Proof that Dallas is Scenic!

I'll admit that it took me awhile to find true beauty in Dallas. Finally I found it at the Arboretum, the Diamond of the Big D.


Below are a few photos I shot there last fall. The first one is my fave.

Let the Feds Enrich Your Fiction

by Nina Wright

I’m as big a fan of online auctions as the next compulsive shopper. Way bigger than I should be, given the depressed economy and my modest advances to date. So imagine my delight when I discovered a secondary use for auction sites. One that costs me nothing except my time and offers limitless fictional inspiration. Although you can play this game at virtually any online auction site, it’s especially fun at bid4assets.com.

Here’s why: The U.S. Marshals Service offers an amazing, if not bizarre, array of articles for public auction: residential, commercial and agricultural real estate; timeshares; sport fishing vessels, aircraft, high-end vehicles and collector cars; artwork, antiques and collectibles; fine jewelry and financial instruments. Federal courts ordered these assets to be either forfeited or sold, so let the novelist’s fun begin!

Surfing the categories is diverting enough. Consider these samples from vehicles, antiques, and jewelry:
· A low-mileage black 2001 Chevrolet Corvette two-door convertible (minimum bid $11,000)
· A handmade knotted all-silk Oriental runner rug in excellent condition (minimum bid $800)
· A 7-carat Burmese ruby and diamond tennis bracelet (minimum bid $300)

Fusing these elements into a single story premise, I imagined a young auburn-haired woman receiving the Burmese ruby and diamond tennis bracelet from an older man with a mysterious past and dubious taste in jewelry; he collects Corvettes and inherited his late mother’s Oriental rug. Now what kind of trouble is he in with the Feds? Or, in my tale, did he murder his mother? Does he plan to murder the young woman? What’s his game?

My most efficient use of Bid4Assets is shopping for quirky character details. Let’s say I need a hobby for my antagonist. Or an unusual vehicle. Or, more exciting yet, a “prop” to launch the mystery or provide a valuable clue.

A random surf through Bid4Assets consistently yields intriguing possibilities. Imagine the criminal who would . . .

Drive this “old school” ’63 Chevy truck with camper trailer.

Or collect a “fine antique” Wagner Turbidimeter, manufactured circa 1925, which according to the post writer would be a “welcome addition to any museum, tech school, or industrial office.” (I must confess I had no idea what a turbidimeter was. But it's fun to pronounce.)

Or purchase a Pete Rose Gold Signature Series autographed baseball. Not just a signed souvenir, please note, but a GOLD signature on a dramatic BLACK leather ball. The perfect symbol of the dubious career of a flawed baseball hero. A “must have” for sports fans likewise inclined to bend the law.

But my favorite Bid4Assets story-starter this week is a replica of Jackie Kennedy’s Minaudier purse, gift from French President Charles De Gaulle in June 1961. That’s right, folks! With its dark red velour lining, push-open catch, and detachable 24kt gold-plated shoulder chain, it comes in the original gift box accompanied by a Camrose & Kross certificate of authenticity. Best of all, it’s “approved by the Jacqueline Kennedy Foundation.” I’m having too much fun imagining the person who prizes that item.

Enough surfing amid someone else's mistakes. It’s time to put these details to work in my mysteries. Any plot suggestions? What are your favorite online sources for fiction fodder?

The Unexpected Guest

In the middle of the night on a mist-shrouded country road, Michael Starkwedder runs his car into a ditch. When he goes to the nearest house for help, he finds a murdered man in a wheelchair and a woman holding a smoking gun.

That's the opening scene of Agatha Christie’s classic play, The Unexpected Guest, adapted as a novel by Charles Osbourne. No spoilers here, but suffice it to say that the action goes inside-out when Michael Starkwedder arrives.

Precisely what happens when unexpected guests appear on my pages. Even though I (attempt to) outline before drafting, characters I never saw coming invade my plays and novels. In response, I do the only thing I can: sit back and watch as they take over what I erroneously believed was my story.

