Beginnings

A Workshop for Developing Plot with Engaging Openings that Escalate Stakes and Crank Up Tension

Erica Maria Litz shows how to start well and keep readers turning your pages

In fiction, as in all storytelling, engaging openings get readers to turn the first page and read on. In this workshop, we will explore how to escalate stakes and generate tension with near-peaked openings from the beginning of the story on the first page, to chapter and scene openings. We will discuss how to raise stakes and build tension through dialogue, sensory descriptions, figurative language, environment, action, and gestures.

Part of Scottsdale's 2023 National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) series. 

Space is limited. Tickets for the workshop will be available at the main information desk 30 minutes before the workshop begins on a first come, first served basis. 

Erica Maria Litz has been an Adjunct Creative Writing and English Professor for Scottsdale Community College since 2016. Erica Maria Litz is also a published poet and professional writer, editor, and publishing consultant. Her credentials include a BS in Business, MFA in Creative Writing, and MEd in Curriculum and Instruction in Gifted Education from Arizona State University.

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