I can't believe it but...

The 10 week writing workshop I've been attending is coming to an end next week. My writing instructor, author Anne E Wood, is passionate about her subject: Short Story Fiction. She brings a level of energy to each class that is both refreshing and inspiring.


At Anne E's prompting, I've written numerous assignments for the class and several short stories. I've also read many pieces of fiction by my aspiring classmates, countless short stories and a healthy number of novels. The past 10 weeks have brought a new focus to my writing and it has been particularly helpful to listen to the critique's as if the piece being reviewed is your own. There's always something new to learn, or a perspective that's helpful to turning a phrase, refining a character, or slowing down / speeding up the action.

Next week the class will review my second short story, "The Starlet," which I've been obsessively working on for weeks. I wrote the first draft, then built it up with more characters and plot, then during editing I sliced out nearly a third of the material and re-worked the focus of the story. Both this story and the first one I completed (which still needs a title) will require more work and editing before they're final but I'm determined to submit them to literary magazines once I think they're in good enough shape to be read by an editor... or assistant editor, or summer intern to the assistant editor. ;-)

Although it'll be tough to maintain the same level of focus week to week without meeting in class, I've seen the class as the runway and my plane is just taking off, the wheels just having lifted off the ground and only I can keep it afloat in the long run and really make it fly.