Case in point:An Ann Arbor-based animal rights advocacy, Four Legs Good (a.k.a. Fleggers), blindsided me while I was drafting the second Whiskey Mattimoe mystery, Whiskey Straight Up. Founded by a veterinarian with a speech impediment and no sense of humor with humans, Fleggers has been shaping my plotlines ever since. Poor Whiskey still struggles with the term “anti-speciesist.” So do I.

Another case in point: A hunky Scot named MacArthur stunned me when he showed up in Chapter One of Whiskey and Water claiming to be a “cleaner.” His biz had nothing whatsoever to do with either yard work or maid service although he did pick up dog shit. You’d have to read the series to appreciate how much that pleased Whiskey. The cleaner revealed many talents, including a knack for erasing celebrity hijinks. And selling real estate. He's versatile enough to resurface in the book I’m writing now, Whiskey with a Twist. I wonder what he’ll do in this one.

Toons to Tempt the Muse

That’s not a misspelling. Although music moves me as I write, so do visual images, including—yup—cartoons.

Now you know why I subscribe to the New Yorker magazine and have for almost 20 years. My office bulletin board is festooned with recent faves; I rotate them to suit moods and assignments. Current attractions include cartoons by Tom Cheney and P.C. Vey. Since I don't have permission to post them here, I'll (lamely) describe a couple that connect to my work.

You may think I like cartoons because I write mainly humorous stuff. But there’s more to it. I'm in awe of art forms that are at once succinct and insightful. While I, the novelist, trudge through tens of thousands of words to deliver my point, other artists perform their jobs with stunning concision. In that camp I include cartoonists, poets, short-story writers, songwriters, musicians, potters, painters, and photographers, not to mention comedians, floral designers, and chefs. We can appreciate their work in a single sitting, a glance, a gulp. And when it thrills us, we replay it. We view it from various angles. We chew slowly.

A cartoon, like any good picture, is worth a thousand words, and may require as many to describe. You can recount a cartoon to someone who can’t see it, but there’s no way you’ll match the artist's punch. It’s like describing a hedonistically delicious dessert or a brilliant comedic monologue. (Or, for that matter, great sex, but that's for another blog.) In short, you gotta be there.

But cartoonists face some of the same challenges that we novelists do. For instance, they must create a viable world. A favorite Tom Cheney toon features a Realtor showing a property with a gaping hole in the floor through which the cosmos is visible. The Realtor says, "Of course, the real charm of the place is that hole in the space-time continuum."

I write about fantastical phenomena and Realtors, though not always at the same time. Drafting my novel Sensitive, I took pains to vividly render my characters astral-projecting and talking with the dead. Since I had never done either, I had a license to imagine the experiences as well as an obligation to do enough research to get the details mostly right. When we spin suspense fiction, our series protagonists regularly bump up against violent death. Thus we must build a universe on the page that makes heinous crime both shocking and inevitable. Whiskey Mattimoe is a Realtor whose clients have a high probability of turning up dead. I enhance that probability by making Magnet Springs a resort town that attracts the rich and greedy.

Like all true artists, cartoonists make connections where none typically exists. They twist clichés and thwart expectations. And yet they make sense. If they don’t, we don’t "get it," and the cartoon fails. The same is true of the stories we tell on our own broad canvases. Our characters must be recognizable but completely fresh. Our endings must satisfy and surprise as solidly as a single-frame cartoon.

In closing, allow me to describe a toon by P.C. Vey: Two women are having tea. Next to the hostess is a cat wearing a Zorro mask. The hostess says, "I know it's illegal, but quite frankly we couldn't get by without the cash and jewelry he brings home every night."

Yeah, yeah, you gotta see it, and I did. And it started me drafting a new mystery series starring a woman who trains her Devon rex cat to steal. If you think that's impossible, you haven't seen this video or met my Devon rex, Flannery, who as far as I know steals only hearts. Still, Flan gets into enough trouble to make a genuine cat burgler seem plausible. At least in the world of art I can make.

