This weekend I attended the Writing Workshop of Chicago at the Congress Hotel.

 

Hearing Chuck Sambuchino www.chucksambuchino.com speak was a highlight.  He spoke about the new world of publishing, giving the audience a list of 10 things to keep in mind when writing. One thing on the list was to make time for your writing. Chuck said that success was proportional to the hours you put in. We all have things in our lives that need our attention, but to quote Michael Jordan, “If you put in the hours, results will come.”

 

Another highlight of the workshop was meeting Gemma Cooper from the Bent Agency. http://thebentagency.com/agent_gemma_cooper.php

Gemma talked about writing great kidlit novels by keeping your main plot arch in mind when writing:

• What does your main character want?
• What is preventing them from achieving this goal?
• What are the stakes if they don’t achieve them?

 

Gemma said a good book to pick up is Self Editing for Fiction Writers by Renni Browne and Dave King.

Speaking of books, I also like to keep novels on the table with me while I write. Next to me this week is Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. If I’m getting lost or discouraged, I open it up and read a few lines. I am transported to the deep woods and the innocence of childhood. Love that magic.

 

This week marks the beginning of a new training class for our dog, Daisy. Here is a picture of Daisy, our trainer, Sidney, and myself.

Daisy is taking the beginning class to learn how to be a therapy dog.  How cool would it be to share the love of an animal with others in such a way! She brings our family a new level tenderness and devotion.  I hope she’ll be able to share her love with others to promote healing, and I hope to be able to write about it.

Happy writing!