Good afternoon readers! I am just plain tuckered out. And why would that be you might wonder?( Like you're just panting to know? Ha!)
Well, Scarlet and I fed out brains with a smokin' hot writing workshop in Birmingham, Alabama. For some folks that's not a long way to go. But from Atlanta, Georgia, that's not just around the corner. There were folks there who had driven farther than I did and I know they're tired. Southern Magic, the Alabama chapter of Romance Writers of America hosted us and even fed us hot dogs with all the fixin's and desserts to tempt anyone's sweet tooth and sabotage my diet for the day.
FROM THOUGH TO PLOT, A Break into Fiction @Program given by the illustrious authors Dianna Love Snell and Mary Buckham was intense and awesome. I won't give away the workshop but the ladies used personality profiles and worksheets to give us insight into ourselves. Then we looked at how we could use the personality trait charts to make out characters more real. I must say the exercises were eye opening!
Yes, I could have stayed home and had all day to write but I needed the workshop to feed my brain. If you write, you need to do workshops when you can. There are many online workshops about everything. RWR, the magazine from Romance Writers of America has articles about writing every month. Writer's Digest has articles anyone can buy in a bookstore and even get online. They even have tons of craft books for sale and a book club to make it easier.
As writers we need to read books, as many as we can! Fiction writers need to read fiction, any genre books or shorts. Harlequin has a community at eHarlequin.com to sell books and to showcase their writers and offer articles about writing and explain what they want in each of their lines, writer's guidelines and a way readers can know what to expect in books in each line.
Now, I'm headed to a local hardware store to see if liquidation prices are really bargains and maybe buy a few things.
Feel free to add any sources for brain food for writers or anyone else. I promise to return and add lines and tell you if there were any good looking guys at the hardware store.
Mary, I'm glad you and Scarlett had a good time at the workshop. I wish I could have been there because I've heard nothing but good news about Diana and Mary's seminar.
Thanks, Pam. There was a lot of "food for thought".
Sounds highly productive, Mary. And tiring.
Beth, it was well worth it!
Mary, your day sounds more fun than mine. I should get Diana and Mary's book.
I'm glad you guys had fun. I spent my day writing, cleaning up, and going to a birthday party. The cleaning included shelving a bunch of my writing books. There's so much good information out there -- it boggles the mind.
Thanks for sharing, Mary. I've heard good things about the workshop and know how good it feels to take a workshop and have aha! moments to making your writing better!
The workshop was awesome and the handouts were great. The dynamic dueo are scheduled to present at Moonlight & Magnolias, so be sure to check them out. I won a copy of their book right here when Diana blogged for us! Yesterday I won a critique! Yea, me! With Mary B's help I was able to work through some of the problems with the synopsis I've been working on! The workshop was so totally worth the drive!
Edie, You would have loved it! It was a fun day.
Barbara and Judy, the workshop was as good as you've heard. The ladies did a great job. Might just get me moving again!
I could use some of that brain food MM.