Working the Craft

Friends often lead you astray in curious ways. So it is with my friend Sharon who, with patient coaching, encouraged me to attend a week-long writer's intensive. This is the total immersion sort where they work your little gray cells (and typing fingers) into a fine powder. She's attended the workshop and loved it. Led by Donald Maas, one of the lead NY agents, and his editorial team, this isn't for the faint of heart.

So next week I'm going to cast my ego aside (or at least stuff it in my luggage for the time being) and learn how to do things even better. I'm workshopping a dark urban fantasy I wrote a couple years back. It's set in L.A., does have a wee bit of romance to it and sets the groundwork for a three-book series. Two years ago I thought it was brilliant. Now I think the prose is pretty decent. The story doesn't have the punch of my latest work. So that's my goal -- learn how to put even more ZING! into my stories so my readers will say, "that rocked!"

I'll give you an update at the end of the week (providing I still have enough brain cells to type a sentence). One thing can be said -- it ain't gonna be dull.