At 10:00 this morning, I high-tailed my caffeine-infused self down to East 6th Street to lead a creative writing workshop for Badgerdog at the coolest, most hip place in town - Write By Night. This was one of those experiences that - while I wasn't completely certain what it was I agreed to do - turned out GREAT!
The attendees were, hands down, the most boldly talented writers I've ever known. We worked their current works-in-progress. Good stuff, I have to say. Under the guise of character development, plot structure, theme, and story trajectory; together we dared to enter the innermost cave of literary darkness and light.
We played that wonderfully delicious game writers love to play - What If? Throwing any limitation out the groovey Write By Night window, we considered all creative aspects worthy of enhancing the potential of their tales. What if a death caused by a botched herbal healing poultice? Can the errors made in the past haunt a contemporary girl of today? What can she do to break the spell that binds her and the rest of her family? How can one small boy defeat the all powerful evil Night Mayor (Clever word play, don't you think? I wish I could take credit for it, but I can't. Drat.)? What powers must the boy possess? What powers are inherent within? What is he lacking? And, how, in the heck, can we structure these epic tales in some logical, plausible way that will pay tribute to these amazing young writers' intent?
Hours sped by like the strike of a match. Creative juices pulsed. Goosebumps prickled. Funny bones were tickled. The best is that, within two short hours, people who were once strangers became supportive friends, all because of the love of crafting words on the page. Thank you, Badgerdog and Write By Night for sharing your vision and space with us. Know that magic happened today and that I'm honored to have played a teeny role in its manifestation.