That's a Wrap

A couple of things to wrap up the week, first

• check out Dancing With the Gorilla, and read the post about heart attacks in women. My mother mistook her heart attack as indigestion, too. The post is a good reminder of symptoms women may experience during a heart attack.
• Then, mosey on over to A Country Boy Can Surmise. Read the author's take on disastrous destruction of our natural resources, the BP oil leak and mountain top removal.
• Since my writer's retreat, a new author has befriended me via text messaging. She is writing a mystery novel starring protagonist Secret Agent Mac. She is ten years old, and quite an aspiring author. Besides finishing her story, she plans to send a book on tour via The Sketchbook Project. Join me in wishing her the best of luck.
• Did you notice this blogger's new look. I hope you like it. I've had problems getting my gadgets to work (those little things to the right that you can click on). Everything appears to function as it should, now. I apologize, from my techno-challenged heart, if you have any trouble.
• Mail call. I got the crits back from the west coast. I kissed the envelope. Smelled it. Held it up to the light for a peek inside. Slapped it against my left palm several times, took my letter opener out, and did a drum roll in my head. Sliced the sucker open, and.......
• Well, not exactly what I expected. The promise was two (2) critiques of two (2) full pages each. I didn't expect to find a form letter, in 14pt Times New Roman, with barely enough room between categories to write a phrase, let alone a whole sentence. However, I considered the comments valuable and out of a possible 100 my scores were 73 and 89. So, I'm encouraged. Fiction, my current genre, is harder to write than the non-fiction this blogger used to cut writer's teeth.
• I made contact with http://www.writeeyes.com/. This service is unavailable until September, if then. I'm still on the hunt for a critique / editing service. Feel free to toss out recommendations.
• To wind down this post, there's a writer's workshop coming to the South in October. Cecil Murphey, NY Times best selling author is slated as the keynote speaker. Mr. Murphey's bio states he's written over a hundred books. Now, that's impressive!

For this week, that's a wrap. Happy writing, happy weekend.

Writing Workshops

Here's a few words about writing workshops. Not all of them are worth the money. Yep, I said it. With all the hype and buzz how do you know which to pay for and which to pass on?

The answer might be: it comes with experience. Or, you can try this.

Make sure the speaking authors are great writers. Find out who they are and read some of their published works. If you like what you read, you may enjoy hearing about the technique(s) they practice. On the other hand, if you can't find much of their work, think about whether you want to pay out the cash. Look at the speaker's website. See if writing instructions are posted or available. You might be able to get a sneak peek to help you decide.

Be selective. Don't be in a hurry to attend every workshop that hits your area. New writers are prone to this. Saving your money for one fabulous workshop is better than spending it on ten events that leave you feeling ripped off and disappointed.

Make sure the group(s) sponsoring the event has a reputation of inviting good quality speakers. This will go a long way to help decide whether to pay or pass.

I've attended workshops and festivals that were priced right, and I went home with my money's worth. Darnell Arnoult, author of Sufficient Grace, is an exceptional workshop instructor, who is more than willing to share her expertise.

Before you pay for a writing event, check out the speaker(s) on line and in print, be selective, and look at the sponsoring group's reputation. Any questions?