Forum Transcripts

First Person POV

Event start time:

Tue Aug 08 12:03:41 2006

Event end time:

Tue Aug 08 13:30:46 2006



Legend:
Questions from the Audience are presented in red.
Answers by the Speaker are in black.
The Moderator's comments are in blue.

mary rosenblum

Good morning all.

mary rosenblum

I hope you had a fine weekend.

mary rosenblum

I enjoyed my time presenting panels at the Willamette Writers Conference. That is a very well run conference...

mary rosenblum

and had an attendance of about 800.

mary rosenblum

This is the Tuesday Forum with me Mary Rosenblum LR Web Editor, fiction and nonfiction writer. We're talking about first person POV this morning. If you're new here, remember that you need to click on the Ask a Question button or the word bubble next to the red question mark at the top of the screen, or use the ask a question icon in order to ask a question. Your regular send bar won't reach me! You can also type /ask in front of your question in your regular send bar to reach me.

mary rosenblum

Part of the reason I chose the topic this morning, is that one of the panels I presented was on dialogue.

mary rosenblum

And we touched on first person.

mary rosenblum

It became very clear that a lot of people who automatically use first person in their fiction or personal narrative nonfiction...

mary rosenblum

really do not understand the strengths...and weaknesses...of that voice.

mary rosenblum

It is a POV choice that is actually more difficult to do well than third person, even though it seems easier. :-)

mary rosenblum

What is often missing from first person is characterization and that is the critical component of good first person POV.

mary rosenblum

Remember that your first person POV needs to be a character to your readers...just as human and well developed as the third person character you create.

mary rosenblum

Even if that narrator is YOU, you still need to reveal yourself as a character to the reader.

mary rosenblum

If you don't do this...and the majority of novice writers who use first person don't give it a thought...

mary rosenblum

then all you end up doing is to describe the action. You simply tell the readers what is going on without adding anything.

mary rosenblum

Of course ALL first person is essentially 'telling'.

mary rosenblum

But if your narrator brings strong characterization to the party, you compensate for that 'telling' voice.

mary rosenblum

Most novice writers simply have the first person character tell us what is going on.

mary rosenblum

Sometimes that character includes his/her own thoughts, but often not.

mary rosenblum

And the result is a very 'told' story. Kind of boring, most of the time.

mary rosenblum

Realize that if you do not give constant, conscious thought to your narrator's voice and world view, then you will simply use your voice and world view.

sundale

I'm confused, the narrator tells the story anyway. what more is needed to make the first person work though that?

mary rosenblum

Interest, sundale.

mary rosenblum

Readers don't read boring stories or narratives.

mary rosenblum

Remember that it's characterization that engages readers most strongly.

mary rosenblum

And if you don't develop your narrator as a character, then all you have is action, and told action at that, and no character to care about.

mary rosenblum

It won't seem like a real person telling an engaging story. It'll read more like a voice over. :-)

mary rosenblum

Your first person narrator needs to ADD to that action and dialogue he/she is recounting through...

mary rosenblum

a unique world view -- not yours -- a strong and interesting voice -- and enough personal insights and asides...

mary rosenblum

that your narrator adds to the value of the story.

mary rosenblum

By value I mean how strongly your readers are engaged with that story.

mary rosenblum

This is the Tuesday Forum with me Mary Rosenblum LR Web Editor, fiction and nonfiction writer. We're talking about first person POV this morning. If you're new here, remember that you need to click on the Ask a Question button or the word bubble next to the red question mark at the top of the screen, or use the ask a question icon in order to ask a question. Your regular send bar won't reach me! You can also type /ask in front of your question in your regular send bar to reach me.

mary rosenblum

Try to give readers insights into who your narrator is, how that person thinks, feels, and what he/she knows that we don't that will add to the depth of the story.

mary rosenblum

This is an example of what I mean.

mary rosenblum

"I got up early Tuesday and got to the market as soon as it opened. I wanted to get the best piece of fish they had for my dinner party. Harold had already piled the morning's catch in the bin with ice, and I made him dig the very bottom fish out from the pile. He wasn't happy."

mary rosenblum

This gives us the basic story of our narrator going to the market and buying fish from Harold. But we don't have any sense of the narrator as person and we don't know a lot more ...

mary rosenblum

than the basic actions here.

mary rosenblum

Now let me turn our faceless narrator into a character.

