This Odyssey is never-ending!
I'm back from one of my favorite annual events, TNEO, or "The Never-ending Odyssey." This is a week-long, invitation-only workshop for graduates of the Odyssey Writing Workshop. Going to Odyssey was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I received information via critique and lecture that not only helped me identify weaknesses in my own writing, but also helped me begin to overcome these weaknesses.
I've gone back for TNEO every year since graduating from Odyssey in 2006. This has included giving a lecture, moderating the Extended Novel Critique Group, and serving as overall workshop moderator. At first I thought it would simply be a "refresher course" to hold me accountable to get my butt in the chair and continue to work on my writing. Now I realize that every year helps move me to a new, higher level as a writer.
I got such helpful feedback about the opening of my new novel-in-progress that I'm filled with ideas on how to make the opening stronger before I go forward with the rest. I even rewrote some scenes while I was at the workshop and am really happy with the direction this is taking. I got my plot points onto index cards and got a more firm sense of where Act I stops and Act II begins, as well as realized I probably need to add a couple of steps not present in my current synopsis. I think I know what choice the protagonist will make at the end, but since I have only written bits and pieces of Acts II and III, I'm giving her free will to choose a different path once she gets there.
Here's a draft of a teaser for the novel, which is one of the things I worked on at TNEO. It's not quite there yet, but then the novel isn't either.
Antonia's Fire
In this Baroque "Fantasy of Manners," Antonia is about to take vows in a convent, hoping to devote her life to composing music in honor of her Goddess. She didn't plan to fall in love with the charming but flawed Zan, a monk and fellow composer. Now she must make a difficult choice. For two competing composers with their own ambitions and goals, can there be a happily ever after? Antonia's Fire follows the pair through passionate attraction, separation, competition, betrayal, war, and a series of colorful patrons, as Antonia struggles to realize her dream of composing music that will live on after she is gone.
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In other news, my short story, In Which Marper Visits a Witch, is being held by a magazine for further consideration. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
And now, I must be off to write a new opening scene!
I've gone back for TNEO every year since graduating from Odyssey in 2006. This has included giving a lecture, moderating the Extended Novel Critique Group, and serving as overall workshop moderator. At first I thought it would simply be a "refresher course" to hold me accountable to get my butt in the chair and continue to work on my writing. Now I realize that every year helps move me to a new, higher level as a writer.
I got such helpful feedback about the opening of my new novel-in-progress that I'm filled with ideas on how to make the opening stronger before I go forward with the rest. I even rewrote some scenes while I was at the workshop and am really happy with the direction this is taking. I got my plot points onto index cards and got a more firm sense of where Act I stops and Act II begins, as well as realized I probably need to add a couple of steps not present in my current synopsis. I think I know what choice the protagonist will make at the end, but since I have only written bits and pieces of Acts II and III, I'm giving her free will to choose a different path once she gets there.
Here's a draft of a teaser for the novel, which is one of the things I worked on at TNEO. It's not quite there yet, but then the novel isn't either.
Antonia's Fire
In this Baroque "Fantasy of Manners," Antonia is about to take vows in a convent, hoping to devote her life to composing music in honor of her Goddess. She didn't plan to fall in love with the charming but flawed Zan, a monk and fellow composer. Now she must make a difficult choice. For two competing composers with their own ambitions and goals, can there be a happily ever after? Antonia's Fire follows the pair through passionate attraction, separation, competition, betrayal, war, and a series of colorful patrons, as Antonia struggles to realize her dream of composing music that will live on after she is gone.
---------
In other news, my short story, In Which Marper Visits a Witch, is being held by a magazine for further consideration. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
And now, I must be off to write a new opening scene!