Off Campus Writers Workshop (OCWW)

I recently joined a critique group in Naperville, and these six incredible women have been my inspiration and motivation. It is amazing how much easier it is to write when you have a deadline (duh).
It is also astounding how another's perspective and feedback helps you to keep your work moving forward. It is as though a writer who is too close to his or her work cannot separate himself or herself from it, and so the work cannot evolve and grow.
A bit like a parent who won't let a child become his or her own person.
Not good.

Two weeks ago, these wonderful women invited me to attend the OCWW and Fred Shafer's workshop: A Sense of Place in Fiction. Shafer's philosophy and insight have provided me with a new and refreshing perspective on writing. Shafer proposes that "setting" plays an integral part in a work of fiction and has the same importance as character, plot and theme.
And the workshops are fun.

Thought for the day: Keep learning and have FUN:-)