"Keep Those Pages Turning: How to Build a Strong Story Structure"
with Monalisa Foster
We've all heard that a story should have a beginning, a middle, and an end. But what — other than order — makes a beginning different from a middle? And what makes a middle different from an ending? More importantly, what makes a beginning good enough to grip readers, a middle good enough to keep them turning the pages, and an ending good enough to leave them satisfied? Whether you're writing short or long genre fiction, story structure will help you provide a successful framework for your story.
Monalisa Foster has been writing professionally since the 1990s. Her non-fiction includes essays and articles. She is the winner of WGT's 2015 Flash Fiction contest, and her fiction credits include assorted short works across multiple genres. A growing list of her publications is available at her website. Her latest, Enemy Beloved, a space opera romance novelette (a prequel to the multi-novel series she's working on) is scheduled for release in time for Valentine's Day as part of the Superversive's Venus anthology alongside stories by Julie Frost (Writers of the Future, Monster Hunter Files) and Lou Antonelli (Asimov's Science Fiction). Monalisa is also the editor of To Be Men: Stories Celebrating Masculinity, an anthology that's coming out for Father's Day.
The Writers Guild of Texas presents Guest Speaker / Program meetings on the 3rd Monday of each month in the Basement Program room of the Richardson Public Library. Visitors are welcome to attend.