Having the likes of Edie Melson and Marcia Moston in our local writer’s group Cross N Pens is a tremendous boon for those of us striving to hone our skills.
Over the weekend, our group enjoyed a mini-workshop featuring these talented women. Below are just a few tidbits from their talks.
Marcia Moston, the author of Call of a Coward, spoke on Creative Non-fiction (the 4th genre!) In addition to creative writing prompts, Marcia shared wisdom from her own experience, as well as quotes, all of which will stick with me:
- Every story has a human face. Draw and display it well; for readers, it is a magnet. -Francis Flaherty, editor of The New York Times
- When writing memoirs, we need to remember it’s not about us. We’re like the Disney cart on a ride. We’re simply the vehicle to a bigger picture.
- Marcia shared pages of information on crafting true stories. I’m a new fan of Rick Bragg.
Edie Melson, author of Fighting Fear and Co-Director of Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writer’s Conference, spoke on what it means to support our writing through writing. It didn’t hurt that she handed out two pages of markets willing to pay for our work. (Thanks, Edie!) Her advice, however, far surpassed the value found on any piece of paper. Below are a few of Edie’s takeaways:
- Stay out of our comfort zones! Take chances. We’re not seen as marketable if we’re unwilling to do so.
- The key to a good query letter is a good story.
- What does the word deadline mean? Writing when you don’t feel like it.
Sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with many gifted writers spurred me to become even more serious about my craft. Wisdom and godly conviction crossed paths that morning, and I was grateful to be smack dab in the middle of this intersection.
Let’s just say the fragrance of Christ had a hint of metal to it as it rose upwards this past Saturday morning!
Hi Cathy, wow-would I have like to be part of that workshop! I'd love to have the pages Edie shared of payable markets! Love you!
And we would've loved to have had you there, Jamie!
Love you too. 🙂
It was a truly God-filled morning. I learned so much and loved hearing what everyone wrote during the writing prompt time!
You're an incredible blessing to me and to so many others, Edie. Thank you again for sharing your Saturday morning with us.
God bless!
And Cathy, You've recapped it so well–the solid writer you are. I l too loved hearing the stories emerging from the prompts. now I want to hear the rest of the stories! And yes, we are blessed to have such a talented and supportive group.
Thank you, Marcia.
We are blessed indeed! 🙂
I know it was an incredible day for writers! Sure wish I could have been there. So jealous!
It was wonderful, but not complete, without you, Vonda. 🙂
You were missed!