Monday, February 22, 2010

It's been a full week


And I mean that in the sense of fullness -- as in the previous posting with that glass full of ocean and sky.

It felt like an honour to be part of the first annual Winter Writer's Retreat on Denman Island. Although really, the weather felt much more like spring than winter.

I was with a group of writers who wanted to learn more about shaping their work into publishable manuscripts.

Their works-in-progress ranged from history to historical novel, from taut political intrigue to a manual that will help communities become energy self-sufficient. One of the projects will be a coffee-table book that combines photos and writings on a very specific area of Vancouver Island. There will even be a book on achieving spiritual enlightenment; its message is tempered with wonderfully clear-eyed humour.

I just hope that all the participants will maintain the kind of energy they put into the workshop's activities. For now, the house where we worked holds some good energy, and I'm sure it will lend itself to many other creative ventures.

3 comments:

daniela elza said...

Hi Heidi,

What did you work on? How is it shaping up? I too am in the hatchling stages of sending my first full length manuscript. interesting process. So much to learn about the publishing game.

hg said...

Besides keeping up with the questions my students posed, I didn't work on much. Still, it was a wonderfully rich-feeling time. I'm sure that by looking to who you are reading, you'll find inspiration for the structure and will achieve the final stages of your 'hatchling' process. Terrific word!

daniela elza said...

Thanks.
:-)