Author: Ann Gordon

A former English and Computer Science teacher, a technical writer, copy editor and instructional designer. She has a B.A. in English and a Masters in Computer Science. She’s currently semi-retired. Ann has written and published short stories and lots of articles, along with plenty of technical docs. She has also co-authored and/or copy-edited six historical fiction books, self-published on Amazon, and she is a webmaster for five websites. She’s won writing awards in most categories, including flash fiction. She wrote her first stories in elementary school and continued writing fiction until she was twenty, when she had to stop writing to make a living and raise a family. She’s been a member of RMFW for years and attends the Western Slope meetings when she can. She is president of the online chapter of the League of Utah Writers; her chapter has a large critique group. She lives in a dusty, windy desert town in SE Utah.

The Strong vs the Weak

Posted on June 9, 2020June 9, 2020 by Ann Gordon

In my writing critiques I often advise authors to use more strong, active verbs and fewer weak, passive verbs. Yet, when it comes to verbs, strong doesn’t actually mean active and weak doesn’t actually mean passive, even though that’s what they are often labeled today. Starken und Schwachen Verben When I was an undergrad I…

Production in the Time of Corona, or Why I Needed New Commandments

Posted on April 14, 2020April 13, 2020 by Ann Gordon

At first it seemed that being forced indoors, laid off work, and practicing social distancing would foster my creative endeavors. Just imagine what I could do with loads of free time alone—time to finish abandoned projects, to bolster my research, to type the stack of story notes languishing atop the file cabinet, and to expand…

Managing a Critique Group

Posted on March 10, 2020March 11, 2020 by Ann Gordon

In February I attended the bi-monthly Western Slope writing workshop; this time it was about critique partners. I enjoy the RMFW workshops and attend them when I can spare the time to drive 120 miles to Grand Junction. It isn’t just the drive time. For residents of southeastern Utah, a meeting in G.J. takes all…

The Need for Structure

Posted on December 10, 2019 by Ann Gordon

Beginnings are Easy For years I wanted to move from writing technical documents to writing thrillers. Even though writing non-fiction had paid the bills, my heartstrings are pulled by the desire to pen entertaining stories and novels. As it turned out, I found I could complete short stories with ease, but novels—not so much. I…

Comanding the Muse

Posted on November 12, 2019 by Ann Gordon

For the last six years I’ve had this on again, off again relationship with my Muse. For the most part I’d plod on with my droll life until inspiration struck. Out of nowhere a story arc or unforgettable character would flood my mind and I’d drop whatever I was doing and write up a storm….