Making a Literary Life Friday: Honing Our Craft

Lynne and Hannah enjoyed a wonderful seminar with Hallie Ephron this week. Lisa looks forward to Grace Talusan's course at Grub Street this weekend. Amy is going to lock herself in her office and finish her latest round of revisions.

Lisa
I'm getting antsy. You see, I'm so looking forward to Grace's course, I'm like a big fat sponge that's staring at a spill - ready to soak it all up. I'll fill you in on the details and certainly share "light bulb moments" that are sure to come my way.

Amy
Last night, I hosted a Liar's Party for Patry Francis and it was a huge success. Hank Phillippi Ryan, author of the forthcoming Prime Time (Harlequin, June 2007) sent the most gorgeous arrangement of tulips (thank you, Hank!) and my guests snapped up copies of Patry's The Liar's Diary. Do you have yours yet? Good luck on book tour, Patry! Also, I sent out three charming notes and received three responses. What continues to surprise me is how touched authors are to receive a compliment in the mail, to have their writing acknowledged. So, please, send a little kindness out into the world, and tell a writer how their work has affected you.

Hannah
Hallie Ephron's class in revision is a must-take for anyone at any level in this craft. Wow! Also attended Amy's Liar's Diary party for Patry Francis, who is off on a tour of the West Coast starting today -- Seattle, Portland, Davis and San Francisco. Keep an eye out for her, or check her link for details!

Lynne
Speaking of light bulb moments, I had one this week. As I dug deeper, revising a portion of my novel, I came face to face with a painful experience of one of my characters. Reading through other portions of my work-in-progress, I realized this had been informing the story all along. Wow, that Muse is really something! I really enjoyed Hallie's class; if you ever get a chance to take a workshop with her, do it. Her clarity around the revision process helps enormously. I wrote three charming notes, for which I received three charming responses. But the best thing about this week is The Writers' Group meets tonight.