From the August 2020 writing challenge, the top three stories are:
First Place – All Saints by Tiffany Seitz
Second Place – Respecting A Woman by Gary Christenson
Third Place – The Rising Cost of Dying by Robert Taylor
Previous winners are here.
From the August 2020 writing challenge, the top three stories are:
First Place – All Saints by Tiffany Seitz
Second Place – Respecting A Woman by Gary Christenson
Third Place – The Rising Cost of Dying by Robert Taylor
Previous winners are here.
The winners for July are:
First Place – The Sheriff of Paddy’s Pizza by Terrye Turpin
Second Place – The Sound by Matthew Martinez
Third Place – Cry of the Hawk by Gary Christenson
Amber Royer writes the CHOCOVERSE comic telenovela-style foodie-inspired space opera series. She is also the author of Story Like a Journalist: a Workbook For Novelists, which boils down her writing knowledge into an actionable plan involving over 100 worksheets to build a comprehensive story plan for your novel. She blogs about creative writing technique and all things chocolate at www.amberroyer.com. She also teaches creative writing for both UT Arlington Continuing Education and Writing Workshops Dallas. If you are very nice to her, she might make you cupcakes.Have you ever received feedback that your reader doesn’t “connect with” the characters in your writing? Alternately, have you ever read a novel or series and become so attached to the characters that you were depressed when it was over because you couldn’t share any more adventures with them? Learn why people get attached to fictional characters and techniques you can use to create the kind of characters people get attached to.


We are pleased that David Douglas will speak (via Zoom) at our July meeting on the 27th.
BLURB:Enter Stage Right: Playwriting Basics
Are you more interested in writing dialogue and action than descriptions of settings? Do your favorite stories feature minimal characters and locations? Would you like to write something other than a novel, short story, or screenplay? Then join playwright and Stage Writers founder, David Douglas, for this presentation on the basics of playwriting, which will explore: the differences between stage plays and other forms of writing, the proper formatting of scripts, the role of the playwright in theatre-making, and a variety of other helpful resources that will cue your entrance into writing for the stage.
David Douglas is a playwright, award-winning short story author, and the founder & director of Stage Writers — a Dallas-based playwright organization. He is also a member of the Dramatists Guild of America and a past board member of several writers organizations, including the Writers Guild of Texas and WORD (Writers Organizations ‘Round Dallas). His full-length play, Railbird, has received readings in the Original Works Series (Fort Worth Community Arts Center), First Impressions Festival (Imprint Theatreworks), and Play Readers Club (Our Productions Theatre Co.). His short plays have been produced by Rover Dramawerks, Sundown Collaborative Theatre, and the Dallas One-Minute Play Festival. When not writing twisting tales of romance and suspense, David loves watching classic and independent films, as well as attending and directing plays. Find him online at OddOccurrences.com.
Brian Condike, Past President of GWB, is a finalist in the “Thriller/Action Adventure” category for his novel, “Murder is Personal” in the 2020 Writers League of Texas Manuscript Contest.

The link is here: