Columbia Writers' Workshop II

By Shaun McCoy If you're reading this, ironically, you're probably a writer. I've got to tell you, my brothers and sister...

By Amanda Simays Some people can start typing the beginning of a story and write all the way through until the end. I am not one of th...

By Chris Mathews One important way to put more drama in your writing is to understand the language of drama, dialogue.  Fiction and non...

By Ginny Padgett This year I am the Conference Chair for the SCWW Conference. For those of you who don’t know, the SCWW Conference has a...

By Kim Byer Betty Edwards, author of Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain , teaches her art students to turn photographs upside down in ...

By Kimberly Johnson  Axl Rose…grow up, man. For those who don’t know, Axl Rose refused to be a part of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’...

By Bonnie Stanard If you’re writing short stories and poetry and getting wholesale rejections, you can take only so much comfort in knowing ...

By Fred Fields Experience is the best teacher. It doesn't have to be your own, and anybody's experience can qualify. That's why ...

By Laura P. Valtorta The filming of the boxing documentary is indescribable. It’s living one of my dreams. I can’t sleep very well because I...

By Chris Mathews As a drama teacher and part-time playwright for thirty-two years, I believe dramatic concepts can be applied to other genre...

By Kim Byer I’ve spent most of my weekend changing a closet filled with turtlenecks and boots into one filled with tunics and sandals. This ...

By Amanda Simays My parents are moving out of the house they’ve lived in for twenty years. Which of my belongings do I discard, and which do...

By Fred Fields Standard advice to a writer is to write about what we know. A familiar event in all our lives is the death of a friend or fam...

By Kimberly Johnson Dear Regis, I miss you, man. I miss our morning chit chat sessions. First with Kathie Lee, then with Kelly. I miss our t...

By Ginny Padgett I’ve been perusing the November/December, 2011 issue of Poets & Writers magazine. I am astonished to find the numerous ...

By Deborah Wright Yoho People we know spark a writer's passion. My mother has been a puzzle to me since earliest childhood. Her name was...

By Tiem Wilson Okay, a show of hands…how many adults enjoy reading children’s literature? I’m talking not just Harry Potter or the Twilight ...

By Bonnie Stanard Currently I’m on page 425 of Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, a 532-page book that has been critically acclaimed and won the M...

By Michelle Gwynn Jones Not all novels require the presence of a villain, but a story can’t have a hero unless there is someone, or somethin...

By Kimberly Johnson The other night, I munched on Kung Pao Chicken from a local Chinese place. I like chicken. I like chopsticks. Between yo...