mary rosenblum

I showed up at the store right at opening time, but Harold, that old sneak, he knew the Judge and his wife were coming to dinner, so the old goat figured I'd do that. He kept me waiting five minutes and then had the nerve to tell me my watch was slow. When the clock on the wall was saying it was five past.

mary rosenblum

Well, I know his tricks. I marched right back to the fish bin and I made him dig right down to the bottom. The old sneak. He always puts the best fish down there, so he can bring it out for Prissy. If he thinks she's going to marry him...

mary rosenblum

just because he saves the best fish for him, he's got another think coming. Who'd marry that old goat anyway? But I got my fish and he was still scowling when I left.

mary rosenblum

I'll tell the Judge and his wife I bought that fish over in Springwater, I will!

mary rosenblum

If you notice, these are now two very different stories. One is just the action of buying the fish, and the other is a strong sense of this purchaser, and her feelings about Harold and his love life. :-)

mary rosenblum

The voice has added value to the action of fish buying. :-)

mary rosenblum

This is the Tuesday Forum with me Mary Rosenblum LR Web Editor, fiction and nonfiction writer. We're talking about first person POV this morning. If you're new here, remember that you need to click on the Ask a Question button or the word bubble next to the red question mark at the top of the screen, or use the ask a question icon in order to ask a question. Your regular send bar won't reach me! You can also type /ask in front of your question in your regular send bar to reach me.

crash bam

One of the issues I've had with first person is describing the narrator physically. It always sounds contrived. Any tips on doing that?

mary rosenblum

It is REALLY hard to do, crash, without being utterly obvious and earning a snicker from the reader. :-)

mary rosenblum

You have to give your first person narrator a reason to think about how he/she looks.

mary rosenblum

How often do you think about your appearance in detail? Maybe in the morning, inspecting your face in the bathroom mirror...

mary rosenblum

putting on makeup or checking for zits, or shaving. :-)

mary rosenblum

Or you might compare yourself to someone else.

mary rosenblum

Wow, I wish I had that figure. Compared to her curves, I'm a stick figure!

xana

Why can't you have another character make remarks about the narrator's appearance?

mary rosenblum

Yep, that's another way. Again...plausible is the key here.

mary rosenblum

Anna just had to make a snarky remark about how I've gained weight. Well, she's no super model either.

kems

I've been reading a lot of 1st person novels for guidance. One inconsistency I found is some authors use italics when showing inner thoughts and some don't. Is there a right or wrong way to convey your characters thoughts?

kems

One book I read put each thought on a different line, as opposed to keeping it all in the same paragraph. Any rules as to why she did this? Or was this just be considered this authors style?

mary rosenblum

You want the thoughts to be clearly thoughts to the reader, but I tend to use italic VERY sparingly.

mary rosenblum

Readers nearly always 'hear' it as a raised voice or a 'different' voice at least.

mary rosenblum

If you're doing strong first person, your character is most of the time talking to himself/herself (and the reader).

mary rosenblum

If you're going to differentiate between that internal monologue and a 'thought', you can simply let the first person do it.

mary rosenblum

"Yeah," I told Carrie. "Let's do the show tonight. I've got nothing better to do." And I'm thinking that Bert will be real ticked off when he shows up and I'm not there. He'll maybe think I'm out on a real date.

janecj333

Instead of physical description, emotional description can add a lot of color, can't it?

mary rosenblum

Physical description is highly overrated. :-)

mary rosenblum

It is NOT what makes your character memorable and each reader will see the character that person wants to see.

mary rosenblum

It won't be exactly what YOU see.

mary rosenblum

IT does pay to make sure gender, general age, and body type are clear.

mary rosenblum

It's a REAL shock to find out your male POV is really a girl halfway through the story.

mary rosenblum

And here's a caveat.

mary rosenblum

ALL, I repeat ALL readers assume that the first person voice is the same gender as the author until proven otherwise.

mary rosenblum

Since I have done exactly ONE female first person POV in my literary life, I have had to be very careful to bring gender into it on page one.

mary rosenblum

And that is not easy!

mary rosenblum

This is the Tuesday Forum with me Mary Rosenblum LR Web Editor, fiction and nonfiction writer. We're talking about first person POV this morning. If you're new here, remember that you need to click on the Ask a Question button or the word bubble next to the red question mark at the top of the screen, or use the ask a question icon in order to ask a question. Your regular send bar won't reach me! You can also type /ask in front of your question in your regular send bar to reach me.

hidden fairy

Don't we have to be careful about how many times we use "I"

mary rosenblum

Yes, hidden. It gets very monotonous and it means you're describing the action and not using your character's voice well.

