DONIS CASEY: Write Errant

I’m still serving as Writer in Residence for the Glendale, Arizona, Public Library system through November, meeting one-on-one with Glendale residents to provide writing advice or review. (If you’re eligible and interested in a consultation, visit http://glpaz.org/events for dates and times and to sign up.) But I’m also offering free in-person classes for anyone who show up, so if you live anywhere in the Phoenix metro area, or just want to drive, fly in, hitchhike to Glendale from anywhere in the world to get my take on the art or writing, here’s the schedule for October. Hope to see you there!

Dialog, Dialect and Voice: Discover how you can use dialog to reveal information about your characters Thursday, Oct. 17, 6:30 p.m. at Velma Teague Library, 7010 N. 58th Ave.

Dialog is one of the best ways to learn about characters, both for the reader and the author. They way a person speaks can tell you much about hims. Listening t speech can tell you where he comes from, his background, family, education, attitude, worldview. We’ll also discuss how t deal with dialects and accents, and learn about the concept of “voice”, or how writing “sounds” on the page. 

Memoir and Autobiography: Learn how to use personal memories in powerful storytelling Monday Oct. 21, at 6:30 p.m. at the Main Library, 5959 W. Brown St.

An autobiography chronicles a life, while a memoir captures a piece of a life. This session focuses on using personal memories in powerful storytelling but sharing truthful and personal life experiences.
 
Characters are Everything: Explore proven techniques for creating compelling characters. Thursday, Oct. 28, 6:30 p.m at Foothills Library, 19055 N. 57th Ave.

An author has to figure out how to make the reader care about the people in his book. A novel is a story about someone, and to tell someone’s story, an author must know who he is. The make the reader care about her, you must make a real person out of her. In this session, we will learn some proven techniques for creating compelling characters.

And on top of all that, my honored Tell Me Your Story guest for October is screenwriter, author, speaker, and forensic specialist, Jennifer Dornbush (https://jenniferdornbush.com.) As the daughter of a medical examiner whose office was in their home, Jennifer assisted in investigating her first fatality at 8 years old. After careers in journalism and teaching, she turned to screenwriting, where she connected her coroner world to her writing world. Her book Forensic Speak: How To Write Realistic Crime Dramas, is used by not only showrunners and writers, but also law enforcement. Frozen Lives, Book 4 of her Coroner’s Daughter Series, is due for release in October.