To Every Story...There is a Season

by Nina Wright

As we conclude the holiday season, let's contemplate seasons in another light. Think of a particular novel or movie and ask yourself what time of year it takes place. Or, if the story sprawls across seasons, which ones are most significant, and why? Is time of year a mood-setter, a point of contrast or a catalyst? How conscious of season does the writer want the reader to be? To what end does the writer manipulate time of year?

Season is an element of setting, equally linked to time and place. With a nod to latitude and longitude, time of year dictates rituals and holidays in addition to weather. It can affect all five senses as well as state of mind.

In fiction the role of season ranges from texture to plot point to theme. Doctor Zhivago is first and foremost a story of place and time (and character), but the wintry elements are what many of us remember best, especially from the film. Planes, Trains and Automobiles, for all its hilarity, is about Thanksgiving: Steve Martin’s character wants only to be with his family while John Candy’s character has no family and nowhere to go. The Wizard of Oz depends on tornado season to provide a key plot element as well as the revelation that there's no place like home.

Season can be an efficient means of revealing character. How does our protagonist respond to a pile of soggy autumn leaves? The lack of sunlight in winter? An April Fool’s joke? Neighborhood kids playing with firecrackers the week before the Fourth of July?

Season creates reader expectation. For instance, juvenile fiction set in summertime seems to promise a lack of structure and adult supervision. But exceptions abound, as I discovered while playing with notions for my teen novel Sensitive. There could be summer school or summer camp. Or a summer job. The point is that novelists can elect to follow or flout seasonal expectations. Oh, the possibilities inherent in, say, no teachers showing up for the first day of school...or a January that's warmer in Montana than in Tennessee...or a Thanksgiving when our protagonist has nothing to feel thankful for....

Season is on my mind, and not just because I’m stuck in Ohio for the winter when I would rather be at least three climate zones to the south. I’m writing Whiskey with a Twist, the fifth book in what some might call a season-based mystery series, emphasis on humor. Each installment takes place during the next tourist event in or around a Lake Michigan resort town. It starts with leaf-peeping in Whiskey on the Rocks, moves on to a winter jamboree in Whiskey Straight Up and then the annual Miss Blossom pageant in Whiskey & Tonic, followed in Whiskey and Water by a rash of riptides. My novel in progress was inspired by my own experiences at a fall dog show in Lancaster, PA. Whiskey with a Twist features Afghan hounds amid the Indiana Amish. Add harvest season, and this fictioneer can’t type fast enough.

What role does season play in the novel you are writing or reading right now? Does the author comply with seasonal expectations or defy them? How does season impact character, plot and/or theme?

As I write this, a new year is opening before us. Whether the season is sunny, snowy or rainy where you are, I wish you a bright Aught-Eight.

Video Book Trailer: SENSITIVE by Nina Wright

Click here to watch the trailer.

Sensitive, the sequel to Homefree, follows sixteen-year-old Easter Hutton through her first weeks at the mysterious Fairless Grove Academy. The academy is the headquarters of Homefree, an agency dedicated to helping teens with paranormal abilities learn how to use their gifts. Easter discovers that in addition to her unusual talents for time travel, astral projection, and invisibility, she is a Sensitive—someone who can communicate with spirits.

Using her paranormal skills, Easter is called upon to settle a two-hundred-year-old misunderstanding while also dealing with her best friend’s mental breakdown, her own forbidden passions, and the whereabouts of her missing mother.

Author: Nina Wright
Publisher: Flux
ISBN: 0738711705
Trade Paperback
Young Adult/Fiction
Price: $9.95
Available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and your local independent bookseller.

The Way In

By Nina Wright

For three years I was glued to my chair writing one book after another on deadline. Six books, six sales. Very satisfying.

In recent months, however, my goals and my pace have changed. I’ve researched, contemplated, and started a half-dozen fiction projects unrelated to anything I’ve done before. Since I write for younger readers as well as adults, I’m continuously monitoring trends in several markets at the same time that I audition new ideas. Although the “market mindset” is necessary, I find it also potentially distracting and, worse, discouraging. Thus I’ve concluded that it’s time to stop obsessing over what sells and simply write from my heart.

