering Toward Normal as a giveaway on this blog. You'll find my review of this middle grade book for boys and girls here and directions for entering the giveaway below. In addition, Joyce Hostetter and I are giving… Continue reading Two Chances to Win Books + Three Writing Classes
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My most recent book is Teaching the Story: Fiction Writing in Grades 4-8. Although intended as a teacher's guide for upper elementary and middle school students, I draw upon it when I teach writing classes at Central Piedmont Community College. I was looking over this week's class on Creating a Character and found my instructions for students to… Continue reading When the Teacher Becomes the Student PLUS a Great Giveaway!
Congratulations to Linda Andersen for winning a copy of Stake Out by Bonnie Doerr. This week I am honored to be a guest blogger on Kathleen Fox's Funbrarian blog. Please mosey on over to her blog, read how librarians can encourage students' writing, and download some free handouts from my book, Teaching the Story: Fiction Writing… Continue reading This & That
Carin Siegfried, an independent editor in Charlotte, recently spoke to my CPCC fiction writing class on the editorial process. Over the next few weeks I will share answers to questions the class and I had posed. Carol: What are the different types of editing? Carin: A developmental edit primarily looks at pacing, organization, point of… Continue reading Insights into Editing: A Conversation with Carin Siegfried Part I
I am in the middle of teaching a Fiction Writing class at CPCC. Scott Kusel, a voice and film actor, has been learning how revision improves writing. In this blog he shares his observations on the writing process as well a "Before" and "After" character sketch. SCOTT'S THOUGHTS ON REVISION: I am learning that writing… Continue reading Revision Works
June is just around the corner and I want to share two places where I'm teaching. On June 12, I begin an 8-week writing workshop on the main campus of Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte. In this Fiction Writing Workshop we'll discuss character, setting, dialogue, hooking your reader, tension, endings, publishing...you name it, I hope… Continue reading Coming Up in June
I wanted to share two events on my calendar that might interest you. On March 13 I begin a 6 week class on Tuesday evenings from 6:30-8:30. Crafting Characters that Connect will meet on the main campus of Central Piedmont Community College. The course focuses on the basic principles involved in writing compelling, three-dimensional characters for short and long… Continue reading Upcoming Events
Today, in preparation for the class I am teaching at Central Piedmont Community College, I am thinking about what makes a memorable antagonist. All writers are tempted to create absolutely good protagonists or absolutely evil antagonists. But as Robin Hemley points out in Creating Fiction, "Most people are neither all good nor all bad, and… Continue reading Creating Mr. Bad Guy
Do you know who this character is and what book made her famous? "Of course, she knew that married people occupied the same bed but she had never given the matter a thought before. It seemed very natural in the case of her mother and father, but she had never applied it to herself. Now… Continue reading Creating Memorable Characters