You may be familiar with the necessary elements for a mystery, but creating a good setting, using purposeful dialogue, and creating “real” characters can help create a better story.
Covered in this presentation:
- Setting and Background are not the same thing
- Dialogue is not just random words
- Credible characters make for a more convincing story
About Our Speaker
Mike Alvarez, a native Arizonan, has written and published numerous short stories, essays, poems, and articles on writing. Mike is a member of the Arizona Mystery Writers and the Society of Southwestern Authors.
His stories and articles have appeared in the Arizona Daily Star and Writer's Digest. His award-winning short story, “The Human Element,” was included in the 1994 anthology: Computer Legends, Lies and Lore.
His published books include The Last Place God Made, Deliver Us from Evil, Kino’s Gold, The Treasure of the Santa Ritas (Young Adult), and Mamas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Writers (a book about writers and the writing life).
Mike lives in Tucson, Arizona. He began teaching writing at Pima Community College in 1990. Currently, he serves as an adjunct faculty member at PCC Northwest Campus.
We’ll meet LIVE at The “L” Offices, 1840 E. River Road. We’ll provide coffee and treats, you provide the questions.
The meeting will run from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., with time for catching up from 11:30 to noon.
Costs for members is $10, $15 for non-members.
We’ll also be streaming the meeting by Zoom, at no charge (but without treats).
You need not be a member of Arizona Mystery Writers to join our Zoom meetings. The link is sent out with the newsletter; sign up on our website.
