Are writing prompts really useful -- or just pleasant procrastination? My short story "Get Away," freshly published in DarkWinter Literary Magazine, opens with a first-line prompt from my Tarot Prompts for Writers page: "The road lay behind him in the darkness...." I would never have come up with the story without that prompted first line.… Continue reading Writing with Prompts (New short fiction: “Get Away”)
Join me online on Saturday, January 14th at 1pm EST for a one-hour workshop on characterization: Nice is Not Enough, part of the SCBWI (Canada East) "Digging Deeper" workshop series. Here's the blurb: Nice is Not Enough: Developing Likeable and Unlikeable Characters: What makes us root for a character? How flawed can a protagonist be?… Continue reading Online Character Workshop
Keeping the focus on the subject of how to end your story, this episode features guest authors Lena Coakley, Karen Bass, Lisa Dalrymple, Ishta Mercurio, and Tim Wynne-Jones. 45 minutes. All ages. Check out the Episode 7.5 webpage for audio, show notes, and author bios.
A “telling tales” format with guest authors Marty Chan, Jeff Szpirglas, and Frieda Wishinsky. Featuring an original story with an ambiguous ending; a famous twist from Ambrose Bierce; gorgeous last lines and satisfying summations; and a story prompt about a deus ex machina. PG. 50 minutes. Check out the Episode 7 webpage for audio, show… Continue reading Just Get it Over With (Episode 7: Endings)
A “talking tales” episode -- all interviews – about how to begin a story. With guest authors Frieda Wishinsky; Sarah Raughley; Don Cummer; David McArthur; and Wendy McLeod MacKnight, speaking about their favourite first lines, their advice to young writers on how to begin, and how they began to write professionally. 45 minutes. All ages.… Continue reading Author Interviews about Beginnings (Episode 6.5)
Catherine Austen 