An Intense Week of Literary Learning

My SCBWI Weekend-on-the-Water retreat was followed by a yummy Tuesday night dinner with the delightful Suzanne Morgan Williams (BULL RIDER, CHINA'S DAUGHTERS) http://www.suzannemorganwilliams.com/ and Terri Farley (SEVEN TEARS INTO THE SEA, THE PHANTOM STALLION) http://www.phantomstallion.com/, wrapping up their marathon tour of the Pacific NW. From there, I had the pleasure of hearing Suzy and Terri give awesome presentations at the SCBWI Western Washington chapter's monthly meeting. Suzy spoke about getting your book into the world, forging the relationships you need to do so, and the wonderful friends you can make along the way. Terri discussed her favorite writing technique, clustering, with examples of how this technique has helped her clarify story ideas.
I am so full of techniques, theories and strategies that it has actually been a bit tricky to write! But, like a good soup, I can almost physically feel things simmering in my mind and think am just about ready to break out my literary ladle.