Finding "the way in" is different every time. I vividly recall walking through a cemetery in Tecumseh, Michigan five years ago when I imagined a girl who saved a key from every apartment she lived in with her troubled, itinerant mother. At the time I was facing a move that seemed both inevitable and ill-advised. Notes for Homefree traveled with me and found their way into a draft that endured many revisions and submissions before it was published in 2006. The notion of the saved key survived but ended up a sidebar rather than the center of the story.

When I wrote Whiskey on the Rocks, the book that launched the Whiskey Mattimoe series, I was sharing my rural home with Lucille, a dog rescued in late pregnancy by my then-husband and me. Not remotely an Afghan hound, Lucille was a mutt with fast legs, a scary snarl and bafflingly high self-esteem. Like Abra, she had no apparent maternal instincts and a libido that wouldn't quit. She also had a propensity for chasing anything that promised misadventure. Given the slightest opening, Lucille would take off running full-tilt toward the nearest tavern, which lay on the other side of a vast soybean field. She'd ignore our calls for at least 24 hours before—I swear—she came home stinking of whiskey and cigarettes. I could never figure out what the bitch was up to. So my creativity kicked in. An old friend from college had an energetic Afghan hound; mentally I morphed the two dogs into one and added a healthy dash of imagination. The result was Abra.

What inspires me these days? Mostly, things that go wrong. Or could go wrong, or at least madly off course. Example: While I was grooming my father's cat, the feline kicked a wadded up paper toward me. It contained a confusing partial message written in a cramped hand; my father claimed he'd never seen the note before. Who wrote it, and why did the cat have it? That incident went straight into my notebook of potential story ideas. Since I’m inclined to use the most recent notions, I periodically review older entries to see whether any of those ignite sparks. When they do, it’s the lonely writer’s equivalent of Christmas.

Other ways in: Because I favor visual stimulation, once I get an idea working, I look for photos to feed it. Dozens of pictures of St. Augustine, Florida (for my teen books) and Afghan hounds (for the Whiskey books) fill my walls and computer files. My screensaver is always a slideshow related to my current projects.

Music provides another access point. Whiskey and Water, the fourth Whiskey Mattimoe mystery, was fueled by a Barenaked Ladies soundtrack. Imagining Whiskey’s first marriage set to those tunes made the writing not only easier but a helluva lot of fun. My close friends benefited, too; they got copies of BNL’s Greatest Hits.

Now and then I track my dreams, and whenever I do, something intriguing shows up. A Southern woman named Picket Pie came to me in my sleep. She explained that her name was short for Elizabeth Bye and promised she’d be back. Months later she appeared on the page as a leading character in my play Cherchez Dave Robicheaux.

All writers know that the way in is both simpler and more complicated than I make it sound here. I eavesdrop shamelessly; free-associate wildly; take lots of photos; go for long walks, swims, and bike rides; brainstorm exhaustive lists and alternate scenarios; and draft interviews, monologues, dialogues, and character bios. Sometimes I bounce ideas off friends. What’s your way in? The key, I think, is to get out there and in there and turn off your mental critic. Put another way: “Travel boldly, listen closely, and carry a bright light.”

Eighteen Excellent Questions

I recently had the privilege of being interviewed by Gregory A. Kompes for his blog about writers and writing. Greg is famous for his Eighteen Questions, which get right to the heart of how a writer works. Read on!

1. Did you choose the writing profession or did it choose you?

I had no choice in the matter; once I learned to talk, I couldn’t stop telling stories.

2. What is your background? (education, work, etc.)

I have an undergraduate degree in Theatre and two master’s degrees, one in Teaching ESL, the other in English Lit. I’ve worked as an actor, teacher, writer and assorted other short-lived careers, including home renovation.

3. When did you 'know' you were a writer?

I’ve known it since I was a little kid. I didn't always admit it, though, because my family urged me to pick a conventional career. Can you blame them?

