If you are in the Greenville or Easley area, I'm teaching one adult class and two writing camps for kids and would like you (or your child) to join me! FICTION 102 Are you interested in strengthening your writing skills and developing tools to write compelling fiction? Join me at Joe's Place in Greenville, SC from 5:30-7… Continue reading Summer Writing Classes
I'm pleased to announce three writing classes beginning in March; one at the Bobby Pearse Community Center in Greenville, and two at the Fine Arts Center of Easley. GREENVILLE, SC Fiction 101 is geared towards the serious adult or young adult who has dreamed of writing fiction but didn’t have the tools to pursue that goal.… Continue reading Upcoming Writing Classes
The kids are back in school and now it's time for you to take a class too! If you're in upstate South Carolina, I'd love it if you could join me for any of the following workshops sponsored by EMRYS. September 23. A Fast Blast Intro to Writing Short Stories and Novels- Part I. Joe's Place,… Continue reading Fall Writing Classes
Congratulations to Sandra Warren who won "JUST FLY AWAY" from last week's giveaway. ******** Some of you have seen my previous blogs about how I'm getting involved in the arts community in my new hometown, Greenville, SC. Today you'll get a glimpse into an amazing arts integration program sponsored by the Metropolitan Arts Council. When I… Continue reading SmartARTS: Art Integration in Greenville, SC
Some of you may remember that last summer I volunteered at the Explore the Arts camp in Greenville, SC. I was thrilled when the camp's director, Donna Shanks-Major, asked me to teach the creative writing class this year. I had two classes: the first one consisted of eleven 6th-8th graders who wrote and published a camp blog.… Continue reading Creative Writing at Explore the Arts
For the last eight weeks I have had the privilege of teaching fiction to nine talented teens. When I found out that one student, Sydney Kirsch, was gearing up for NaNoWriMo, I suggested she write about her experience for my blog. Sydney emailed me this post ahead of the due date and I commended her… Continue reading Meet Sydney Kirsch: A Teen Tackling NaNoWriMo– Part I
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
Normal 0 false false false EN-US JA X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} With all respect to the Beatles, I have found that more than love, writers really need PAIN in their lives.… Continue reading All You Need is Pain
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!
Did you ever think there were this many common editing problems? In this ongoing series, Carin Siegfried continues to outline other problems she encounters as an independent editor. Show vs. Tell There are 3 different aspects to this phrase. 1. Do not use too many metaphors and overly flowery writing. A novel is not about showing off your… Continue reading Insights into Editing: A Conversation with Carin Siegfried Part IV