mary rosenblum

I went to the store. I had Harold dig the best fish from the bottom of the pile. I went home.

mary rosenblum

Compare that to the fully fleshed narrator ranting about Harold and his hidden fish and his love life.

mary rosenblum

I actually used I four times in that (quick count, I might have missed one), but it's buried in the narrator's other sentences that do not use 'I', so they shouldn't be noticable.

mary rosenblum

It's the repetitive I did this, I did that, I did this, I did that that is going to drive readers screaming from your pages. Sort of like Chinese water torture. Drip...drip....drip.

kems

Thanks for the input. In your example above ...nothing better to do." And I'm thinking that Bert will be real ticked... Would it be okay to leave out the 'And I'm thinking that Bert' and just write, for ei.....nothing better to do." Bert will be real ticked...

mary rosenblum

Sure kems.

mary rosenblum

A lot of your 'voice' is all about rhythm.

mary rosenblum

Sometimes I want to portray a character a certain way, and will give that person a choppy, broken speech rhythm...

mary rosenblum

because it supports his character. Another first person character might use long, run on sentences and flowery language.

mary rosenblum

Every first person character should have a very distinct voice that suits his/her background, education, social and cultural status.

mary rosenblum

Before I ever write line one of a first person story, I have evolved that character and developed a very specific speech pattern for him/her.

mary rosenblum

This is the Tuesday Forum with me Mary Rosenblum LR Web Editor, fiction and nonfiction writer. We're talking about first person POV this morning. If you're new here, remember that you need to click on the Ask a Question button or the word bubble next to the red question mark at the top of the screen, or use the ask a question icon in order to ask a question. Your regular send bar won't reach me! You can also type /ask in front of your question in your regular send bar to reach me.

gail

What factors of a story make you choose first person narrative over limited third-person?

mary rosenblum

That's a good question, gail, because you do have reasons to make choices.

mary rosenblum

I find that stories involving a lot of action and drama tend to work better in third...you distance your readers...

mary rosenblum

from the action when the narrator has to tell them about what's happening...

mary rosenblum

and your narrator may be too busy to say much.

mary rosenblum

If you have a story without a lot of action, drama, or dialogue and your character seems to do a lot of internal monologue anyway...

mary rosenblum

try first.

mary rosenblum

if I find myself using too much internal POV in third, I'll start over and try first person.

beirdd

Mary, an author recently submitted a story to me written in first-person, present tense. How often have you seen that done? I found it very awkward to read.

mary rosenblum

I believe that all of my first person stories are in present tense. I do that because I don't want my readers to know if my MC survives the story or not. :-) But it may be that your...

mary rosenblum

author just didn't do it well.

mary rosenblum

Most readers can't remember if I ask them later if the story was in present tense or past. :-)

mary rosenblum

Present tense is VERY awkward in third person.

mary rosenblum

It really distracts the reader from the story.

mary rosenblum

But it seems to work fine in first person...it the author does it well.

beirdd

Maybe I didn't describe it properly. He didn't use "opened the door" or any past tense. EVERYthing was present tense, what the protag did and what everyone else did, too.

mary rosenblum

It has to be, beirdd.

mary rosenblum

If you mix past and present it really clashes!

mary rosenblum

It probably had to do with what he was writing and how he did it.

mary rosenblum

It can be pretty seamless.

mary rosenblum

This is the Tuesday Forum with me Mary Rosenblum LR Web Editor, fiction and nonfiction writer. We're talking about first person POV this morning. If you're new here, remember that you need to click on the Ask a Question button or the word bubble next to the red question mark at the top of the screen, or use the ask a question icon in order to ask a question. Your regular send bar won't reach me! You can also type /ask in front of your question in your regular send bar to reach me.

sundale

The thing I've had to catch myself with is emotion. Since it's first person the narrator should feel something when his wife is out cold on the floor.

beirdd

I guess he just didn't do a good job of it, because it was very clunky to read.

mary rosenblum

Yeah, it's probably just a matter of craft.

mary rosenblum

Sun, that's where the 'added value' of first person comes in...

mary rosenblum

it's the narrator's internal reaction to what he/she sees/hears/senses that adds to the action and dialogue...

mary rosenblum

and it really needs to be there!

mary rosenblum

As you say, if your MC opens the door to find his wife on the floor and dispassionately describes the scene...

