Video Outline

Quick recap

Jim Tritten delivered a presentation on plot structures and story arcs as part of MWSA's Writers Education Program, covering various narrative elements and engaging participants in creative exercises. The group discussed writing techniques, tools, and experiences, while also addressing administrative matters such as anthology sales and conference logistics.

Summary

Plot and Story Arc Presentation

Jim Tritten, a retired Navy carrier pilot and 2023 MWSA Writer of the Year, presented on "Plot and Story Arc" as part of a series of writing presentations. He discussed the structure and development of stories, including elements like character development, conflict, and resolution. The presentation was part of MWSA's Writers Education Program.

Mastering Plot Structures in Writing

Jim discussed various plot structures and story arcs, including Freitag's pyramid, the classic story structure, the Fitchian curve, and the hero's journey. He explained how these structures can be applied to both fiction and nonfiction writing, highlighting the differences between character-driven and plot-driven narratives. Jim also covered basic plot types such as man versus man, man versus society, and coming-of-age stories, as well as mystery plots and timeline choices in writing. The session concluded with an exercise for participants to outline a story based on a specific hour in their lives, focusing on three key plot points.

Creative Story Arc Exploration

The group engaged in a creative writing exercise where participants either wrote or drew their personal story arcs, focusing on three key plot points. Nancy shared her experience of a close encounter with a truck carrying lumber on the interstate, while Johnny recounted a meaningful dinner experience in San Remo, Italy, with the Nochettis family. Bob contributed a true story about a plane crash during takeoff, emphasizing the importance of capturing life's experiences in writing. The discussion highlighted different approaches to outlining and structuring stories, with some participants finding outlines helpful and others preferring to write freely.

Running, Skydiving, and Emotional Stories

Jack London shared his experience of running the London Marathon, describing how he and other runners dealt with adverse weather conditions. Wes recounted a skydiving experience, highlighting the challenges of writing about a short, intense event. John shared a story idea about serving as an escort officer for a fallen friend, emphasizing the emotional rollercoaster involved. The group discussed the potential of developing these stories further, with Jim suggesting ways to enhance the narrative elements.

Mastering Story Arcs and Conflict

Jim discussed various story arcs and plot structures, emphasizing the importance of conflict, tension, and subplots in creating engaging narratives. He explained how to handle minor characters and ensure they have a satisfying conclusion, noting that loose ends should be tied up unless the story is part of a series. Jim also shared a personal experience of writing a stream-of-consciousness piece during a writing workshop for veterans, highlighting that sometimes the most powerful stories emerge without premeditated planning.

Novel Writing Techniques and Tools

Jim discussed writing techniques and tools, emphasizing the importance of outlining and using online tools like Dramatica Pro for plotting novels. He suggested that writers practice with short stories before tackling longer works and recommended Jack's book for further guidance.

Q&A Session

Enhancing Writing Skills Through Sanderson

The group discussed Brandon Sanderson's writing workshops and educational content, with Michael sharing his experience of attending a cruise workshop and Troy recommending Sanderson's BYU lectures on creative writing. Troy described Sanderson's teaching style and the value of his university-level content, while John suggested that members join the reviewer team to enhance their writing skills collaboratively. Jim and Jack London encouraged continuous learning through courses and emphasized the benefits of attending the MWSA annual meeting in Kansas City.

Writing Group Anecdotes and Updates

The meeting began with Nancy sharing an amusing anecdote about a writing group member, a retired police detective, who inadvertently caused a scene at a restaurant while discussing murder methods for her book. Jim and Michael then shared similar experiences from their writing groups, highlighting the common occurrence of such discussions. Wes updated the group on his upcoming trip to Japan and Okinawa with the World War II Museum, aiming to find a specific hill where his father fought. Traci inquired about purchasing multiple copies of the new anthology, and Bob explained that they are working through Amazon to set up direct sales, with Val handling the logistics. Jim suggested a method used by Southwest Writers to offer discounted anthologies to authors, which Bob found interesting. John confirmed that the conference recording would be available online within 48 hours, and Jim announced that he and Jack were stepping down as education czars, inviting a volunteer to take over. The conversation ended with plans for the upcoming conference in Kansas City.

Our initial Zoom Session was on July 27, 2025 at 5 PM Eastern, 4 PM CST, 3 PM MST, 2 PM PST. Due to tecnical difficulties, we had to re-record Bob’s presentation, without the original audience.

MWSA will announce our 2025 season award finalists via a video presentation this coming Friday, July 25, at 8:00 PM Eastern Time (7:00 PM Central, 6:00 PM Mountain, and 5:00 PM Pacific).

YouTube: https://youtu.be/YjyDCmbDJ04

Press release

Each review and awards season starts (author submission window opens) on Jan 2. MWSA authors can submit books until June 1.

We normally announce finalists around mid-August, and present medals during our annual membership conference (Sept—Nov).

Each review and awards season starts (author submission window opens) on Jan 2. MWSA authors can submit books until June 1.

We normally announce finalists around mid-August, and present medals during our annual membership conference (Sept—Nov).

A Primer on Writing for Television and the Movies

Part Four: The Rewrite: You’ve written your script, created your bible, now what?” by Greg Elliot

MWSA will announce our 2024 Awards Finalists this Saturday, July 6, at 8 PM Eastern (7 Central, 6 Mountain, 5 Pacific Daylight Time).

The announcement will be broadcast on our Facebook and Instagram accounts at that time. You can watch the video live by yourself using the Facebook and Instagram links below.

