Four Firsts and an Answer

I just got back from the Rising River retreat in New Hampshire. Hooray for me! I went to my first ever writer's retreat, and I met Eric Luper and Loree Burns(my online critique group). Two firsts with one stone.

I was a bundle of nerves about going. When the Big Day arrived I dragged myself out of my hermit cave, shoved my feet into my big-girl shoes, and booted my butt onto the plane.

The weirdest thing about meeting Eric and Loree was, it didn't feel weird at all. It felt like we already knew each other. I guess we did. Isn't that funny how you can make friends just by typing on the Internet?

The place we stayed was really neat. It's called the Gibson House, here's the URL - www.gibsonhousebb.com

Check out the rooms. I was in Le Petite Chateau, Loree was in the Rialto, and Eric was in the Taj North, which was only fitting for the only male amongst nine women.

The writing part of the retreat was the hardest for me. That's because I didn't have anything to write. I'd just finished my novel and wanted to put it away for awhile but that left me with nothing to do. So, I hauled it out and read it through. Yikes! My protagonist starts out as one of those people you couldn't warm up to if you were cremated together. She gets more likeable as the book goes on but I'm afraid she'd scare the readers off long before they got to that point.

I spoke about it with Jackie Davies who hosted the retreat; she made some excellent suggestions. Then I had a group critique with some of the other writers. (The one-on-one, and group critiques were both maiden voyages for me - pat on the back for bravery!) I got a lot of helpful feedback but I still couldn't figure out what to do with my nasty little main character. Until...

We were at dinner on Saturday night (marinated flank steak, roasted potatoes, and Swiss chard...YUM!) Eric was talking about a woman who had trouble writing a synopsis. I was giving him my full attention when, for no apparent reason I exclaimed, "I started my book in the wrong place."

The people at the table looked puzzled.

"The story really begins in chapter six," I said, "and that's when my protagonist lightens up. Ha!" I realized how rude I'd been and added sheepishly, "Sorry, Eric."

Here's the URL for Rising River retreat - www.risingriverretreat.com

If you click on the images of Winter 2007 session, you'll see your's truly along with the other attendees. I'm the one with the light bulb glowing over her head. It was a very cool experience.