I had my writing workshopped yesterday morning. It was my first attempt at writing straight up horror. I usually write Fantasy with a lot of horrific elements in it. But the piece I submitted for residency was the final paper from the Readings in the Genre class on Psychos. I got a lot of great feedback on how to pull the reader into the psychosis of the character and to heighten the fear of discovery for the character.
The module in the afternoon was Clues and Red Herrings in Mystery with the great Victoria Thompson. We discussed the types of mystery novels and then the rules of writing mystery. We then applied it as a class by creating a mystery setting. I was pestering Victoria with questions because I have a mystery idea but I’m stuck on some parts of the story.
In the evening, after wonderful thesis presentations by the graduating class, the SciFi and Fantasy writers went to Badges Bar & Grill for a dinner and short fiction reading competition. I’m not normally a social person, but it was good to get out of my comfort zone and mingle with classmates and colleagues outside of class.
But sleep deprivation is catching up on me. Residency is fun but exhausting.

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Location:Greensburg, PA

What a day! Yep, it was a drink from a fire hose day. It started with the teaching sessions by the students in the fifth residency. The first was about combat. Wow, so cool. The student was in the army for 10 years and then the FBI and SWAT. He explained the psychological and physiological effects combat has on a person. It was so informative. Since my own writing has lots of conflict and combat in it, I took lots of notes. The other two students talked about overcoming writer’s block (who doesn’t need that help) and designing character flaws. Again, very informative.
After lunch, I had the module on Recent trends in SciFi/Fantasy/Horror. Three hours later we got out with a stack of handouts listing markets and sites for keeping up with what is getting published. So. Much. Information.
I didn’t eat dinner and sacked out on a chair for a quick nap before heading over to the campus library for the mentor meetings. Met with Mr. Johnson to discuss my novel. Just what I needed to charge up again to work on the novel. I really should go down to the hotel lobby to be around everyone but I’m burned out and want to sleep.

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Location:Greensburg, PA

There is something that stands about above anything else in this program. Passion.

Without fail, every single instructor I’ve had for this program is filled with passion. Passion for writing, teaching, and working with us. That last part is one that means the most to me as a student. They’re engaged in their work with us. Throughout the modules yesterday and into the social last night, I was so overcome with awe at their passion and their honesty in working with us. I rarely felt that with my undergrad program. My last semester in my undergrad was one of the best because I had the same professor for two classes and she was filled with that same love and passion not only for the subject but for us. It makes the learning process richer when both parties love what they do and really want to learn.
Last night, at the social, I had the opportunity to get out of my comfort zone and meet new people and ask any question that came to mind. I sat with one instructor, Anne Harris, and felt so comfortable with asking anything that came to mind regarding the industry or techniques. I’m humbled with the openness on her part and the personal attention she paid to each of us as we sought to learn from her.
It may sound sappy, but I’m happy that I’ve found my place here in this program. It has been a long time since I was last excited about school. We only spend a week in January and June together in person. Yet, the bound is strong because we’re all so eager to make the most of this time we have together.
The module I took yesterday was on the business of writing. While the “facts” of the industry weren’t anything new to me, it was the personal experiences of the instructor where I learned the most. Most importantly, a wonderful resource to go to for advice.
Day 4 brings many adventures. Most of the students will be workshopping writing. I get the opportunity to attend the teaching modules. Part of the program is learning how to teach writing. So the older students have spent the last semester preparing their topics for this residency. The module I have this afternoon is Recent Trends in SciFi/Fantasy/Horror. Then, the moment we’ve all been waiting for, mentor meetings tonight. I’ll be meeting with the great Scott A Johnson to discuss what I’ve done so far on my thesis and setting goals for the next semester.

Enjoy your day! I know I will.

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At the opening reception, the director of the program announces the theme of the residency. Friday night he gave us seven questions to think about for the week. I had trouble answering a few of them.

1- Would you rather be an author or a writer?
2- Would you rather be well known or well respected?
3- Do you prefer being described as an artist or a professional?
4- Would you rather write 1 good book or 10 not so great books?
5- Do you believe more in art or craft?
6- When you read do you skim or read every word?
7- Do you want your audience to skim or read every word?

The responses from others were interesting and we found that most of these questions were actually kind of hard to answer. However, one of the professors gave interesting insight on question 1. We’re all writers because that is an action. But author is a title. Author is the root word for authority. Interesting to see the weight behind that word instead of writer. Most of us seem to have said we’d rather be well respected. But in many ways, well respected would also mean you’d have a degree of being well known in certain circles. But being well known does not always mean that you’re going to be respected.
I said that I’d rather be described as professional for a few reasons. First because we’ll have to have a professional presence when at conferences and book signings. We’ll have to take criticism with a grain of salt. Second, because I want writing to be more than just a hobby. That’s why I’d rather be described as professional over artist.
Would I rather have one good book or ten not so great books? I don’t think most of us really answered that. Although it felt like people were leaning to ten because it is a business after all and we’ll need income.
We believe that you can have art without craft but the fact that we are all in this program shows we want more than just art and want to perfect the craft so we can get published.
I personally read every word. Or nearly every word. There are times when I read quickly and probably skip over words but that is when the action really speeds up.
I was going to say that I’d want my audience to read every word. But a friend of mine had a great point. “I don’t care what they do as long as they’ve bought the book.” I have a stack of books that I have bought and still haven’t read yet. From the business side of writing I can’t be too concerned with what they do after they buy my book just so long as they buy it. But the writer side of me would say that it doesn’t matter if they are skimming or reading every word so long as they are enjoying their time.

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Location:Greensburg, PA