But why watch by yourself when you can watch it with your fellow MWSA authors at a live online watch party? ;-)

Zoom Watch Party

This year, we’re trying something new: a finalist announcement watch party on Zoom. Join us 5-10-15 minutes before the scheduled time. Then, we’ll watch the video together live at the times listed above (8 PM Eastern).

After the video airs, we’ll spend another 15-30 minutes congratulating this year’s winners and/or fielding any questions you may have. Use the link below to join us on Zoom.

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89879264354?pwd=0sqzjCEtps9AJ0OS3PggXPxVsIEoF9.1

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/MWSA.MembersPublic/live_videos

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/mwsa.member/

If you miss the live presentations, we’ll post the video on our website and our allied social media sites. We’ll also publish a list of our finalists on our 2024 season page shortly after the live video announcement (https://www.mwsadispatches.com/2024-season)

Good luck to all our 2024 authors!

Part 3, “Your Bible: Establishing your World, Tone, Theme, and creating the well from which your characters emerge,” by Greg Elliot

Where does your story take place? When does your story take place? The past? The future? And what’s your tone? Dark, with a sense of humor? Light, but with a serious streak? Laying out the foundation of your story in your bible.

Click here to watch the recorded Zoom session.

Part 2, “Building Dialogue, Creating Character, Forming Plot,” by Greg Elliot

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/2245629439?pwd=Sk92UXVZNzBpK1Z3NWd1TWtPcUM3UT09&omn=81240819787

Back by popular demand, the MWSA Writers Education Series continues on Saturday, Feb. 24, at 5:00 PM EST with Greg Elliot who will speak with members about screen writing and writing for television.

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/2245629439?pwd=Sk92UXVZNzBpK1Z3NWd1TWtPcUM3UT09

MWSA’s 2024 season will start two weeks earlier than in years past.

We’ll start accepting author book submissions on January 2, 2024, and the window will remain open until June 1. This will give us more breathing room before this year’s awards banquet in San Diego, CA, on September 28, 2024.

We’ll provide further details as we approach the season kickoff. Stay tuned!

Topic: Getting to the Heart of the Matter: How and When to Reveal Emotion

Presenter: Greg Elliot, Screenwriter/Writer/Editor
November 9, 2023, at 4 PM EST

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81667323159?pwd=eH2oAsuNw5sXqgk49FHQGHK4ONQXdG.1

Click here to see videos of Greg’s past presentations.

When: August 3, 2023 @ 4PM EST

Subject: Story Structure 2: character development, tension, and conflict.

Presenter: Greg Elliot

MWSA Zoom Webinars Are Back!
What: MWSA Writer’s Education Webinar Series Welcomes Greg Elliot

When: May 20, 2023, 1 PM EST.

Who: Greg Elliot. For fifteen years, Greg taught at UCLA for the Extension Writers’ Program and was the recipient of their Outstanding Instructor Award in Screenwriting in 2014. Elliot wrote for Star Trek: Voyager, for which he received a Sci-Fi Universe Award nomination. He was a Story Editor on the Warner Brother series Savannah and an Executive Story Editor on the WB series Charmed. Greg also wrote for the Disney Channel series In a Heartbeat. Professionally, Greg has edited short stories, novels, nonfiction books, brochures, how-to books, personal essays, and college papers.

Greg will offer classes on story structure, broken into two parts. The classes will each last 1.5 hours, and questions will be permitted at the end.

The First  Session: Story Structure: Setting Your Scenes, Backstory and Flashbacks, Your Beginning and Ending.

Questions? Please email MWSA Board Member Gary Zelinski at gbzelinski@gmail.com if you have any questions.

We'll be announcing our 2022 Season Finalists via live video presentation on our Facebook page tomorrow, July 1, at 8 PM Eastern Time. We're making this announcement a little earlier than planned to give as much time as possible to our award winners to make plans to join us in New Orleans.

To watch the video live, click on the image above or use this link: https://www.facebook.com/events/542447014158688 

To watch the video after it's finished playing, you'll be able to find it here:

https://www.facebook.com/MWSA.MembersPublic/videos

To make your conference (and/or awards banquet) reservations, visit the conference page on our website

https://www.mwsadispatches.com/events/2022-conference

Good luck to all our MWSA authors!

Thanks, 
MWSA Awards Directors

PS. We'll send our finalists email notification shortly after the video airs. At that time, we'll also update the 2022 season page our website to list the winners.

Due to the earlier-than-normal date for our conference and awards banquet, we’ll be closing our submission window earlier this year: June 1.

We’re also planning to announce our 2022 awards finalists on July 15—a month earlier than normal.

Visit our Review and Awards page for information.

Visit our 2022 Conference page for more details about our next general membership conference in New Orleans.

Titled “Your Work in Progress” this first class will focus on “Your first line and what comes after.” This class can benefit most of us. Our guest instructor will be Joseph Badal, a multi award winning author and this year's MWSA Writer of the Year.  He has also been a Tony Hillerman awardee twice, and Eric Hoffer award winner, and an Amazon and Barnes and Noble #1 bestseller. So, plan on being there! More to come.

Zoom links TBD

MWSA Review & Awards 2022 Season will kick off on January 15.

Due to the earlier-than-normal date for our conference and awards banquet, we’ll be closing our submission window earlier this year: June 1.

We’re also planning to announce our 2022 awards finalists on July 15—a month earlier than normal.

Visit our Review and Awards page for information.

Visit our 2022 Conference page for more details about our next general membership conference in New Orleans.