4. How would you describe your style of writing?

Although I can write in whatever style the job demands, my “natural” voice as a writer is breezy and irreverent and easy to read.

5. What is your writing process?

Get it down, then get it right.

6. What was your path to publication?

I started out writing business newsletters, press releases, instructions, catalog copy, and speeches. Then I moved on to plays and novels.

7. What is your favorite self-marketing idea?

Going to the National Afghan Hound Club show to promote my Whiskey Mattimoe mystery series starring Abra the Afghan hound.

8. What are the biggest surprises you've encountered as a writer?

The single biggest shock was discovering how hard it is to keep books on bookstore shelves.

9. Two parts to this question: First, how do you inspire yourself?

I ride my bike, go for long walks, listen to National Public Radio, or drive along a scenic back road with my favorite music playing.

Second, what are your sources of creativity?

There’s only one, and it is beyond my understanding: God.

10. What is your proudest writer moment?

I don’t think I’ve had it yet! In other words, I believe great things are coming. So far, though, I was probably most thrilled the first time I saw one of my books on an end-cap display at Barnes and Noble.

11. What's the best advice you were given about writing?

Don’t give up.

12. What is your most embarrassing writer moment?

Driving an hour for a book-signing event and having only two people show up, one of whom was related to me.

13. What business challenges have you faced as a writer?

Making a profit!

14. What is your writer life philosophy?

Know the world of your novel and render it truthfully. Let your characters live, love, hate, fall down, and get back up. Or not. Get close to them, but stay out of their way.

15. When you're not writing what do you do for fun?

Swim, work out at the gym, bicycle, read, walk on beaches, see movies, play with the four-leggers in my life, laugh with friends.

16. Who do you like to read?

Lots of teen fiction, especially edgy, literary stuff. In terms of adult fiction, I like almost anything by James Lee Burke, P.D. James, Ruth Rendell, Nevada Barr, and Sharyn McCrumb. I also admire Elmore Leonard.

17. What's your advice for new writers?

If you really, really, REALLY want to be a writer, you will write all your life, and you will not let anyone or anything stop you. If you can live without writing, you’re not a writer.

18. What are you currently working on?

I’m revisiting a mystery that I started writing in Florida during hurricane season 2004. And I’m pondering notions for new teen fiction.

(Since my interview with Greg, I've added new projects to my list. Stay tuned for updates on those.)

Bibliography
The Whiskey Mattimoe mystery series published by Llewellyn/Midnight Ink: Whiskey on the Rocks Whiskey Straight Up Whiskey and Tonic Whiskey and Water (coming in early 2008) Teen novels published by Llewellyn/Flux: Homefree Sensitive (September 2007)

Photographic Proof: One Writer's Real Life

I rose to the challenge! Actually, I had an old scrapbook handy, so I was able to quickly comply with a fellow writer's request. Or was that a dare?

At any rate, that's me in a wig at my own 15th birthday party. Silly? You bet! Go here for the rest of the story.... Hmmm. I guess I did have a Whiskey Mattimoe wig, once upon a time.

Online Interview with Little Willow

I had the recent pleasure of being interviewed by Little Willow--writer and reviewer par excellence--in her impressive, very literate blog.

Little Willow invited me to talk about my teen novel Homefree, part of the launch for Llewellyn's Flux imprint, and its sequel Sensitive, which goes to press later this year. Homefree was nominated for a 2006 Cybil Award in the Fantasy/Science Fiction category (see entry below).

During our conversation, Little Willow also asked about my humorous Whiskey Mattimoe mystery series for adults. I talked about where the character of Abra the Afghan hound comes from. And that made me realize something: If an annoying mutt can morph into the glamorous co-star of series fiction, then anything's possible--at least in a writer's life.

The conversation turned to cats, which seemed only fair since Little Willow's gorgeous feline Hollywood was right there. So I mentioned Yoda the Devon Rex menace in Whiskey and Tonic, as well as my feline cast in The Fine Art of Following Cats, a new project for readers aged eight and up.

