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So…got back from Taos. Ran off to visit friends, then ran off to Convergence (which was faboo).

This weekend, the fake family reunion. And then…the 25th anniversary cruise/Disney extravaganza.

Funny how doing all this seems to take some time. I think getting back to work may well mean getting back to writing. That said, I should be able to get another entry or two in here before I go on vacation silence during the trip. And I plan to replot Abby Rath, attempting to use my Taos-fu.

Hope you are doing well.

Catherine

This is an interesting kind of post to write. This is the part where I take a look at the people and the workshop at Taos and think about how we all interacted. And I attempt to do it in a classy fashion. 🙂

Writing workshops experiences are as individual as the people who attend them. I’ve been to a whole four organized writing events. For the most part, I’ve found those experiences to be positive. To keep myself a positive contributing member, there are a couple of things I need: to get away by myself for a while, and least every couple of days, and to get enough sleep.

At Taos, sleep was my biggest challenge. Good ole altitude! But there was a lot of napping as could. As to time alone, yup. I had a great roommate who gave a lot of distance, and plenty of time to hang out. So for the most part, while there were days I was doing the headache, or sleep had me cranky, I think that I managed to be a contributing member of the whole thing.

Another thing that I think helps any workshop is some deliberate community building. When fellow workshopper Lauren Teffeau suggested a pot luck, I did the commercial, and Dave McAmis did the decorations. So Sunday we had a great time. And David was also responsible for setting up the bar in the lounge. Fran Wilde organized a tech night where we talked about computer-y things, and Walter set up group hikes. There were conversations with Nancy late in rooms, and plot break sessions. A trip to Taos with Fran and Lis Bass. The more of this kind of thing, the more likely people are to bond. When you’re sitting across from one of the instructors at the table, and he agrees with you that Revolutionary Girl Utena is the best anime ever, well, you sort of feel a connection. So we did have opportunities to meet and greet.

On an individual level, I gotta say it’s hard to be positive all the time. But I do my best. As Daniel Abraham said, one of the most important rules is to be nice. You never know how any of those folks are going to affect your future. That’s just a good rule for life in general.

By going to a writer’s workshop, it’s a moment where you can be around other writers who take your writing and their writing seriously. Sometimes in my life, I feel that it can be difficult making writing as much of a priority as I would like, and it’s good to be in spaces where that can happen.

So, were there any bumps? Yup. In circumstances where you are in a small intense community, that can bring out the best and the worst in all of us. In the same span of time. Well, at least I didn’t repeat my performance in Dallas where I took two depression pills on the same day. Which explained a lot of the anxiety I experienced that last day…

So, to some extent, these sorts of events are what you bring to them. This is not to say that I felt comfortable every moment, but that was more personal for me than a sense of community. We’re coming to that. But you get out of this what you put in. At any rate, if you get the chance to be at a retreat, definitely consider it for the value of being in a community of writers.

Looks like I’ll be reading at the Broad Universe Rapid Fire Reading, as I usually do. Kathy Sullivan was kind enough to contact me. I’ll admit I still have Taos brain, so I’m glad someone else was looking out for me.

So… that’ll be Friday at 2pm in Cabana 201. While I’m not 100 percent sure what I’ll be reading yet, I bet dollars to donuts that’ll be Abigail Rath.

Cath

I think last week I promised you several in depth entries on my Taos experiences, and the forecasting went something like this: teaching, community, critiquing(kinda started), setting (done!), and writing culture and mores.

So, today let’s talk about the education. Quite frankly, this is the way in which Taos Toolbox receives its highest marks, as far as I’m concerned, and it is the way that the instructors, of course, have the most control over.

On the first morning, Walter Jon Williams, one of our teachers, went over the rationale as to why he’d started the workshop. Each morning and each afternoon, Walter and Nancy Kress gave us a lecture and some useful handouts on aspects of writing. In this way, we talked about fixing scenes, looking at narrative and plot devices, sussing out characters, and a host of other writing activities. I have a notebook full of useful suggestions. Plot breaks were also a solid technique that we learned at the workshop.

