There is nothing worse than an awkward sex scene. Many authors, who want to write romance feel pressured to include sex scenes in their stories, even if they aren't well suited to write Tab A into Slot B. That's why they should take this class, so they can write on the "sweet side." This class […]

Kendrick Lamar said, "If I'm gonna tell a real story, I'm gonna start with a name."  Twenty-first century audiences demand deep, emotional connections with characters. Authors have learned how to use writing techniques to  foster these emotional connections, but authors who randomly name their characters are missing a prime opportunity to create more emotion, more […]

Toward the end of the twentieth century, the modern Civil Rights era was launched and as Sam Cooke sang, “A Change Gone Come.” The change came and the psychology of Black people in the United States underwent a sea change. As we will see in this class in the first week, there were several reasons […]

At Point Comfort in 1619, more than a dozen enslaved Black men were bought to the shores of Virginia and the history of Blackness in the United States was established. There are three distinct time periods to think about and I will address them, depending upon what you are writing about: 1619-1800, 1800-1865, 1865-1950. 1619-1800—Enslavement […]