mary rosenblum

you'd better have established it well that this guy really doesn't care much for her. :-)

janecj333

In a first person pov story, do the secondary characters inhabit the first person pov, as well?

mary rosenblum

I'm not quite sure what you mean, Jane. ?

mary rosenblum

Can you add a bit here?

janecj333

In third person stories, pov can alternate between characters. I mean, can that occur in first person, too?

mary rosenblum

Ah, I see what you mean.

mary rosenblum

Yes, you can do that.

mary rosenblum

As with third person, it's a lot easier to do in novel form.

mary rosenblum

One of the people attending my dialogue panel was working on a novel with dual first person POVs.

mary rosenblum

But your voices really really REALLY need to be quite different it you do this.

janecj333

Can you show us present tense in first person, and then in thrid person?

mary rosenblum

So I was up to my elbows in saffron-colored dishwater and paella pans when all of a sudden there's light and more noise and bodies than usual in the crowded barely-legal little kitchen. And I turn around, dripping greasy yellow suds and there's this woman with a mic and a couple of walking-camera guys all rigged out in the relay-goggles, getting the 'human eye' view. And the woman is pointing the mic at me and babbling something in a loud, bright, talking-head voice. Something about technology and Doctor somebody, and how do I feel?

mary rosenblum

I feel like crap. I don't own a mirror, not even to shave. I don't need one. Any time I want to see my face, I just have to look at somebody. I get a nice clear reflection of the minimum rebuild work that National Health did on me. Not pretty. Be glad you never ran into me on a dark night. And I'm used to it, I mean, I can't even remember what I looked like before the fire, but...well, I guess it still bugs me. And I'm looking at the camera goggles and thinking I won't even be able to surf the news streams for at least twenty four hours.

mary rosenblum

Excuse the language.

mary rosenblum

Present tense in third person works the same way.

mary rosenblum

She walks into the coffeeshop and looks around and Sally isn't there. So she sits down at the counter and orders a slice of peach pie. It's not on her diet, but right now she doesn't care.

mary rosenblum

There's nothing wrong with present tense in third person, per se.

mary rosenblum

It's used quite often in literary fiction.

mary rosenblum

But it tends to stand out in genre and readers hate it.

mary rosenblum

I think it's not as noticeable in first person where you have a strong character voice.

telcontar

okay, now that you've got my curiosity going... is there MORE about the burned guy?? pweeze?

mary rosenblum

Sure, tel. That's a couple of paragraphs from Skin Deep.

mary rosenblum

It's in the 2005 Best of the Year SF so it'll be in print for a long time. :-)

mary rosenblum

If you're going to use dual first person voices in a novel, it's much better if you switch POV at the chapter breaks.

mary rosenblum

And make sure your voices are SO distinct that readers instantly know who is speaking.

xana

Do you recall how many rewrites you did on that paragraph?

xana

It didin't read like something you had just written

mary rosenblum

No, xana, I don't. I usually revise a story/novel three times -- after the first draft, I mean.

mary rosenblum

Sometimes more, but this one worked pretty well in first draft, so I doubt it was more than three passes.

mary rosenblum

But what that passage is an example of is characterization.

mary rosenblum

This POV is a kid who's 19, grew up in foster care, getting minimal restoration. He has a HS education..

mary rosenblum

and has learned most of what he knows from the internet because he doesn't go out in public much.

mary rosenblum

His pattern of speech, rapid,choppy, high energy, is meant to reflect his age, his lack of conversational skills with other people, his isolation and nervousness around strangers. :-)

sundale

What about things the narrator doesn't see or hear? For example....

mary rosenblum

Yes?

sundale

Jill glanced back and forth between us. “I don’t understand,” She said, “True production may be set back, but why are those shipyards so important to the project?” I really didn’t register that Jill had said anything.

sundale

does this work?

mary rosenblum

Sure.

mary rosenblum

You really can't tell us what a POV -- first or third -- doesn't know without violating the POV, but you can do just that...

mary rosenblum

let Jill say something and your POV says, I wasn't really paying attention.

mary rosenblum

That way the reader knows what the reader needs to know and later on, if needed, your POV can forget.

mary rosenblum

Oh, that's right, Sally told us something about shipyards. But I think I was worrying about Jack that day and didn't pay attention.

mary rosenblum

Or Jill as the case may be. :-)

mary rosenblum

I think you'd want to let your POV say he/she wasn't paying attention rather than "I didn't register anything'...

mary rosenblum

because if he/she didn't ...then the words wouldn't be there.

