Thank you to those of you who wrote me last week about what inspires you!
It was so fun to see the imagery, smell the evocative smells of special moments, and feel the quiet loveliness of the mundane bits of daily life.
- The quiet of the desert
- A sky full of stars
- Ice cactus blooming at the coast
- Trials and joys of my family (both good and bad)
- The wild ocean
- Stories from other writers
- Color in nature
- Trauma in life
- Children
- Black and white photographs
I'm getting excited about teaching the February class, “Editing for Compelling Characters: Beyond the 5 Senses."
We start Feb. 1st and go through Feb. 28th.
There's something lovely and contained about teaching a month-long class.
I've decided to add even more hands-on group editing sessions.
During each of the four weekly calls, we'll start with our round-robin "metaphor check in." I'll share what that is in a moment.
The highlight of the 4 weekly calls will be the hands-on group editing.
Each week 3-5 students will have the opportunity to have their work -- 200 words -- edited by me, Ezra -- my co-teacher, also accomplished author, and my husband, -- and by the rest of the class.
It's a group effort and learning experience where you get to hear and see the editing process in action.
We'll help you enliven your language, by enhancing the senses of your POV character from the inside out and by strengthening your scenes with specific, vibrant, and vivid language.
All of this is to bring the readers into your story and keep them there.
Back to our "metaphor check-in."
We ask you to use a metaphor to express how you're feeling about your current editing phase.
People have used all kinds of fun ways to share how they're feeling about editing their manuscripts, like "I feel like I'm a snowball racing down hill," or "I'm slogging through mud and the mosquitoes aren't leaving me alone," or "I'm zooming down the interstate then notice a fruit stand and have to stop. Squirrel!"
How can you characterize your experience with your work in progress?
Hit reply and let me know. Let's have fun with metaphors and similes.
Last day to register is tomorrow, Friday, Jan. 27, 9pm Pacific.
Here's to you and your creativity!
All my best, Beth
PS. Here's a fun article about increasing your writing productivity with a simple 5-minute tool.
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