Great turnout at my first free writing workshop!

Thanks to everyone who attended my first free writing workshop on April 1, 2011, at the Brew Ha Coffee Shop in Ossian. We had a great turnout!

Sixteen people attended, creating a friendly and interested group. In this day of high gas prices I was honored to discover they came from a variety of locations, some as far as 40 miles, including Ohio!

I talked to those attending who were mostly beginners about “7 Tips to Getting Published- No Fooling!”  These tips included identifying the habit you must develop as a writer (write regularly—daily if possible!); creating a thick skin (everyone gets rejected!); deciding the type of writing you’re passionate about (fiction versus non-fiction) and others. I passed out hand-outs and offered several websites that are helpful to writers including www.writing-world.com and www.therenegadewriter.com.

Several people had questions at the end which I hoped to answer to their satisfaction. A few people purchased copies of Chicken Soup for the Coffee Lover’s Soul, which I have a story in (“Lesson in Forgiveness”). Some copies are still available for $5.00. These would make great Mother’s Day or Easter gifts.

I also recommended those present read The Writer Magazine and attend a meeting of the Bluffton Christian Writing Club to learn more about writing and find writing friends. The latter is a group I co-founded with Rhonda Maller. We meet at River Terrace Estates library 3 miles north of Bluffton on State Road 116 West. The library is just inside the front doors. We meet at 6:30-8:30. Everyone is welcome!

My thanks to friends Tonia Shannon and Jerry Ziegler for shooting these photos during the session.

People have already asked if I’ll be holding another Introductory Writing session sometime soon.
That’s a possibility. If you’d be interested in attending a session like this sometime this summer in the Bluffton/Fort Wayne area, please let me know. If enough people express an interest, I’ll consider it.

Have a great day!