mary rosenblum

But if he/she says "I really wasn't paying attention', the effect is of 'in one ear and out the other' but the readers can remember. :-)

mary rosenblum

It's equally important with either first or third to think about your characters' reactions to what is going on around them.

mary rosenblum

That is how you reveal characterization, and too little of it creates a flat character.

mary rosenblum

Of course, too much bogs down the story.

mary rosenblum

But the MC's reaction is much more obvious in first person...

mary rosenblum

since that character is constantly speaking to us, in effect.

mary rosenblum

And it is that lack of MC reaction that turns first person into a pretty thin and colorless narrative description.

gail

To Kill A Mockingbird was on my summer reading list this year, and I'm struck again with awe of Lee's craft and by how much depth Scout's narrative adds to the story.

mary rosenblum

Oh, absolutely!

mary rosenblum

I think it's one of the strongest examples of American literature out there, a classic example...

mary rosenblum

of the perfect dramatic tripod, and one of the best examples of first person narrative you can find. :-)

mary rosenblum

I don't think that story would have succeeded as well in third person.

mary rosenblum

And I've often wondered if she started it in first or tried third in the original draft.

mary rosenblum

It is also a classic example of making a point without every telling the reader anything.

janecj333

And first person narrative is basically the character thinking or talking to himself?

mary rosenblum

Exactly.

mary rosenblum

In effect, it is really a one sided conversation with the reader...

mary rosenblum

where the speaker doesn't leave conversational pauses for the reader to respond. :-)

mary rosenblum

And because that MC is talking to herself...and us...we get all the internal asides that would have to be included as internal narrative in third person.

mary rosenblum

First person is nearly all internal narrative. :-)

janecj333

Can you really get away with that now? Too self-indulgent?

mary rosenblum

What, first person, Jane?

xana

And we all know that most non-stop speakers are bores, so this is a clue on how we'd better write in first person

mary rosenblum

Bingo, xana!

mary rosenblum

That is why it is HARDER to write first person.

mary rosenblum

You have to make that nonstop yammering NOT boring.

mary rosenblum

It is an extremely difficult POV for novel length work. We get to listen to your character for 350 pages!

janecj333

The one-sided conversation with the reader...like a lecture, only masquerading as fiction.

mary rosenblum

Oh hardly. Some of the polls I've seen suggest that first person is more popular than third.

mary rosenblum

I think it makes readers feel as if it's more 'real'.

mary rosenblum

A real person lived this. It blurrs the line between fiction and nonfiction narrative.

gail

For me, effective first-person makes me feel as though I'm reading someone diary or journal -- almost guilty for having access to so much intimate detail.

mary rosenblum

Exactly.

mary rosenblum

But you do have to do it WELL for that to work.

mary rosenblum

Three hundred pages of boring natting will not get you readers.

mary rosenblum

boring nattering, I meant. :-)

mary rosenblum

If you read the successful narrative writers like MacManus, Bailey White, Alice Walker...

mary rosenblum

you'll find that they have strong and unique voices.

gwanny

It's more like being told a fascinating story by a good friend over a cup of coffe ( or a pot of it)...if it's really well done

mary rosenblum

yes.

mary rosenblum

That's when you get a sense of the person as character.

mary rosenblum

That's why it's important.

mary rosenblum

We want to feel that the narrator is a real person.

mary rosenblum

I did spot your question, Walt.

mary rosenblum

Walt asked what a dramatic tripod is.

mary rosenblum

Sorry...I should have explained.

mary rosenblum

Story is a tripod, made up of three legs: Plot, Character, Setting.

mary rosenblum

Many books have only two strong legs. They might have a strong plot and good characters...

mary rosenblum

but the story could take place in a variety of times and/or places.

mary rosenblum

But in To Kill a Mockingbird the where/when of the story is as important to the whole as the plot and the characters.

mary rosenblum

It really couldn't have happened that way in another time and place.

mary rosenblum

Snow Falling on Cedars is similar that way.

mary rosenblum

All three legs of the tripod are equally strong.

mary rosenblum

This is the Tuesday Forum with me Mary Rosenblum LR Web Editor, fiction and nonfiction writer. We're talking about first person POV this morning. If you're new here, remember that you need to click on the Ask a Question button or the word bubble next to the red question mark at the top of the screen, or use the ask a question icon in order to ask a question. Your regular send bar won't reach me! You can also type /ask in front of your question in your regular send bar to reach me.

mary rosenblum

Oh yes...

