Columbia Writers' Workshop II

by DiAna DiAna Topic I try to write about something I am familiar with. It makes research much easier. My first book was about how I started...

By Alex Raley Faced with the frustrations of writing, I ask myself, "Why write?" Does anyone care that I write; aren't there ...

From Ilmars Birnieks Why do agents whine and complain about the volume of queries they receive? It's their work. If they didn't rece...

by Laura Valtorta People who have a finished screenplay should try out Virtual Pitch Fest. It's a way to send your pitches (2-3 paragrap...

by Bonnie Stanard Only in the last several years have I thought of myself as a writer. Somehow it always seemed pretentious to admit to w...

By Ginny Padgett Recently I was asked, “Who is your favorite writer?” “William Faulkner,” was my quick, word-association answer. I do think...

By Vikki Perry I’m a hack: a writer of poorly formed sentences, underdeveloped characters, and plots that make very little, if any, sense. ...

By Mike Long Columbia II Writers Workshop I don't think I've ever felt that just anyo...

By Meredith H. Kaiser Columbia II Writers Workshop One of my favorite books on writing is Parting the Curtains: Voices of the Great Southern...

By Beth Cotten Columbia II Writers Workshop Most of the following books were written in the 1980s and 1990s; a paperback edition of The Week...

By Lisa Lopez Snyder Columbia II Writers Workshop Lately I’ve been focusing on exercises to help me show rather than tell something about a ...

By Janie Kronk Columbia II Writers Workshop It was the first time walking into a library ever made me feel afraid. The feeling was incongruo...

Laura Puccia Valtorta works as an attorney in Columbia, South Carolina. She specializes in Social Security disability, employment law, and f...

When I was in college a professor encouraged me to write fiction, but I was so dense I didn’t realize it until years later. Career choices ...

I have been writing long enough to recognize a cliché, but not as long as some of the other writers in Columbia II. When we are discussing a...

From the Midwest to the Midlands The smell of freshly-cut grass always evokes stark memories for me—mornings nudging thick brown earthworms ...

I’m writing a spy novel, rather rewriting. How many times do we have to rewrite before a story is ready to go? My plot is a complicated one....

Alex is a retired educator living in Columbia, SC. He earned degrees from Troy University, University of South Carolina, and Columbia Univer...

If I didn’t write, I would probably be in a padded cell. My name is Vikki Perry and I was seven the first time that I was bitten by the ...

I’m a 58-year-old South Carolina native, married with two grown sons and have a degree in advertising and public relations from USC. I’ve wo...