Emma Bird and Joanna Young at Absorbing Writing: Writing Workshops In Italy are soliciting input in planning their next writing workshop.
Tell us about the ingredients of your ideal writing weekend. That might be a weekend you’ve already enjoyed, one that you’ve got planned, or one that you’re hoping to take part in, some day.
My ideal writing weekend is one that I’ve already spent. It actually wasn’t a weekend (but it could have been), and my time was spent editing rather than writing. I had written and revised the novel Dream or Destiny, and it was ready for the final round of editing. However, my freelance workload had increased to the point that I couldn’t seem to find time for fiction, and the manuscript had been waiting for attention for a very long time.
EPIC, the Electronically Published Internet Connection held a weekend event in Las Vegas. I traveled and shared a suite with friends – a delightful husband and wife romance writing team. Billie and Herb have been happily married for more than half a century and write under the name of Barri Bryan. We decided to stay in Vegas a few extra days.
After the conference, Billie and Herb spent the days having fun. I holed up in the hotel room and edited. My story and I were alone all day with no distractions. At night, I joined Billie and Herb for dinner and a show or a visit to the casino. Frankly, I’m not much of a gambler, and Las Vegas isn’t my favorite place in the world. Perhaps that contributed to the ideal writing experience. I wan’t tempted to spend all day in the casino – a few hours in the evenings were plenty. What made the experience ideal were the days totally focused on writing interspersed with good times with good friends. By the time we returned to San Antonio, Dream or Destiny was ready to submit to a publisher.
Of course, when the novel was accepted by GASLight Publishing, LLC, there were several more rounds of editing. Publication has been delayed because of the publisher’s health issues, and it wasn’t released in June as anticipated. However, things are back on track now, and I hope to announce a release date soon.