A Writer’s Retreat

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 Last month I had the privilege of traveling to a quaint little town in northern Iowa to participate in a writer’s retreat, hosted/sponsored by fellow Second Wind Publishing author, Sherrie Hansen. A bonus was staying in her beautiful Victorian Bed and Breakfast. Another was meeting Sherrie, Amy De Trempe, their husbands, and seeing Norm Brown again.

The Blue Belle Inn retreat was a unique venue and I learned a great deal from my fellow authors, and from the characterization exercise we did in small groups. As I listened to others speak, my eyes would wander to admire features and decorations at the inn–the high ceilings, the woodwork, ornate furniture, breath-taking quilts, antique pictures on the walls, the fireplace and tile surrounding it, and the countless collections of figurines.

Norm Brown has the distinction of being the first author published by Second Wind. With his ever-present sense of humor, he shared his story of getting published and how a brief meeting with an agent gave him the reason he had a stack of rejection letters from others. Amy De Trempe gave us valuable information about critique groups, what to look for, what to avoid. I won’t say more in case they want to expand on the subjects in their blogs.

Sherrie Hansen and I both spoke on book marketing the old-fashioned way and have written blogs on our experiences. Sherrie also addressed how a character’s personality can inspire a plot, which led us into the small group characterization exercise.

My group included Sherrie’s husband, Mark, who is also a writer, and another woman who hopes to write. We had a worksheet to follow, listing traits for our characters such as name, age, physical description, occupation, opinion of self, talents, goals, clothing preferences. Before long, the three of us had two characters, conflict, and a plot that could evolve into a great book. At the end of the exercise, all the groups shared what their character descriptions/plot ideas. It was impressive to hear what everyone had come up with.

In the evening, we were entertained with a murder mystery dinner. Sherrie’s husband Mark had a key role and had me wondering if his “death” was part of the plot, or a real event. He was that convincing. After the dinner, an Iowa county sheriff bought one of my books and I chatted with him, and his wife, for some time.

Between the gourmet food and treats, comfy bed, great conversations with participants and guests, and learning more about the writing industry, set in a first-class environment, I spent a very meaningful weekend at the retreat. We had fun visiting some local establishments and, of course, finding time to relax and do lots of laughing! Thanks, Sherrie, Amy, Norm and everyone who was there.

Christine Husom is the Second Wind Publishing author of Murder in Winnebago County and Buried in Wolf Lake

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Tags: Second Wind Publishing, Christine husom, writer's retreat, character exercises