Meeting New Authors

Hi Novelteeners! Heather here. It’s hard to believe summer is about to end and school will be starting soon. Sigh. I love summer. For the last five weeks I’ve been teaching a class on How to Write Your Novel. I’ve had so much fun meeting new authors and getting different perspectives. I don’t usually blog about writing, but I really wanted to share this experience with you.

One of my class attendees is names Micah. He’s seventeen and is writing a YA coming of age story. Can I just say this story ROCKS!?! Seriously. I didn’t know how old Micah was when he started coming to the class. I figured he was in college. Very mature. Very intelligent. Then I find out he’s seventeen. I was blown away by the level of writing skill and strong voice. I think Micah has a real future in writing. 

Then, there’s Laurie. She’s lived all over the world and now calls Florida home. She’s written a futuristic gritty detective novel that could actually launch a series. She’s studied craft and all the writing “How To” books and rather than read them and set them aside, she devours them and puts everything to work to make her writing shine. One of my classes dealt with plotting. It was based on the awesome book Screenplay by Sid Field. This book is the core of many if not most of the workshops taught about plot in most writing circles these days. I created a chart for the class that lets you “map” your novel. Laurie filled in EVERY line! That’s a ton of work. She’s another one who is dedicated  and I see a future for her in writing.

Jennifer is another attendee. She’s quick, smart, a busy mom, and reads tons of books. She’s just starting on the writing journey and decided to come to the class to learn a little about how to begin. Last week I got a peek at what she’d begun and I think she’s off to a great start.

There are others in the class, but I wanted to share with you a few of them and I suppose I shouldn’t go on and on and on. I’m so glad I decided to teach this series of classes. It’s been great meeting new writing fans and future authors. Lots of work, but absolutely worth it!