Writer in Residence Workshop: The Plot Thickens

If the cast of characters are the ingredients of a novel, the plot is the recipe - how to put all the ingredients together and how events are ordered to create suspense and interest. We will learn some techniques to maintain interest throughout a work, and pay special attention to creating suspense, especially at the climax of the story. The story moves forward when things are getting worse. Increase tension to increase the reader’s interest in what is going to happen next.  E.L. Doctorow said, “The plot is a journey. Driving a car at night you can only see as far as the headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.”  Presented by Writer in Residence Donis Casey.

Donis Casey is the author of the Alafair Tucker Mysteries, a historical mystery series, set in Oklahoma in the booming 1910s, featuring a sleuthing mother of ten children. She has twice won the Arizona Book Award for her series and was a finalist for the Willa Award and the Oklahoma Book Award. Her first novel, The Old Buzzard Had It Coming, was named an Oklahoma Centennial Book.  Donis is a former teacher, academic librarian, and entrepreneur. She was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and now lives in Tempe, Arizona.