On Tuesday, November 7, writer and editor Amy Ratcliffe, a two-time winner of the Sarasota Fiction Writers Annual Short Story Contest, offered an excellent presentation of her top tips for learning how to write better without writing. Such steps included the exhortation to read everything and anything to learn what works and doesn’t work in literature, observe others and listen to conversations in public, travel to encounter new people and experiences, and join a book club to

Editor and former Sarasota Fiction Writers member Amy Ratcliffe will speak at the Nov. 7 meeting of the Sarasota Fiction Writers at Selby Library at 6 p.m. She will present “7 Ways to Become a Better Writer That Don’t Involve Writing.” It’s a well-known fact that to become a better writer, people must write. But there are other ways (that don’t involve writing) to hone writing skills and enhance fiction with more authentic dialogue, scenes that draw readers in and characters

At the July 11 Sarasota Fiction Writers meeting, five of our members presented some of the highlights of Strunk & White’s famous guidebook The Elements of Style. The meeting kicked off with a round table discussion of “hopefully” and its common, inappropriate usage in today’s vernacular. Bill Carrigan then reviewed Strunk & White’s guidelines on punctuation and other grammar, including the proper application of hyphens, dashes, and comma placement. Bill was followed by Bob Sp

At the June 6 Sarasota Fiction Writers meeting, author Jaimie Engle shared her experiences and knowledge concerning self-publication and, in particular, marketing. Jaimie travels around Florida to schools, writing conventions, and comic cons selling and discussing her books: middle-grade historical fantasy Clifton Chase and the Arrow of Light, fantasy adventure Dreadlands: Wolf Moon, anthology of short stories The Toilet Papers: Places to Go, While You Go, science fiction The

On November 1, children's author Dianne Ochiltree shared several of her writing tips with the Sarasota Fiction Writers group. Dianne is a nationally recognized author of books for the very young. Her books have appeared on numerous recommended reading lists, classroom desks, and library shelves. Her bedtime book, LULL-A-BYE, LITTLE ONE, was selected for the Dollywood Foundation's childhood literacy initiative, Imagination Library in 2007. Her picture book, MOLLY BY GOLLY! THE