What is a Writers' Cheat Sheet?  It's a visual aid and reference document that helps a writer understand, execute, check, or recall an aspect, device, or technique of writing fiction.
        Agents, editors, and publishers say that 95% to 98% of the manuscripts they receive these days are unpublishable.  Why is that?  Because writing fiction is not as easy as it seems.  After all, when it comes to writing fiction, there are more than one hundred and forty-four aspects to be considered--and mastered.  Such craft techniques as Point of View, Viewpoint, and Show-Don't-Tell are the tip of the iceberg when it comes to a marketable short story or a novel.
        Most peoples' schooling involved learning the English language, grammar, and punctuation in order to communicate.  That education didn't emphasize fiction or how to be a storyteller.  But what about having a writing talent?  Actually, talent can take a writer only so far.  What enhances talent is craft.  And craft can be learned.  Craft is the difference between self-published, free downloads, or the ninety-nine cent book, and a story that's remembered because that story was a good read. 
        I strongly believe writers can educate themselves and utilize good fiction writing skills.  Doing so will make a story rise above the 95-98% of what continues to be submitted and self-published.  To that end, my craft workshops educate writers.  I am also an advocate of using "cheat sheets" to accelerate the story-writing and publishing process. 

_** February 1 to March 9, 2012  "Cause & Effect Sequences" - an online workshop for Pennwriters - LIMITED CLASS SIZE--don't delay--take advantage of special Early Bird prices and enroll now by going to:  http://tinyurl.com/PennwritersCourse201202 or check the Online Courses tab at www.pennwriters.org. or read the Course Description below.
CAUSE & EFFECT SEQUENCES COURSE DESCRIPTION:  Interesting stories that grab a reader's attention and keep them turning pages don't happen by accident.  They employ the techniques and devices of Cause & Effect Sequences.  This intensive course will teach you how to use Cause & Effect Sequences to:  
* add or enhance urgency, suspense, and drama to scenes and plots
* enhance the flow of the story
* validate motivations for character's behavior, thinking, reactions, and decisions
* seamlessly enter or depart flashbacks or remembrances
* insure the reader can suspend disbelief
* produce cleaner, more marketable copy by recognizing "red flag" words that often indicate skewed cause-effects

SPECIAL NOTE:  Participants are to submit the first 500 words from the opening of one of their stories.  Excerpts will be privately critiqued by the instructor for use of Cause & Effect Sequences, however, with permission, some may be used as examples for the group.  There will also be weekly assignments that need to be turned in.  NOTE: This course is not for beginners but intermediate writers who are very familiar with story structure, writing and story terms, and who have completed and have been marketing short stories or a novel. FREE with this course:  "Bloopers & Blunders"--a list of 46 common mistakes made in writing fiction.  

Catherine is a fantastic instructor!  I'm a new writer and I have much to learn and I now realize I can't assume the reader can read my mind :-).  --S.L., Savannah, GA

Not only did Catherine take time to answer all of my questions, she elaborated on each with examples I easily understood. . . . She knows her stuff!  --T.W., Houston, TX

How glad I am that I took Catherine's course . . . She was very generous with her time and her feedback. That alone sets her apart from other "lecturers" I've encountered. - -A.K., Barnesville, PA

My writing, editing, and reading have moved to a new level because of the techniques I learned in Catherine's course.  --E.W., Sante Fe, NM

Your sessions have been very practical and helpful.  I've learned more form them than from many of the books I've read.  Thank you very much for your critique and words of encouragement. --N.H., Butler PA

"Never before have I received such a thorough, intensive, critique . . . This woman knows her stuff!  She knows the mechanics of writing and the structure of story inside and out."  --J.E., Pittsburgh PA

"Your strong, positive response is encouraging and your suggestions will help me hone my manuscript before I send it to agents and editors."  W.G., Chicago, IL 

I learned a lot of tricks that will make my writing better.  Her handouts were easy to understand and very informative.  --R.B., Jericho NY

      

      Catherine sincerely believes a writer needs to be self-educated so she reads extensively about the business and craft of writing and attends workshops and conferences.  She has given writers' workshops, judged numerous writing contests, privately edits and evaluates work to pinpoint what the author needs to learn, and shares her acquired knowledge and expertise in order to help others achieve their writing goals.
     Writing as C.E. McLean, Catherine's science-fiction, contemporary romance, and paranormal stories have sold to both hard-copy and online magazines and anthologies.  Currently she has sold the short story "Adrada's Knot" to NOVA Science Fiction and it was published November 2011.  January through March 2011, her lighthearted, flash-fiction, science fiction short story ("Just Desserts") was published by http://www.GoldenVisionsMagazine.biz (and is available in the achieves).  She continues to market novel-length work as well as short stories.
     Before turning to fiction, Catherine was a journalist and spent eleven years as the editor of a regional specialty publication. Of two newsletters she edited, one garnered her a national award.  She has had two dozen articles published on the craft of writing fiction and given more than 35 workshops to writers both in person and online.  Catherine completed the rigorous Professional Writing Courses at the University of Oklahoma and is a member of the OWW (Online Writing Workshop) for Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror as well as Fantasy Writing, and Broad Universe.  She earned an RWA (Romance Writers of America) Pro Pin and has been a member of RWA and two of its chapters. She's also a past member of the International Women's Writing Guild (IWWG).
     In 1995, she joined Pennwriters, a statewide writers organization of more than 450 members--and she holds a Published Penn status.  In 2010, she was awarded the Pennwriters Meritorious Service Award. 

PERSONAL INFORMATION:  Catherine lives on a farm in Western Pennsylvania where she and her husband raised and trained Morgan Sport Horses. Catherine has not only garnered riding and driving horse show championships but is also a Reserve National Champion Competitive Trail Rider. She and her husband share their rambling farmhouse with three opinionated cats—inherited from their daughter when she went off to culinary school—and one Rough-Coat Jack Russell Terrier who thinks he's a cat.
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—Shorten the time it takes to learn a writing skill
—Act as a visual aid and jog your memory about an element of fiction
—Reaffirm that you're following proper techniques which you've read about in how-to books
—Enhance and organize your own notes on writing techniques and craft
—Hone a skill you've already learned
—Remind you of what you heard in a workshop on the subject and thus allow you to watch for it in your writing
—Guide you through a rewrite or the revision process
—Enable you to submit more professional manuscripts
NOTE:  Manuscripts are evaluated for devices and elements of story as well as copy editing (thus enabling writers to become better self-editors and succeed in marketing their work).  Costs vary as does time availability.  Use the form below to inquire.