The Write Stuff Conference

     Mickey Getty, my studio partner at the GoggleWorks Center for the Arts, and I spent three days last week at the Write Stuff writers conference in Allentown. We had a ball! Our class with Donald Maass on writing the breakout novel informed us that we need to create microtension on every page. Lisa Rector Maass helped us with sagging middles as well as the first fifty pages.
     Other writers shared their expertise in sessions throughout Saturday. Most valuable of all were the connections with other writers. This is my second year at the conference, and again I'm fired up, fed by all the ideas. I come home and rest for a day or two — and then start to apply the new insights.  

Road Kill

     Pennsylvania is apparently the road kill capital of the United States. Friday afternoon I was driving to Reading noticing the road kill, as usual.  In a trip of less than twenty miles,  I saw in various stages of decomposition a couple of deer, a possum, a skunk, a couple of cats, and a groundhog. Sometimes I notice how this decomposition process proceeds, as one memorable summer when I was driving to Kutztown for graduate school. A dead cat lay at the side of the road. Each day it got bigger and bigger, swelling as it rotted, looking like a balloon ready to pop. And on Friday I saw a deflated pelt at the side of the road. The pressure had gotten too great, and it exploded.
       Now Friday's trip was memorable for a totally new form of road kill. As I drove, a sudden dark shadow crossed my field of vision from left to right, on a downward slant. As I registered that, the form rose up a few feet in front of the car — a red-tailed hawk. The beauty of the colors as the hawk rose in front of me was breathtaking. And clutched in its claws was a hapless mouse that had been in the tall grass at the side of the road. It was all over in seconds. The flash of color, the beauty and grace of that hawk have stayed with me for days.

Working Hard

       Last month at the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group Conference I met with an agent —and she wants to see the first 100 pages of my novel! Sooo exciting! I want it to be in the best possible shape, so am working really hard to do the necessary revisions before I send it. Talk about pressure!

Overload

My mind is full of ideas — too full to absorb everything. The two days with James N. Frey (not the million little pieces guy) were full of work about the mythic structure of stories. I learned a great deal, and will gather more as I go over my notes several times to recall the whole experience.

More on this topic later — I need to sleep!

Days out of Time

Today I begin a mini-hiatus from ordinary time. No regular schedule, no class at RACC (Jill is subbing for me), no meals to prepare. I am in a room at the Four Points Sheraton in Allentown at the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Conference. When I leave my room this morning I will attend the first day of a two-day workshop on How to Write a Damn Good Novel, presented by James L. Frey, who has written two books by that title. He is NOT the Frey of Oprah notoriety!

I love these times out of time. I love learning new things and the opportunity to meet new people and get new ideas. Most important to me today, though, is the notion that I am a real writer, focused on my craft for three full days. Let the magic begin!

New Memoir Class Begins at Tel Hai

       I'm always excited at the beginning of a new class. I find it thrilling to gather ideas, plan what we will do, buy supplies, see what is new in the books I've been reading, and arrive with a cart full of possibilities. Of course, the best part — the surprise and delight of it all — is learning who the students will be and discovering the many gifts they bring to the experience of writing together. Time and again the memoirists have said that they have enjoyed learning about each other and hearing the many interesting stories about their lives. We become connected in a way that is far deeper than the casual contact people have with acquaintances. I feel it is a privilege to facilitate these classes!

       Our memoir class meets from 1 - 3 p.m. at Tel Hai Retirement Community's Garrett Community Center for six Wednesdays, beginning March 10.