Dallas Book Diva

ATTENTION WRITERS AND AUTHORS!

Next week on INSIDE THE WRITER'S CAFE we will dedicate the show to those of you who want to be published and don't know where to start.

Jodi Thomas will be our guest. She is the Writer in Residence at West Texas A & M University in Canyon, Texas. Jodi and I will be giving you information about the WRITER'S ACADEMY 2010: WRITING TO SELL FICTION: The Facts About Fiction. We discuss the five classes, the instructors and how the Writer's Academy is different from a writing "conference."

The Writer's Academy is being held on the campus at West Texas A & M June 14 - 18. Registration is underway. Classes are limited to 15 students! If you're interested, you can call the University at (806) 651-2037 and ask for Continuing Education or you can go to the website www.wtamu.edu/oce.

The next guest on the show is author and editor Hal Zina Bennett. He has published more than thirty books. His latest book, WRITE STARTS: Prompts, Quotes, and Exercises To Jumpstart Your Creativity, is wonderful. If you're a writer or teaching English, this little book is just jammed with great ideas. The book consists of four elements:

*Short prompts - writing exercises of a few paragraphs

*Story prompts - basic skeleton or suggested story arcs for writing stories or even whole books

*Longer readings - writing exercises that provide thought-provoking lessons and observations about the art and craft of writing

*Quotes from famous authors about the inner processes of successful writing.

This is a must-have book for anyone who writes or wants to write!