BOOK CLUBS! If you are in the Tallahassee area, Donna would be delighted to meet with your group. The Glass Madonna and Wet Work are available as traveling book kits (10 copies) at the Leon County Library. Outside the area, she can usually Zoom with you to answer questions about her books. Below: Harbor Chase Book Club members

Donna Meredith

Presentations for general public

  • The Heroine's Journey in Literature: How We Got From Elizabeth Bennett to Lizbeth Salander
    • Uses examples from novels and movies
    • Contrasts traditional vs. modern heroines
  • Magic in the Mountains: The Story of West Virginia Glass
  • Flawed Characters in Southern Literature
    • Classic examples like Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" and Mitchell's "Gone With the Wind"
    • Modern examples like Conroy's "The Prince of Tides" and Cooper's "Purple Jesus"


Presentations for Writers

  • The Heroine's Journey for Writers
    • Women travel down different roads than men and fight different dragons. This workshop looks at the female journeyin detail, including the major plot points in shaping a novel with a female protagonist.
  • The Beat Goes On: Writing and Tagging Dialogue
    • Beats are a great way to avoid speaker tags with your dialogue, but they can become clichéd if overused. This workshop will help writers avoid the pitfalls of trite beats and offers practice in shaping interesting action to set up dialogue.
  • Plot Points
    • Examines the plot clock and explains how to use it to guide the structure of your story.
    • Explores the hero's journey archetype
    • Considers novel structure as a three-act or a seven-act play
  • The Power of Place
    • This workshop looks at the setting of a story as a crucible that unites characters and conflict. The workshop will teach you to harness the power of place to fully flesh out believable characters.
    • We explore making full use of locale, historical era , time, weather, season, natural light, a character in conflict with the setting, the “Third Element”
  • Jazz Up Your Nonfiction with Fiction Techniques
    • Hooks, Scenes, Characters
    • Retrospective Narrator vs. Protagonist
  • The Perfect Imperfect Character
    • Whether you are writing a romance novel, science fantasy, or literary fiction, every story needs a strong main character. In this two-hour workshop, you will create a quirky hero for your story and a well-matched opponent. With step-by-step guidance and feedback, this workshop will help you design characters ready to rock the pages of your story.
  • The Perfect Scene to Showcase Your Character
    • Scenes are the building blocks of every story. In this two-hour workshop, you will write a complete scene that places your hero in conflict with a worthy opponent. With step-by-step guidance and feedback, you’ll use action and dialogue to create the kind of tension that will have readers turning the pages to find out what happens next.

  • Publishing Bootcamp Workshops