I was very fortunate when I lived in Albuquerque to have a supportive group of writing friends, and even more fortunate that those friends included some extremely talented writers and teachers. One of those friends is giving a fiction writing workshop on March 24 in Santa Fe called The Purposeful Writer: Explorations in Fiction.
The brochure from Wordharvest describes the course better than I could:
Master teacher Laura Baker shares her "story box" technique to help fiction writers at all levels move from idea to words on paper, or go to greater creative depths with their work. In this day-long workshop participants will learn to enhance their storytelling skills, create compelling characters and increase the novel's emotional resonance. The workshop starts with story ideas and Baker's unique story box system, and explores theme, motivation and structure to build solid fiction on the bedrock of the writers' interests and talents. Writing exercises, interspersed throughout the day, will help students find ideas and material to incorporate into their work. Baker's approach takes an end-run around waiting for inspiration.
Co-creator of the popular Discovering Story Magic writing workshops, Baker is the author of suspense and romantic suspense novels set in the Southwest. From her first release, Baker's books have garnered critical acclaim and an impressive list of national award nominations including the National Reader's Choice Award and the RITA. Her nonfiction articles on writing have been published in Writer's Digest, the RWR, and numerous newsletters across the country.
If you live in the area and are interested in learning more about fiction writing, or are waiting for the Muse to visit you, you need to go to this workshop. Laura is very familiar with muses, and she can help you contact yours.
If you don't live in the area, call your favorite airline or Amtrak (I think they go near Santa Fe). What you'll learn will make it worth the trip, I promise you.
And while you're there, you might want to check out the UFO Symposium in Aztec. I'm sure there's a muse or two hanging out amongst the little green men.
