There’s something magic in cracking the cover on a brand new book—for you Kindle folks make that tapping a finger. Books become our best friends, trusted advisors, time machines and tickets to better places and times. Some of us are so in love with the whole book thing that we actually want to write one. Or, a few. Or, a few hundred. Enter the Florida Writers Conference. For a few days in October, we book lovers and would-be writers get to “crack the … Read More »

Once upon a time, I was a lot younger and a lot smarter than I am now. Rules of writing in viewpoint? Ha! I didn’t need lessons from all those tedious how-to-write books. My natural talent would carry the day, my written words would sing, and my genius would shine through. Oh well. Live and learn. I did, the hard way. At least I hope I did. Years later, in 2009, I was thrilled to win a first-place Royal Palm Literary Award … Read More »

The Florida Writer Association’s 2015 mini-conference season is over, but while you’re anxiously waiting for the Annual Florida Writers Conference in October, check out FWA’s webinar schedule. Yes, that’s right! FWA is now offering webinars that you can join from the comfort of your living room or in front of your pool. Hone your skills through sessions with award-winning authors, top agents, and marketing/publishing experts. The first webinar is on August 15th from 11:00 am to 12 noon. Molli Nickell, former … Read More »

Another fabulous contest produced sixty winning authors bound for our seventh edition of FWA’s Collection – Revisions: Stories of Starting Over. Increasing the length of the contest from three-and-a-half months to four months, January 1st through April 30th, resulted in a total of 176 entries. This year 131 authors sent in one entry and 46 authors sent in two. Woohoo! We had ten poems entered into the contest. We are excited and pleased to announce two new records achieved in this year’s collection contest. … Read More »

It was with some hesitation that I volunteered to take over for the St. Pete Writers Group in January 2015. Observing other leaders fearlessly advance their Florida Writers Association Writers Groups with clever ideas, a seemingly endless resource of quality speakers, and high meeting turnouts made me wonder if I was cut out to be a Writers Group Leader. As a critique group leader, it’s a different set of challenges, but a fairly simple process. In my mind, nothing compared to … Read More »

Backstory is such a juicy element of story, it’s too bad it’s got such a bad rap. Sure, it can fill a plot hole, juice up a reveal, give us an “aha!” moment. Think of Faye Dunaway in Chinatown, “She’s my daughter, she’s my sister, she’s my daughter and my sister.” A single line of dialogue that changes everything. A great backstory, including that one, presents us with the heart of the matter. We know that having a big opening can grab our … Read More »