I’m not sure I would want Alane to assist with my heart surgery but she was a great doctor for our manuscripts. Utah/Southern Idaho SCBWI had Alane Ferguson’sBoot Camp last Saturday. We went over the first five pages of our manuscripts. You can learn a lot about critiquing by listening to critiques from 9 a.m. in the morning til 5:30 p.m. at night. We only had a short break to buy some books and grab a subway sandwich before we headed back to the manuscripts. I had a mouthful of subway and half a sandwich in my hand when they were herding us back to work.
When we broke for lunch, the conference attendees headed for the books before they headed to the food, crazy writers. Alane had the help of Carol Williams in the critiquing. The day was filled with great critiquing interspersed with laughter. Eight and a half hours of going over manuscripts might make for a long day but the writers had fun stories and Alane and Carol had great advice. We got caught up in the stories and how to make them better. And for those of us who use paint brushes and watercolor more than words, Alane was very kind.
Links: SCBWI Alane Ferguson Carol Williams
Yes, it was an intense, enjoyable, well-spent day for all of us. Alane was so spot-on. She could take any struggling manuscript and make it sing opera, doncha think? Fun to see you there, Sherrie!
Yes I left there thinking if I can remember the things she said and make the changes she suggested, I would be a better writer.