One Brick at a Time: Crafting Compelling Scenes

By Barbara Ashford

Part of the How They Do It Series

JH: Many layers go into a great scene. Some we add on instinct, while others require a little thought or a lot of effort. Barbara Ashford visits the lecture hall to day to share tips on crafting compelling scenes.

Award-winning novelist Barbara Ashford has been praised by reviewers and readers alike for her compelling characters, heartfelt storytelling, and powerful scenes.

Barbara's first published series was the dark fantasy trilogy Trickster's Game (written as Barbara Campbell). Published by DAW Books, Trickster's Game was a finalist for the Mythopoeic Society's 2010 Fantasy Award for adult literature.

Barbara's background as a professional actress, lyricist, and librettist has helped her delve deeply into character and explore the complexities of human nature on the stage as well as on the page. Her musical adaptation of Far from the Madding Crowd has been optioned for Broadway.

She drew on her musical theatre roots for her second series, the award-winning Spellcast and its sequel Spellcrossed , set in a magical summer stock theatre. In 2014, DAW Books released the two novels in an omnibus edition: Spells at the Crossroads .

A graduate of the Odyssey workshop, Barbara has taught five previous online courses for Odyssey and has served on the staff of the Odyssey Critique Service for more than ten years. You can visit her dual selves at barbara-campbell.com and barbara-ashford.com

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Take it away Barbara...
Read more »Written by Janice Hardy. Fiction-University.com