Ilie Ruby

Pima Writers' Workshop 2013

 

Saturday afternoon after a heavy lunch and when my eyes wanted sleep, I struggled with Ilie Ruby's writing exercise. She instructed us to go from distant to closer finishing the phrase: "If I loved you, I would tell you this...."

 

After a few minutes she told us to stop. A few students read theirs. Something in that prompt had touched something vital in them. They had written in a few minutes, powerful, emotion filled scenes.

 

Ilie Ruby (www.ilieruby.com) wrote The Salt God's Daughter and The Language of Trees.

 

On Friday morning her excellent presentation was: 'The Voice of Your Book: How to Create a Compelling Narrative Voice in Fiction'.

 

This presentation covered a lot from what voice is and how to distinguish it to how to choose it and use it. She gave solid examples. She had us writing first and other person for the prompt, "On the day everything changed ...."

 

She went from the basic to the advanced, from the theoretical to the practical -- a great presentation with something for all