We agreed that it's fun to transform the animals we know into fictional characters. They never recognize themselves on the page. . . .

Thank you, Little Willow, for a delightful chat!

HOMEFREE is nominated for a Cybil Award

Subject: Nomination
Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2006 10:34:06 -0600
From: "Brian Farrey"
To: "Nina Wright"

Hi Nina,

Just wanted to let you know that “Homefree” has been nominated in the Fantasy/Science Fiction category for the 2006 Cybil award. The Cybils are a new series of book awards being selected by a talented panel of more than 60 children's and young adult bloggers.

I can’t remember when the winners are being announced but I think it’s sometime in the new year.

Congratulations!

B.

Brian Farrey
Publicist, Llewellyn Worldwide/Midnight Ink Books/Flux
2143 Wooddale DriveWoodbury , MN 55125
1-800-THE-MOON ext. 8451
www.llewellyn.com
www.midnightinkbooks.com
www.fluxnow.com

Back from Moo-jestic Madison

I'm still getting my feet back under me following four whirlwind days in Wisconsin at Bouchercon 2006, a Prairie Plot.

I especially enjoyed my time with fellow Midnight Ink authors Chuck Zito, Keith Raffel and Bill Cameron, and our elegant editor Barbara Moore.

Always a magnificent city, Madison is made even more appealing these days by a herd of highly artistic cows, sent to the state capital to celebrate Wisconsin's illustrious dairy industry. Voila. Or should I say "Moo-la."

Nina Wright reads from & signs books at B&N, Toledo

Her audience at Barnes & Noble had to sit on little chairs, but they didn't complain. ;<)

Nina signed her novels, Whiskey Straight Up, Whiskey on the Rocks and Homefree.

Fourth Annual Kerrytown BookFest

On September 10, I had the honor of being part of a panel of Michigan mystery writers at the Kerrytown BookFest in Ann Arbor. This photo shows me with moderator Bill Castanier and novelists Lee Meadows and Mitchell Bartoy.


Next event: I'll do a reading and booksigning at the Barnes & Noble in Toledo on Sunday, Sept. 17th at 2:00.

An Exciting Time

I'm thrilled to announce that I have two (2!!) books about to go to press. Both will be available in bookstores and online in September. Update: WHISKEY STRAIGHT UP is available now through online retailers, including Amazon.com. You can read more about both books on my home page www.ninawright.net and at the blogs below.

WHISKEY STRAIGHT UP, the second book in the Whiskey Mattimoe mystery series:

Nearly drowning in an icy lake isn't Whiskey Mattimoe's favorite way to celebrate the season. Neither is finding the mayor dead at Magnet Springs' annual Ice Fishing Jamboree. And then there's the problem of locating Chester, her precocious eight-year-old charge, who has run away. . . or was he kidnapped? So Whiskey, an eternally disheveled, mid-thirties realtor, is drawn into another rollicking adventure with her purse-stealing Afghan hound. Eccentric characters abound in this Michigan resort town, including the police chief with a gift for upsetting the town's magnetic fields and the adorable vet with an unfortunate speech impediment. Amid the uproar, Whiskey makes a surprising discovery: for the first time since her husband's death, she's finally ready to dip her toes into the whimsical waters of love.

http://whiskeymattimoe.blogspot.com/


HOMEFREE, one of seven titles launching Llewellyn's new teen imprint, Flux:

Easter Hutton just might have the worst mom in the world. Does she really think her slime-ball boyfriend will divorce his wife just because Mom is pregnant? Missing her best friend and her dad, Easter just wants to blend in at her new school, which proves difficult when she starts experiencing involuntary bouts of astral-projection. Easter isn’t sure which is worse: these mysterious jaunts or the antics of her selfish, eccentric mother. Everything changes when Easter discovers Homefree, an underground organization devoted to helping teenagers, like herself, with paranormal gifts. Suddenly she doesn’t feel like an outsider anymore. Maybe a normal life—with real friends and a boyfriend—is possible after all.

http://mrfairlessrules.blogspot.com/

Nina Wright--actor, playwright and novelist--is author of the humorous Whiskey Mattimoe mystery series published by Midnight Ink. The first book, Whiskey on the Rocks, is in stores now. The second, Whiskey Straight Up, will go on sale in September. Nina also writes novels for younger readers. Her teen novel Homefree will launch FLUX, the new Llewellyn imprint.

