Borders Workshop

I'm volunteering to speak on a panel at Borders (in June) with a few published authors in my writers group. A workshop, if you will, on what books helped us as writers. I like this kind of workshop ... it's fun just to be with other writers and especially when they're your friends and people you care about. And I love to teach and mentor other writers.

All of us write differently. Our genres may not be the same. But the one thing we have in common ... is passion. And with passion comes the study of the craft. To study writing, one must read a lot. All the time, really. We give up many TV shows to read. (That's not hard for me to do.) We've read many books on the craft of writing by professionals in the industry.

For me, (if you've visited my web site,) you'll see I'm a huge fan of Donald Maass and his book, WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL. I've studied and underlined and dog-eared every one of his books. But I also like Noah Lukeman's THE FIRST FIVE PAGES, and a little book by Elaura Niles called, SOME WRITERS DESERVE TO STARVE. What a title. Actually, I have a whole list of books on writing that I've read listed on my web site. Some are more like text books, while others, like Stephen King's ON WRITING, reads like a chapter out of his life.

Everyone has an opinion. And you know the old cliche about opinions ... they're like assholes, everbody's got one ... yeah, yeah, you remember.

In the end, (no pun intended) you have to weed out who you want to aspire to. Orson Scott Card has a fabulous web site and lots of great material for the writer. He's also written several books, one I highly recommend, CHARACTERS & VIEWPOINT. Google Orson Scott Card.

There seems to be no limit to the help established writers give to the novice. And by the far, in my opinion, the best teacher ... is to read. Period. It's by far the best teacher.

I'm looking forward to the panel, I hope (if you live in my area or are traveling to Greensboro in the near future) you'll stop by. The authors on this panel have studied hard, and they have their favorite books, I guarantee it. You might just find a new one. If you're just starting to write, or getting back into it, you'll get tons of ideas.

Sharing the craft of writing ... it's a love affair with words.

Blessings to you and yours.