And…I’m not going to share this material with you. I’m going to suggest, instead, that you take the class. I was surprised, although I shouldn’t have been, at the amount of overlap I noticed between learning to write fiction and learning to do tech writing. Clear, sharp writing remains the same at its core.

Of course, other things–voice, character, tone, plot, story–are all unique to the creative fiction experience, and using these items effectively and analytically is a place many writers need to go to, but often don’t know how to get there.

Nancy said something to me at the end of the week that I thought was very interesting. I paraphrase: think about your scenes before you write them and after you write them, but not too much while you’re writing them. This quote is for those of you who worried that creativity was somehow disappearing from the equations.

If I could offer the instructors any advice from my 26 years of teaching, it would be this: more homework for more hands-on attempts at the lecture material. More small group work assignments after hours (community building!). And smaller critique groups, but that’s for the next entry.

Anyway, Taos Toolbox takes analytical writing technique for creative fiction to the next level, whether that new level for you is experienced workshopper, or gifted story teller.

Cath

I was out of town last weekend, will be at Convergence in Minneapolis this weekend, and will be having the fake family reunion the weekend after that. Then Bryon and I go on the no work, writing, internet romantic trip of love. 🙂

What am I saying? Spotty coverage at best? Yes. SO today you get two entries. First, let’s do the entry on Digger by Ursula Vernon.

I expected good from the Hugo voter pack. I expected quality. One thing I did not expect from my Hugo reading was something so unexpected delightful metaphysical that I would be riveted from beginning to end. That thing would be Digger, the six volume adventure epic of a wombat named Digger on an unexpected quest. Throw in demons, Ganesh, a tribe of hyenas, an exile named Ed, and a dead god, plus some musings on just about every aspect of life, and you have a pretty good idea of what to expect.

Digger reminds me of what it would be like to be an Iowan on a quest. Our heroine has a focus of practicality and good will, a conviction to do the right thing combined with a low tolerance for stupidity. Vernon, the artist/author surrounds her with characters that echo and restate these themes. The result is a loamy complicated story full of twists and turns and turns and surprises. And Vernon is not afraid to make hard but satisfying story decisions as well.

So, can you get hold of it? Well, you may need to order it directly from Vernon’s site, because it’s hard to get out there in the real world. Believe me, I spent a great deal of last weekend trying. Obviously, you may well have guessed which graphic novel will be getting my top Hugo honors. I really, really recommend this.

Catherine

Posting later today. Bryon and I have been escaping the oven that is our house (environmentally conscientious Stumps only have a unit AC that they run some nights) by doing intellectual things, like seeing Madagascar 3 (circus! afro! circus! afro!) I have to tell you, it’s the best animated Cirque de Soleil show you’ll ever see.

So, here’s a link that my friend Eric Kelly sent me from Kristine Katherine Rusch, which sort of takes another interesting look at critiques and effectiveness. What I like about this particular link is that it doesn’t forget that writing should be fun for both the writer and reader. Go on. Read it. These photos will be here when you get back.

***

Wow. New Mexico. I’ve never been anywhere like that. For example:

This is the Taos Pueblo where writer friends and fellow workshoppers Fran Wilde and Lis Bass and I went the weekend between workshops. The heat waves flickered off the dusty pueblo. It’s a good thing we had hats and sun screen, because we’re talking some serious desert. We saw…sagebrush! And Lauren Teffeau, native of New Mexico and workshop participant swears there are actually tumbleweeds. So not like Iowa, this place where they put Christmas chili and beans on almost everything. I bet there’s a restaurant out there where they put it on cornflakes.

Well, anyway, more pictures of that ilk here.

***

At the same time, where we spent the majority of our time, Snow Bear Lodge, we were definitely in the mountains:

Surrounded by coniferous trees, no real oxygen to speak of, definitely a place to commune with nature. And write. And read a lot.

