Columbia Writers' Workshop II

By Ilmars Briznieks I have been told repeatedly by agents and editors that romance writers should use only England, Ireland, Scotland, or Wa...

By Vikki Perry Bodice Rippers. Trashy Novels. Sentimental Formulaic Drivel. Bestsellers. If romance novels do anything among readers and wr...

By Laura P. Valtorta My mentor, a Jewish attorney, older than 90, five feet tall, with a hummingbird physique is planning to visit her fa...

By Deborah W. Yoho “Someone must have seen this happen,” I said out loud, staring at the tiny pellets of automobile glass scattered everywhe...

By Bonnie Stanard Years ago the play “Art” debated whether a white canvas with a horizontal black line is a work of art. For two hours the c...

By Lisa Lopez Snyder Need some fresh inspiration? Need a break from the winter blues? With a simple click of the mouse, you can be connected...

By Brian Butler Authors often ask each other what time of day they find the most productive to write. The answers always vary from early mor...

Last week the Columbia II Writers Workshop group met for a social evening. It is our custom to devise some sort of game that involves our wr...

By DiAna DiAna I suggest leaving the country, or at least the state, to discover something new—something that inspires you and peaks your in...

By Lisa Lopez Snyder The morning began with fierce cold. Nevertheless, people from the world over, bundled up in winter hats and coats, walk...

By Alex Raley When you are reading an interesting novel, do you wonder what philosophical underpinnings feed the story? I find myself deeply...

BY TIEM WILSON Well, okay, you probably shouldn’t walk up to just anyone and hug him or her. You might get punched in the face. You can, how...

By Leigh Stevenson People often ask writers where they get their inspiration and why they write. I will try to explain what it is for me. My...

By Vikki Perry I’m exhausted and invigorated at the same time. November, the National Novel Writing Month, is complete and I have a good sta...

Laura P. Valtorta At the 2008 South Carolina Writers Workshop Conference I heard from 457 different agents and publishers that a writer need...

By Meredith Kaiser In October, I went to my first writing conference and I learned the same lesson I learn every time I dive into a new envi...

By Ilmars Birznieks Fresh from academia, I was as naive about agents as a teenager is about sex. My first agent, a lady in Atlanta, sounded ...

By Ginny Padgett Writer’s block is the result of exposure to literary kryptonite. Apparently the walls of my den are lined with it! I love w...

By Beth Cotton Writers must use dialogue to advance the story and develop character. Without successful dialogue, neither of these things ha...

By Vikki Perry Tell us about your book, Once Bitten . Once Bitten is my first book and the beginning of a series following Kita Nekai, a ca...