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Pathways to Pages: A Double Feature Workshop with Mary Ann Hoffman
I conducted a two-person workshop last Saturday, April 25, with Mary Ann Hoffman at the New Hope Free Library. Her portion was on mind mapping and creative thinking, and mine was on writing.
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A Twofer Book Reading with Author Kim Cook
Another good book reading
I did another two-author book reading yesterday in Lambertville, with Kim Cook. I ghost wrote her memoir, I Am My Father’s Child: A True Story of History, Mystery, Betrayal, and Forgiveness, and we discovered after doing this at Read Mill Books in Clinton, NJ, that people liked hearing about our working process. It was always supposed to be just Kim, since I’m now promoting her book and working with her on other pojects, but things sometimes go in unexpected direction.
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Your Write Path Weekly Writing Prompt
This week’s writing prompt / dance with a partner do-si-do
I’ve been doing more writing exercises with index cards. I used this one today in a journaling group and it’s a lot of fun. But it does requires at least two people! (We did it with three in Monday’s workshop.)
One person writes an opening sentence establishing a character in a situation. Then you alternate — one person writes a sentence beginning with “Fortunately…” and the other writes the next beginning with “Unfortunately…” and you keep going back and forth 3 or 4 times, building an increasingly wild story together.
Example:
- “Maria decided to rob a bakery at 3am.”
- “Fortunately, the door was unlocked.”
- “Unfortunately, so was the bear cage next door.”
- “Fortunately, the bear loved croissants…”
It’s great for a workshop because it teaches cause and effect, narrative momentum, and the value of surprise, and it’s entertaining. At the end you can each read the full story aloud. We did two rounds, switching who writes “Fortunately” and who writes “Unfortunately.”
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A Book Reading with Authors Mark McNease and Kim Cook, Lambertville, May 3 (Video Excerpt)
On May 3rd, 2026, in Lambertville, New Jersey, two authors came together for an afternoon of storytelling, craft, and memoir. Mark McNease shared excerpts from Blank Page to Bookshelf: From First Sentence to First Sale — his guide to fiction writing, character creation, and self-publishing — and Kim Cook shared from her powerful memoir, I Am My Father’s Child: A True Story of History, Mystery, Betrayal, and Forgiveness. Keep watching for a video excerpt from that event.
