Month: September 2020

My writer’s group, VIRA, held an all day workshop on Sept. 19, 2020 with Laurie Schnebly. The day was planned a long time ago — before Covid-19.  Since then our border closed, so Laurie could not come in person. Instead, we did a virtual workshop using zoom.  Here’s what I learned about zoom workshops.

1. Commuting from one room in my house to another room in my house is really quick and easy.
2. Showing up for a workshop in jeans is really comfortable.
3. Seeing people only on screen is lonely — especially when many of them turn off their video.
4. There is virtually no conversation between participants.
5. The “chat” feature is really useful for catching up on missed information.
6. A full-day workshop, even at home, is tiring. My brain was reeling by the time we signed off.

So, that’s what I learned on the technical side. On the creative side, the workshop confirmed what I already knew. Laurie is a terrific teacher. Here are some highlights from the day.

1. From “Putting the Joy Back in Writing” I learned I’m not alone in finding publication can steal the joy I felt when I first put pen to paper (literally, I’m that old.)
2. Determining why I write, either for myself or for others can put me back on the “joy” track and away from the “have to” track.
3. Letting go of the results of writing and focusing on the process of writing frees up creativity.
4. I should re-read Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way. It is on my bookshelf.

From Braiding Your Book I picked up pointers on

1. Genre Expectations and the need to fulfil those expectations for readers.
2. Plot – it’s all about goals and conflict, with the love story added in for my genre.
3. Plot has a shape — the writer must build hope, then dash those hopes and build them again.
4. Character is the third strand in the braid. 
5. A character’s origin (backstory) is an invaluable aid in figuring out who your character is and why (s)he acts as (s)he does.
6. A character’s belief system is key.

From Blurbs & Promotion to Suit Your Personality I learned

1. I’m not the only one who is really poor at promotion because I dislike it.
2. Laurie’s background is in advertising so it’s not surprising she suggests a blurb is an ad.
3. Seeing promotion as an advertisement for a product makes it less intimidating than seeing it as a judgement on my worth as a human being!

As you can tell, we had a very full day. I was exhausted from listening, I can’t imagine how Laurie kept up her enthusiasm and humour all the way to the end and then took questions.

As a bonus, she held a draw and I won free admission to one of her courses. With so many wonderful choices I had to wait over the weekend until my brain had returned to full function before I made my pick. In March I’ll be taking Plotting Via Motivation.  It’s one of the earliest courses on offer, so I can still take some of the later ones too. 

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