Whew! Life changed a lot since I first started blogging. I got busy. My mom got sick. Milestone birthdays crept up on me and now I feel a little bit like a full time party planner who only spends and doesn't get paid. But it's going to be an awesome 40th birthday for my husband on October 1st.
I didn't get too busy to write, necessarily. And I wasn't away for bad reasons. Being busy can be a good thing. My mom's cancer treatments have been working, nothing but good news there.
I even got a request for my full manuscript back in April. I was rejected 3 months later but nothing harsh was written and yet it wasn't a form rejection. There is still hope and hey, I was asked for my full. That's great.
After I went to the LA SCBWI conference I had to take time off to put my writing life into perspective. It occurred to me that half of being a writer is having to get out and go to workshops and meetings and conferences and not just sit in a little dark room pounding out better drafts.
That's when I decided I should sign up for the Andrea Brown workshop in Big Sur this December. That will give me a chance to really sit and work on my manuscript with industry professionals.
I panicked shortly I signed up. I wondered if my writing was ready to go to that level of work-shopping. Maybe, I should skip it and save the money and focus on local writing groups and regional SCBWI meetings.
My husband had to rationalize with me. He made a good point. He said that since I met with Kelly Sonnack from Andrea Brown during my consultation at LA SCBWI and she's the one that gave me the flyer for the Big Sur workshop then I should go and stay relevant and in her mind. If I wait a year she might not remember me at all. But if I keep putting myself out there and show that I'm a hard worker than maybe over time I can work my way in.
That's not a bad idea.
But just in case, I decided to freshen up my creative writing skills by signing up for an online workshop.
SAY WHAT!?
Yep, I did. I am enrolled in Gotham Writer's Workshop for Children's Book Writing.
When is the last time you took a creative writing class? I took one back in 1998. That's a little while ago.
When I was in theater arts at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts West we were told that we should be taking classes regularly throughout our career to keep our skills honed and fresh. I figure, writers are part of the arts and entertainment field so the rules, I think, apply across the board.
The reason I have pulled myself out of my cave of business to post about this is because I found a deal for the Gotham Writing Workshop that is 53% less than what I paid to get into the class. I figured I should let the writing world know about it.
Check it out here: Gotham Writing Workshop - Creative Writing Online Class
No. I don't get anything for passing the info on. I just like my class. That's all.
What do I like about it the most?
This might be bad, I don't know, I like that I get to compare my first drafts and writing skills to 12 or 13 other students and we all give each other feedback which is valuable. But then there are the assignments, the prompts, and for those the teacher is the only one who see those and gives valuable feedback.
Some of the classes are run by agents and some are run by published authors.
The workshop also has a newsletter that is filled with helpful info and contests.
Check it out if you can.
Write on Writers!!!! Soon, I will be around the blogs to give everyone comment love. I don't get around to blogs very much but I get a lot of your blog posts in my email and I enjoy reading them. We just need to figure out how we can comment straight from our email and then I will be able to show how on top of reading posts I really am.
