Here’s a picture of nineteen of the twenty great professional writers at the Character Voice Workshop who came from around the country, Canada, and Europe.
They are all smiling because they were all done at this point with the assignments and stories I had them write for eight days. I’m the tired-looking one in the center with the moose. I had the pleasure of reading everything they wrote during the week, and talking about it. A normal day was over 50,000 words produced by this group. Two nights I read 120,000 to 130,000 words.
Great fun, but see why I looked beat up? (grin)
Thanks for a great week, guys! I am almost recovered. And thanks, Lisa, for the picture.
Actually Dean I was thinking how great you look. Compared to previous posts from a few years ago it looks like you have lost a lot of weight and you look healthier.
Lost almost 50 pounds, Thomas. Thanks. Still got another 20 plus to go, but far more comfortable and healthy now, even after getting beat up by twenty professional writers for a week. (grin)
Oh, Dean, was this taken in your new “digs”? The place looks awesome!
Barb, yes, that was taken in a social room off to one side of the main workshop room. Notice I haven’t gotten the posters framed and hung yet above the books. I’ll get to it any day now. (grin) Still working.
To the left of the picture is the main workshop room, a huge room that held thirty people, each at their own 4 foot table, for the “promotions” workshops in February. To the right of the picture is another library room with a great poker table in it and a ton of hardback books. Off of that library room will be our new audio and video room we are putting together. Around through the big workshop room on the left are two huge WMG Offices full of books, a kitchen, and a huge dining room also full of books. And then there’s the warehouse part of the offices as well, which is massively huge. The entire place is 4,600 square feet and just feels nifty.
It looks like you’all had fun.
Cyn
It was a real priviledge to attend this course and meet all these terrific writers. I admit my brain is still scrambled though I am recovering.
Slowly. Oh, so slowly.
123-130k words in two day! You must be a speed reader! I really can’t wait for the July workshop. Great fun!
Ramon, that was per day. 120,000 words per day for two of the days. The rest they went easy on me and it was only around 50,000 words per day. But I had to look and analyze what they were doing, so no speed reading. Just some very late nights. (grin)
Wish I could have been there.
I see Jeff! I see Michael!
Dean, you’re a mensch.
Wow, that space looks great! What a nice place to hold workshops and meetings!
Thanks, Laura. It’s even better than it looks in that picture. Everything is huge, the dining area can hold all thirty people, the audio studio and video area are going to be just nifty, the main workshop area holds thirty writers plus all at their own 4 foot tables, (Yes, internet can run all thirty at the same time) and WMG working offices are monsters. We are even building a loft with only mystery paperbacks, a nifty desk, couches and chairs. Working on the floor of that loft now, then we do bookshelves and start filling them with books, which the warehouse has more than enough of. (grin)
Did we get lucky to find this place? Yes.
Good grief. You’re a machine, sir.
I’ll chime in on “zowie, the place is awesome!” wagon! And still more to come!
The workshop was fantastic, thanks again!
(but I do have to admit that I was not responsible for the group photo…unless you’re referring to another Lisa, in which case it still wasn’t me…)
So who uploaded the photo to the list? (I get so confused.(grin))
It was a fantastic and intense week of learning, practicing, and testing skills to become a better writer. I can’t thank Dean and the other writers enough for their help and encouragement. The workshop area is perfect, really too beautiful to be described or captured adequately in photographs.
That’s my photo. I added it to Lisa’s album.
That location is really fantastic!
Amazing workshop, amazing facility, amazing hosts! Now to make good use of all the fabulous information. If I can just remember … some setting would be nice…
Thanks, Dean!
(From the missing twentieth writer.)
Thanks for another fabulous workshop Dean! Learned tons, met fantastic writers, and loved the new offices. Can’t wait to get back this fall!