On the Road Again: Ongoing Writing and Learning the Craft

First a mini squee because I love my new blog design and couldn't be more proud of the College Kid for her hard work. She's beyond talented and reasonably priced. I love the clean lines, the cool signature line and the beautiful colors. They combine the look of my website, my tumblr, and soon to be arrive brand new business cards.

Talent exists in many forms. I couldn't doodle my way out of a paper bag, but the CK is gifted in design and all things technical when it comes to creating beautiful computer coded blogs and more. I expect one day I'll have to have her take over the website and combine the elements, but for now I love having this blog as a separate entity. It's easier for me to into it and make changes to the pages.

So new blog look, but same me. The only thing that's changed is that I have more responsibility now to make sure that I continue to hone my craft and work hard at creating new stories. This weekend I'm super excited because I'm reconnecting in person with my Critique Partner Pam Mantovani in Birmingham. She lives in the Atlanta area so most of critiquing and brainstorming is done over the phone or via email exchanges. And that's all great, but we have a higher output of synergy/story/zany stuff that pops into our heads when we are in the same room.

We meet today and will spend time writing, brainstorming, making plans for the future, discussing the biz, and just plain enjoying each other's company.

Tomorrow we will attend a plotting workshop at the Southern Magic meeting from 12-3P. I've been taking the course online and it's fantastic. Another tool in the writing arsenal for me to use when I start generating new stories and during revisions. Today's lesson is a tough one so I'll start it this afternoon after I arrive at the hotel. I'll probably wrap it all up next week. The best part about this class is I literally started the story from scratch again so now I've got solid plot (external and internal) points to create an outline. I hope that means the story will be easier and faster to revise.

Ongoing growth as a writer is vital. James Scott Bell continues to learn about the craft. And he writes books about the writing craft. I think the main thing is never to sit back and think that you're so wonderful that you don't need to learn anything new. I love learning about the craft, incorporating the new information into my growing stack of lessons about plot, structure, body language, deep editing, you name it!

So I'm hitting the road, looking forward to a fun and productive weekend, and continuing to grow as a writer on this journey of mine.

What's on your agenda? Do you take craft classes? Does the idea of plotting and outlining freak you out? What's the best course you've taken that you would recommend to me?