April 5, 2024: Renita McKinney

TOPIC TBD About Renita: Renita McKinney was born in Texas, but raised in Arkansas and Texas. As an only child, she started reading around the age of 2 and books became her best friends. The characters became her family, and she developed a love and respect for writing, reading, books, and authors. Reading developed into … Read more

Dec 14, 2024 –

Jeanette Smith on How to Edit Sticky Sentences Why do readers adore certain sentences and trip over others? It could have to do with those tricky sentences being full of glue words. In this presentation, you’ll discover what glue words are, how they make sentences “sticky,” and why unsticking them can do wonders for multiple … Read more

Dec. 14, 2024 — Jeanette Smith on How to Edit Sticky Sentences Why do readers adore certain sentences and trip over others? It could have to do with those tricky sentences being full of glue words. In this presentation, you’ll discover what glue words are, how they make sentences “sticky,” and why unsticking them can … Read more

Sept. 7, 2024 – Susan Kaye Quinn: Rummaging in the Hopepunk Bin to Freshen Up Your Stories

Hopepunk is more a vibe than a genre. Solarpunk is hopepunk’s climate-conscious cousin. Come learn about these fresh new genres, how they’re challenging the “status quo” way we tell stories with new structures like Heroine’s Journey, team casts rather than lone heroes, and radical compassion and cooperation as problem-solving techniques. Suggested readings/viewings: (optional — not required … Read more

June 1, 2024. Gail Eastwood: Great Expectations

Note: This is a change in our speaker schedule. The start of your story has to hook the reader’s interest right away. But that’s not all! Strong first chapters have to establish at least eight other story basics. Learn what those are, discuss comparative starting points and types of openings, and more. Bring some favorite … Read more