A week ago today I was getting ready to head down to Utah County to attend a writing class. I've gone to writing symposiums and conventions, but this was the first time I went for a multi-day event that covered nothing but improving my writing.
I suppose with anything you do or spend a lot of time doing, when you get training on what you've done for years, you might find out all the things you've been doing wrong. Hopefully, you find out if you've been doing some things right, too. I can say that both happened to me--I learned more about the good and the bad.
We finished up just after 10pm on Wednesday night. As I drove home I took the hour to think about what I had experienced over the previous two days. One thing that I felt helped me was being able to just sit and soak it all in. The times I've felt most productive as a writer is when I have several days where I can get into that groove and write. At the class I was able to think about stories, story structure, grammar, pacing, tenses, viewpoint, and so much more.
I need to say something about the man responsible for the classes and whom we all came to see, the author Orson Scott Card. I have heard him speak in person only one other time. I came away impressed--the experienced answered some questions I had about how he became so successful. Nothing he said or did tarnished my earlier-established opinion of both the man and the author. A good class makes you feel like you can do something difficult, something worth doing. Mr. Card delivered a great writing class. I recommend it to anyone wanting to be pushed with the craft.
I'm glad I got to attend.
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