Are You Looking for a Workshop?

What can a writing workshop do for you? If it's a good one, it can boost you into the next level of writing and focus you like never before on what you want to do with your story, how you can improve it, and how you can make it publishable. What do you have to have prepared before you can attend a novel-writing workshop? It varies, but I think the best ones are those that require you to bring a draft of at least several chapters.

There are a lot of terrific writing workshops, seminars, and conferences available, and I will be talking about some of them in this space from time to time. A few weeks ago I got an email from William Bernhardt about the writing workshops and programs he's running or involved in this year, that I want to share with you. The first of the programs, for Level 1 writers, is almost upon us. (My apologies for not posting this sooner, but I was a bit distracted organizing and designing this blog.)

Bill Bernhardt is an outstanding writing teacher, in addition to being a best-selling thriller author, a musician, and an attorney. I met my critique partners, Karlene and Heather, in one of Bill's workshops at the Hawaii Writers Retreat and Conference in August of 2009. There were eight men and women in the group, and we all had a great time in the workshop and learned a ton (and were exhausted from working so hard after a week, but happy). Bill knows what it takes to put together a novel that will sell, is really smart, generous, kind, and even funny. He let on, during the workshop, that he'd been an English major in college, and I do believe that underpinning is reflected in his broad-based understanding of various genres and what makes stories compelling.

Each year Bill offers five-day writing programs in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he lives. Check out this brochure, which details his upcoming workshops and highlights a writing weekend in September. The first program, for Level 1 writers, is, as I mentioned, coming up soon, but if you're interested it's certainly worth checking into to see if there's still space. There's a bit more time for Level 2 and Level 3, and the Rose State two-day program he talks about (which sounds fantastic), isn't until September.

Enjoy!