At the end of May every year in Tucson, Meg Files puts on a great workshop at Pima County Community College. The first time I went there in trepidation as the week before Tucson hadn’t broken a hundred, on the down side. The days had been one hundred and ten. But for the conference the weather had broken--only one hundred and four during the day and ninety for a low. But for writers, the hottest thing in Tucson is not the weather, it is the conference -- on fire with ideas, techniques, enthusiasm, and writers looking to improve their craft. It is a workshop that I would not miss.
Being from Wisconsin, letting the Arizona heat thoroughly bake the winter from my bones rates high on my list of reasons to go to Tucson. But a workshop at a “community” college left me skeptical. My hesitancy came from two directions. First, what did a “community” college have to offer? Certainly a University would offer more, I thought. Second, wouldn’t the attendees be just a bunch of young local students? I might not fit in well.
I was wrong on both counts. The Pima Writers Workshop’s excellence shines. It is first class. I doubt if there is a better three day program anywhere. The conference draws a lot of youth who add an excitement and vitality to the sessions. But it also draws a full range of other writers covering all ages, interests, and skills. This group sizzles with motivation and boils with enthusiasm.
There is no one more enthusiastic than Meg Files as she brings her recipe for a successful workshop to life. I divine her recipe to be:
Ingredients
(use only the best and freshest)
1. A dozen award winning authors of novels, short stories, children’s books, memoirs,
plays, and non-fiction
2. A couple of agents looking for talent
3. Two or three outstanding poets
Mix together in a reception for participants. Separate into lectures, readings, writing
exercises, question and answer periods, and individual manuscript consultations. Add choice for the participants. Let everything meld over three days in the cool auditoriums and meeting rooms of Pima Community College’s West Campus in Tucson.
plays, and non-fiction
2. A couple of agents looking for talent
3. Two or three outstanding poets
Mix together in a reception for participants. Separate into lectures, readings, writing
exercises, question and answer periods, and individual manuscript consultations. Add choice for the participants. Let everything meld over three days in the cool auditoriums and meeting rooms of Pima Community College’s West Campus in Tucson.
There is no doubt that Meg Files knows how to cook. Her books include: Meridian 144 (a novel), Home is the Hunter and Other Stories, Turning Your Personal Experiences into Compelling Stories, The Love Hunter and other Poems, and Galapagos Triptych: Three Ways of Seeing the Galapagos Islands. She teaches creative writing and chairs the English and Journalism Department at Pima Community College.
You need to know that to schedule a manuscript consultation, you must register, submit one manuscript, and pay the fee (around $100 for non-credit) by the first week in May. If you are not having a manuscript reviewed, you can register at the reception. The manuscript consultations are done by most of the session leaders. They try and match you up with your manuscript reader preference. This manuscript consultation is a great opportunity and motivation. Not only do they make notations on your work but they talk with you one on one about it.
One year Bob Mayer ( http://www.bobmayer.org/ ) reviewed my short story. He writes under Robert Doherty (Area 51, Atlantis, and Psychic Warrior series plus Bodyguard of Lies) and under Bob Mayer for his non-fiction books. He is a best selling author with millions of books in print. I was so over awed that I couldn’t even think of an intelligent question to ask.
Another year Frank X. Gaspar reviewed my work. I’m still working on his suggestions to slow down, take time to develop the scene, paint your images. Frank is a poet, novelist, and professor whose works include: Leaving Pico ( a novel), A Field Guide to Heaven (a collection of poems), and Night of a Thousand Blossoms (a collection of poems). For more on Frank see: http://www.frankgaspar.com/ .
Journalist turned novelist, Masha Hamilton, urged me to get into the people and the whys of their actions. The Camel Bookmobile, Staircase of a Thousand Steps, and The Distance Between Us are three of her novels. More can be found at: http://www.mashahamilton.com/ .
This year Jo-Ann Mapson ( http://www.joannmapson.com/ ), author of Solomon’s Oak, looked at one of my short stories. She is very strong on layering and on crafting stories to catch the emotions of the reader.
Leaving the lonely solitary work of writing and getting out to a writers conference where you can meet and talk to other writers, hear their difficulties, inspirations, and solutions, can energize your writing. This one will set it on fire.
Pima Writers’ Workshop at the end of May is hot, a white hot crucible of ideas and inspiration. Don’t miss it. Don’t forget the suntan lotion. This year the weather was perfect -- sunny, dry, and mostly in the eighties.
MORE INFORMATION
Pima Community College
West Campus
2202 W. Anklam Rd.
Tucson, AZ 85709-0200
www.pima.edu
telephone 520/206-4500
