A Workout in Vegas

 So last week I found myself in Las Vegas, Nevada, attending a Fantasy Caper writing workshop taught by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, who as a bestselling author knows a thing or three thousand about writing that kind of a story.

Along with nine other writers, I attended lectures, wrote exercises and a short story, and let me tell you - it wasn't easy.  This is a difficult subgenre to write well, a lesson we all quickly learned as we struggled with bringing enough description into our exercises and stories.

Understand that all the writers attending (myself included) are not bad writers.  Kris made a point of repeating that fact over and over.  This is hard, she said.  It's a new thing you're learning.

Writing a fantasy caper is like trying to walk, chew gum, juggle, skip rope, and yodel - all at the same tine.  There are a lot of different things going on in such a story, and you need to be on top of all of them.

I have my notes and assignments.  I look forward to adding this tool to my writer's toolbox.

Some of you are probably asking, "But did she have fun?"

Why, yes, yes I did.  I got to spend time with friends I hadn't seen in real life for a bit.  I got to write, something that I enjoy.  But, in case you're wondering, I didn't gamble.  For one thing, there was no time.  For another, I needed my money for meals, which were expensive, though overall good quality.

I'm back home and nearly caught up on sleep.  It was a great time working out my writing muscles.  I hope I will be able to attend another one in the future.