Odyssey Workshop trip report
Jun. 29th, 2009 12:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pbrayI had a great time at Odyssey last week.
My visit started off with a reception Thursday night, where the students got a chance to get to know me, and to ask any questions they had. Despite the tape recorder sitting at my elbow I was candidly honest, in a way befitting someone working off of four hours of sleep who'd spent most of the day driving to get there. After the reception was finished, I was handed three student stories to read in preparation for the group critique session.
Friday morning I lectured on the hero/sidekick relationship, emphasizing how this topic related to both characterization and plotting techniques. As part of the lecture, I gave the students a half-hour writing exercise, and while they were writing I wrote a short scene of my own. After reviewing the exercise, I recapped the key points I wanted to make, and then spent the final minutes answering general questions. Overall I think the lecture went well--the students were engaged and asked great questions throughout. The lecture was taped, so it may appear as a podcast at some point in the future.
After the lunch break it was time for the group critique session. Jeanne Cavelos runs a tight ship, and I was impressed by the students' discipline as well as the depth of their comments. Then it was time for me to spend 1 on 1 time with the four students whose work I'd been mailed the week before.
Just as energy was flagging, it was time for pizza and a game meant to reinforce the three act plot structure, as we drew slips of paper setting up the initial story conflict and then had to describe where we'd take the story next. Possessing a vast and twisted imagination, I proved quite good at this.
By the time I left I was exhausted. I'm not sure how Jeanne, Susan and the students survive the six week pace. But somehow they do and they seem to thrive--everyone that I spoke with mentioned how much they were enjoying the workshop, and how they felt they'd grown as writers in the three weeks they'd been there. I'd wholeheartedly recommend Odyssey to anyone who was considering a fantasy writing career.
Oh, and that scene I wrote during the exercise? It may be the start of a new story. If so, I've promised to blame Jeanne and her crew.
My visit started off with a reception Thursday night, where the students got a chance to get to know me, and to ask any questions they had. Despite the tape recorder sitting at my elbow I was candidly honest, in a way befitting someone working off of four hours of sleep who'd spent most of the day driving to get there. After the reception was finished, I was handed three student stories to read in preparation for the group critique session.
Friday morning I lectured on the hero/sidekick relationship, emphasizing how this topic related to both characterization and plotting techniques. As part of the lecture, I gave the students a half-hour writing exercise, and while they were writing I wrote a short scene of my own. After reviewing the exercise, I recapped the key points I wanted to make, and then spent the final minutes answering general questions. Overall I think the lecture went well--the students were engaged and asked great questions throughout. The lecture was taped, so it may appear as a podcast at some point in the future.
After the lunch break it was time for the group critique session. Jeanne Cavelos runs a tight ship, and I was impressed by the students' discipline as well as the depth of their comments. Then it was time for me to spend 1 on 1 time with the four students whose work I'd been mailed the week before.
Just as energy was flagging, it was time for pizza and a game meant to reinforce the three act plot structure, as we drew slips of paper setting up the initial story conflict and then had to describe where we'd take the story next. Possessing a vast and twisted imagination, I proved quite good at this.
By the time I left I was exhausted. I'm not sure how Jeanne, Susan and the students survive the six week pace. But somehow they do and they seem to thrive--everyone that I spoke with mentioned how much they were enjoying the workshop, and how they felt they'd grown as writers in the three weeks they'd been there. I'd wholeheartedly recommend Odyssey to anyone who was considering a fantasy writing career.
Oh, and that scene I wrote during the exercise? It may be the start of a new story. If so, I've promised to blame Jeanne and her crew.