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Monday, October 17, 2011

Writer’s workshops are the bomb!


The bomb, according to my grandson is EXCELLENT. I have to agree and it fits so well. I had the pleasure of attending Lisa Tucker’s Writer Workshop at Watermark Books Saturday afternoon. I learned a lot along and met some interesting people.


There were new writers, experienced writers, and everything in between. And that’s the way is should be. We writers know what the others are going through and have the opportunity to learn and share our experiences with one another. Lisa Tucker is one of my new favorite people! She’s smart, genuine, funny, and very open about what to try and how to make our writing better. I think I can safely say we were all very impressed. (As soon as I finish my current read I’m diving into “The Song Reader” then “The Winters in Bloom.”)


We talked about publishing, agents, marketing, character, plot, readers, queries, but most of all we discussed how to make our stories work. We even did a little writing exercise, which resulted in so many wonderful ideas that were all completely different. Lisa suggested some great reading material, “On Becoming a Novelist” by John Gardner (one of my personal favorites) and “The Lie That Tells the Truth” by John Defresne. (I’ll be ordering this one!)


Something Lisa said that I’m posting on my tack board: “Don’t let characters circle the drain.” Wow. Is she a writer, or what? You know how sometimes a character will do or say the same thing over and over again, well, that’s a good way for them to become very boring. I’ve read it and done it myself.

Another thing we discussed was the fact that we writers must support one another any way we can. We must continue to read, buy books and support our local indie bookstores, because if we don’t –there won’t be any books or indie bookstores. From the look of the library of books I’m accumulating I’m doing my part, and loving every word!

8 comments:

Mary F. Schoenecker said...

As a former member of RWA when I was a beginng writer, I learned a lot about the craft from fellow authors and the many workshops we had. Thanks for sharing your workshop. Every bit counts.

Bonnie Tharp said...

You bet! And writers organizations are very helpful at all stages of a writer's career. Thanks for the comment, Mary!

Pamela S Thibodeaux said...

Wish I'd been there!
Great info.
Thanks for sharing.
PamT

Bonnie Tharp said...

Hi Pam. Maybe the next one. Thanks for the comment.

Jacqueline Seewald said...

Hi, Bonnie,

I agree with you about John Gardner. His book The Art of Fiction was one I used for my creative writing classes at Rutgers. Grendel is an excellent example of deconstruction in the novel.

Bonnie Tharp said...

Hi Jackie!
I gave my copy away to a new writer. They were especially glad for the highlights and notes in the margins. I probably should have kept it, oh well. I can always get another one if I feel I need to read it again, or borrow it back.

Penny Rader said...

I love writing workshops and writing exercises! I listen to RWA workshops on my way home from work. Thanks for the great post, Bonnie. Can you share the writing exercise?

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