mary rosenblum

another difficulty in first person?

mary rosenblum

Your character's name. :-)

mary rosenblum

It is not easy to find a plausible way to give the readers your POV's name.

mary rosenblum

Of course you can wait longer to slip in your character's name.

mary rosenblum

But remember...if the MC is not of your gender, you need to make that clear on page one.

mary rosenblum

There is an infamous illustration of one of my short stories where the MC in the illo has breasts. My character was male.

mary rosenblum

The artist didn't read far enough to realize that. LOL.

mary rosenblum

They cropped the illustration but an editor friend of mine bought me the original as a little lesson. :-)

gwanny

I keep doing it through dialogue with other characters...the name I mean

gwanny

Only way I can seem to get it to work right :)

mary rosenblum

That's the easiest way, if you have dialogue in a scene.

xana

Is it ok to beginwith something like: My name is Sam Snicklesmuff and I'm a clown?

mary rosenblum

Maybe.

mary rosenblum

Depends on how the story goes.

mary rosenblum

I've certainly seen stories that have started just that way and work fine.

sundale

I find 2 meathods widely used. 1)an introduction paraphraph from the narrator, then the stroy starts 2)other charactors that make those things clear early on.

mary rosenblum

Yeah, I"d avoid the introductory paragraph, sun.

mary rosenblum

It's clunky and you would be shocked at how many readers skip it. :-)

gwanny

How about an example of alternatives Mary?

mary rosenblum

There aren't a lot. You can have someone summon that person by name...a doctor's appointment, or something.

mary rosenblum

He/she can read a letter opening...

mary rosenblum

notice his/her name on an award.

mary rosenblum

But you have the vivid presence of the character's voice.

mary rosenblum

The name is not really an important issue.

mary rosenblum

I can't even remember what I named the character in that excerpt I dropped in here.

mary rosenblum

I know that character intimately, but I probably used his name once in the story.

mary rosenblum

Just to keep readers from complaining that I didn't name him. :-)

janecj333

"Get off the table, Johnny," my mom used to say. That was before I had 'em tweak me at the GenderReassign, and started pulling in the big bucks doing lap dances at 1 am, Eastern time."

mary rosenblum

Good example. I love it, hee hee.

mary rosenblum

There you not only give our character's original name, but make the current gender quite clear. :-)

mary rosenblum

Overall, remember, it's not enough to just use 'I' and describe the action.

mary rosenblum

Your 'I" whether it is you or a made up character, needs to be a complete, fully developed, real person to your readers.

mary rosenblum

You need to let your first person narrator add his/her 'two cents worth' to what is going on...

mary rosenblum

as asides, tone of description, that sort of thing...

mary rosenblum

so that we develop a sense of this person, what he or she is like.

mary rosenblum

Then it DOES seem like a story told by a good friend rather than a monotone narrative.

mary rosenblum

Well, this has been a fun Oregon hour.

mary rosenblum

I'll post the transcripts in the usual place.

mary rosenblum

Writing Craft: Forum Transcripts.

mary rosenblum

ANd if you have time for summer reading, I recommend To Kill a Mockingbird as a marvelous example of novel craft, period.

mary rosenblum

See you tomorrow for our casual chat.

mary rosenblum

I'll be a bit late, since I'm going to be tutoring first thing in the morning. :-)

walte

Tomorrow?

mary rosenblum

Yep, tomorrow, Walte.

mary rosenblum

We get together to chat about anything and everything. :-)

mary rosenblum

Have a good day, all!

 

Return to Forum Transcripts


Home | Writing Course | Short Story | Full Story Writing Test 
 
Send Me Full Info | Enroll | Our Instructors | Our CredentialsSample Lesson 
College Credits | Tax Deductibility | From Overseas  | Writer's Bookstore  
Free Writer's News | Life Support for Writers | Chat Room  | Live Forum | Writing Craft
Calendar of Events | Professional Connection | Transcripts | Post a Note | Surviving & Thriving
 
Student Center | Privacy Policy | Web EditorComments | Writing for Children 

LongRidge Writers Group
91 Long Ridge Road, West Redding, Connecticut 06896
Telephone: 1-800-624-1476 ~ Fax: 203-792-8406
Email:
InformationService@LongRidgeWritersGroup.com

Copyright © Writer's Institute, Inc., 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006
No part of the electronic transmission to which this notice is appended may be reproduced or redistributed in any form or manner without the express written permission of Writer's Institute, Inc.