Thursday, July 17, 2008

SWC Day 2

Today started with a workshop with Meg Wolitzer and a room full of 12 writers and wannabe writers sizing each other up. Seems like a fairly diverse group of people--some published, some not. Feigning braveness, I volunteered to have my piece put up for workshop first. I've been in a couple of workshops before, so while I know my submission needs a lot of work, I'm not too nervous about having people comment. Meg seems like a very giving teacher, and she reminded me of one my former Gotham teachers (and fellow AWer.)

Next was a lecture on dramatic action by Alan Alda. I have to confess that I haven't read any of his books, but wow, what an intelligent guy. I picked up his book to add it to my stack. He spoke about forward motion in writing, and how every line has to earn its keep to propel the story along. Not so much of a lover of narrative exposition (but really, who is? Still, it did get me thinking about some parts of my WIP that might drag.)

Tonight's reading was from Meg Wolitzer from The Ten Year Nap and Amy Hempel from The Collected Stories. Both women have very different styles of writing, but they couldn't have been more entertaining. 

Off to do my homework....






6 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is such a cool conference. Living on Long Island, I wish I could attend but once I saw the price of admission I decided my wife's happiness was more important than draining the bank account. lol.

Enjoy the wealth of knowledge you're around. I could only imagine how exciting it must be.

Janna Leadbetter said...

Wow. I'm thinking I need to sign up for a conference!

Melody Platz said...

Am I crazy, or is this Alan Alda of MASH fame. If it is, I am very, extremely, unbelievably jealous. I love Alan Alda. He likes science, he's charming, and he played a republican on West Wing. : )

Melody Platz
The Writer’s Comfy Corner

WendyCinNYC said...

Melody--Yes, it's the M*A*S*H Alan Alda. He seems to have a wide base of knowledge about so many different subjects.

Aaron--It wasn't cheap! So I've been going to just about every available lecture. I'll blog later tonight about today's events.

Janna--Wish you could join me!

Anonymous said...

Wendy, the workshop sounds like a great educational experience.

Have fun.

Melody Platz said...

Wendy,

You lucky, lucky girl.

Alan Alda...sigh.