The Whiskey Mattimoe Mysteries: Real estate, murder, and one bad dog.

Nina is a writer for hire, a master of many forms of the written word . . . in addition to fiction.

Overview

• Experienced writer of speeches, scripts, business-to-business and business-to-consumer publications, instructional manuals, essays, editorial pieces, press releases, research reports, creative ad copy, ghost-written projects, and fiction.
• Skilled researcher, interviewer, editor and project manager.
• Strong technical command of the English language and virtually all writing styles. Able to write for any educational level.
• Expert at fitting the message to the audience in order to achieve desired results. Can truly write on demand.
• Polished public speaker and stand-up trainer.
• Business Writing Specializations: speeches, scripts, business-to-business andbusiness-to-consumer materials, instructional manuals, skills assessment-and-development materials, professional presentations, ad copy.
• Training Specializations: customer service, employee attitude adjustment, public speaking, creativity in the workplace.

Nina is a seasoned and entertaining writing instructor.

She’s available to teach the following Writing Workshops and to create customized seminars for your needs.

Creating Dramatic Dialogue. Whatever kind of writing you do, chances are it involves people talking. Want a new bag of tricks for putting words in your characters’ mouths? This mini-workshop explores how dialogue differs from real-life conversation, and what it reveals about personality, relationships, place, time, and action. Learn how to let your characters help tell your story.

What Playwrights Know that All Writers Need. Think of every play you’ve ever seen: You, as part of the audience, expected something to happen when the curtain went up—and things to keep happening in a way that engaged you until the curtain fell. Nina Wright is a playwright who made the transition to writing fiction. She shows how playwriting techniques can start your story rolling from the first sentence and keep the audience involved until the final word.

Whose Story Is It? For a story to work, the right person has to tell it. In other words, the writer needs to choose the best possible point of view. This workshop helps you figure out who should tell your story and how.

What Kind of Story Is It? So you think you know what you want to write before you start to write it. Okay—but you may be cutting your best creative options. Let Nina Wright show you how to spin ideas and characters in surprising directions for amazing results. Open up your options for the writing ride of your life. Writing the First Draft Fast. You’ve got nothing to show an agent or publisher until you’ve written your novel all the way to the end. Learn Nina Wright’s secrets for getting the first draft done, no matter what. She can help you solve your biggest plotting problems.

How to Woo Your Muse. Fact: You have to court Creativity; she (or he) doesn’t show up uninvited. This exciting workshop offers new ways to connect your inner and outer worlds. Everything you want to write about is already waiting for you; you simply have to find the way there. Come prepared to play on paper. You’ll leave with both answers and inspiration.

For more information, contact Nina at nina@ninawright.net

Meet Nina online at www.ninawright.net

Come meet Nina!

If you're in the Detroit-Ann Arbor-Toledo area over the next few weeks, we could meet!

First things first: I'll be on TV Saturday morning, Sept. 17. Tune in WTOL Channel 11 at 8:55.

A few hours later--at 1 PM on the 17th--I'll be signing books at Barnes and Noble on Monroe Street in Toledo, directly across from Franklin Park Mall.

Next Wednesday, Sept. 21, at 7 PM, I'll be at the Arborland Borders in Ann Arbor. Also, see this article in the Toledo Free Press (scroll screen to top of page on the right):

http://www.toledofreepress.com/pdf/092105_Arts%20&%20Life.pdf

And on Thursday, October 13, at 7 PM, I'll be at Aunt Agatha's Mystery Bookstore in Ann Arbor. If you missed those events, email me to find out where I'll be next.

author photo

Nina Wright, writer on demand, and author of the Whiskey Mattimoe Mystery Series--as well as novels for younger readers.