I have a confession to make. I run a couple of writers' groups, attend a few others regularly and have had the pleasure of moderating some fascinating panel discussions in the last few months. I do it because I am passionate about supporting and educating writers so we can all grow. But I can't deny the boost my involvement gives me personally.
Every time I come away from one of these events I am inspired and, often, one step closer to a new opportunity.
This was definitely the case on Tuesday night. As chair of the Sacramento Press Club Seminars Committee, I had the pleasure of meeting Sacramento Bee Pulitzer Prize-winning author Marjie Lundstrom. She was a joy - engaging, candid, authentic - and probably wouldn't approve of all the adjectives I am using to tell you how great she was. She would say, "Show me."
So instead, I will share a metaphor she used to explain the structure of an effective story. Imagine a necklace. The pearls are the details that shine in the readers eyes. The humble string is the organizational structure that runs through the story giving it shape. Without the string, it isn't a necklace. It's a pile of little white balls.
You can be assured that I will take the time from now on to consider my structure before piling a bunch of details on the page and hoping the reader doesn't trip on them looking for the closure.
In addition to getting to meet this superstar, I also met a number of other word jewelers who took time out of their busy schedules to attend. Once again, I left inspired.
I have to admit, writer group mania is not an addiction I am going to try to kick anytime soon.
Yours in Writing
Promptmasters
Jennifer Sander
JT Long