If you’re thinking about Taos Toolbox, Snow Bear is comfortable, if a bit isolated. Some people had more trouble with their rooms than others, but Catherine and I (yes, my roommate was also named Catherine) had pretty nice rooms. We did share them with some wild life (bugs mostly), but on the whole, I was happy with our accommodations. Others, however, were attacked by their fireplaces. And the town of Taos Ski Valley inadvertently cut our power one night for a couple of hours. Which is an adventure feature, I think, rather than a major detriment.

Other handy tips…laundry is free, but prepare to have that dormitory/apartment house vibe of fighting for the machines. The grocery folks will get you anything you want to buy, so you might put in a request for alternative materials early for lunch, so you aren’t tired of sandwiches by day 7. The evening meals are catered and were, on the whole, very good. Our vegetarian and gluten free workshoppers needed to do a lot of personal shopping. You may wish to do that when you get in on Sunday, before you come up, or bring some stuff along. Do bring laundry soap, dryer sheets, and personal grooming products. Bring some kleenex. Maybe some sinus irrigation equipment. Definitely aspirin. Walter will give you instructions on hydration and bears.

Anyway, more gorgeous landscaping about the lodge…

Next up–either a post on Digger, or a conversation about the educational component of Taos Toolbox. Be there or be a rectangular thing.

Cath

So, I’m still ruminating about lessons learned at the recent workshop. I sat down and did a little writing (very little) Monday, yesterday was all about errands off line, and today seems to be full of Mindbridge things and exercise.

I have finally gotten photos from the trip on my computer, and will be sifting through those things soon. Later today we take the cats to the vet. Sekhmet has a growth around her clavicle, so we are a bit concerned about that. I’m hoping we just have an older kitty feature that’s harmless, which is what the Internet is leading us to believe.

Anyway. So, workshop. Maybe this is Catherine’s Epiphany.

Taos Toolbox is a workshop where you can go if you need to get some help with technique. And beginning writers do need help. Plotting, planning, ending scenes on strong notes, developing character, getting unstuck, being too ambiguous. All these things will happen to writers, and yes, will continue to happen. And now, we have more tools to deal with these things (get it? Tools? Again?) This is the pragmatic pay off of the workshop.

No workshop can teach vision. No workshop can teach you to tell the stories you have, uniquely, that are your own. Further, you have to be wary at a workshop, because if you aren’t, you’ll start seeking approval for your work, or fall into competition with other writers. Or even worse than that, you will give a critique where you focus on the story YOU would tell with those prompts, rather than helping the writer get what they need to tell the story that they want to tell more clearly. Writing is about realizing individual visions. Critiquing is about helping writers get there.

Oh my…I have been in a room full of people for two weeks. And I have been trying to convince them that my writing is worthwhile because of its vision. What have I been doing?

Continue reading “Catherine’s Epiphany: Technique Versus Vision”

Wow. Everyone wants something!

I am working my way toward a Taos post. Honest. But above, a picture from our social antics, courtesy of Lauren Teffau (she’s on the left end. Yes, your left).

And, an interview Amber Sistla did with me a month or so back. You should be seeing an interview from Amber about her writing here, soon.

Will I get back her for another post today? Stay tuned!

I love humidity. Love, love, love.

Yesterday I settled back in with some wonderful sleep, unpacking, hanging out with the husband, and updating the Monster High collection (much booty had arrived in my absence.) Today I’ve gotten back on the work out train, and sifted through a couple of days of work and home email.

That means that if I want to get any real writing done today, what with book group being on tonight, I need to give you not much of an entry today. Instead, over on the Taos Toolbox page, I’ve updated Nancy and Walter’s entries.

It’s good to be home. And on vacation. Now to recraft my Abigail Rath schedule. I should see you guys with a real entry in the next two days.

Cath

Spent my not sleeping morning getting a start on my Taos Toolbox page. You can see the results.

This will only improve over time, until ultimately we have a full out page like the VP Experience.

All righty. Barring more critiques, I’m going to have breakfast and cut 450 words out of a story.

Cath