Nothing energizes a Writer as much as a Writers' Workshop.
The volume of information is stunning and I hope to retain 10% of it. But I took copious notes so I have a lot to look back on. Nothing is free but note taking during a paid workshop makes some of the information feel free.
The first day we had a Writers' Boot Camp. All day long with Chuck Sambuchino. He was magnificent. Hours and hours of information. We even had a one page Critique Fest. He went through every singe page that was passed forward.
I took detailed notes on each one. I listened intently for ever drop of wisdom he imparted. Then he came to mine...
EEEEEK... He said that my story started in the wrong place. GREAT feed back. Now I know to rewrite the first Chapter or most of the first chapter. He pointed out where I repeated unnecessarily. I can fix that. He also said, "Interesting". Hopefully, that was positive. He liked a turn of phrase. All in all great input.
The second day I went to several workshops. The first one was Mastering suspense, Structure and Plot Part 1 and Part 2. I have lots of notes to go back over and learn from.
The next workshop was How to Get an Agent. Most of that I had researched on the net but it was nice to get reinforcement.
Right after lunch we were invited to an extra non -scheduled work shop by Dana Smith. She talked about researching your novel. All I can remember was that she was funny, so incredibly funny.
The third workshop was extraordinary. It was called Writing Your Inner Child. Sara Barnard gave a very interesting demonstration on how to think like your younger character. Who knew it was that simple yet complex. There was a lot for me to remember and learn.
Next I went to What Makes a Western a Western. Fascinating. A lot to think about.
Sunday the first workshop I went to was It's All About Character. Rapid fire information. It will take me weeks to go over and digest.
My BIG excitement was my scheduled Pitch session with Cynthia Ruchti. She is a literary agent for Books & Such.
I was so nervous and nauseous all at the same time. But I spent a week trying to nail down my pitch. I worked and reworked ten sentences until I had them down to a short crisp six.
Yes, it did still sound memorized. But better to sound memorized than muddled.
Then I was so thrilled that Mrs. Ruchti spoke at the last workshop of the conference. I was just amazed at how funny and informative she was. A slower pace but I absorbed more.
I met some wonderful people and made some great friends!
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