Write A Novel Workshop 2018’s Recap (Finally!)
“Our Workshop’s main goal was that each writer, either new or seasoned, would walk away inspired with new ideas and new tools to write that novel!”
According to feedback from our participants, that goal was accomplished!!! After 4 months of planning the first ever Write a Novel Workshop in Chengdu, China for fiction Writers, it came and went like bright and powerful lightening. A week after it was finished, I was still recovering at home tired, but mostly in awe of how amazing it was, how smooth everything went, and everything that unfolded along the way.Here are some highlights: YA Authors Lorie Langdon, Carey Corp, Laura Frances, and Nickelodeon Writer Amaris Glass and Social Media Coach Jenni Claar arrived to Chengdu a week before the workshop because we had a FULL schedule.
From the first day, we not only bonded (yeah, those women are awesome!) but we discussed workshop details, drank Starbucks in an ancient alleys, visited an ancient Temple and parks, ate a lot of Chinese, Tibetan, Uyghur, Hui, Indian food, rode the subway to more cool tourist sites, visited the pandas, talked about books and the global phenomenon of YA at the US Consulate, visited the local University to talk fiction and author life, talked at two bookstores and a secret hotel library, did interviews for both a newspaper and magazine, met with Chinese film producers and publishers and ate more delicious food. WOW! Like I said–we were slammed.
Then came the Workshop itself. Fabulous side note: One of the Journalists and a local Chinese YA author said they had never heard of a fiction workshop hosted by American authors for Chinese and Expats– that this was the 1st ever! Really? I’ll take it!
STATS: There was 1/5 teens of all nations, 2/5 Chinese writers/students, 2/5 Expats who came from different cities in China just to participate.
LOCATIONS: As a way to experience more of the local flavor we chose three unique locations for the workshop:
1st: Friday night was our “Old China feel”: The Shaanxi Guildhall, one of the oldest still standing buildings in Chengdu (hundreds of years old) the antique beauty set an awesome stage for our first night as we dove into Author Life, Premise, and Plot.
2nd: Saturday was an “International China” feel. The Book Worm, a book cafe that hosts big literary events and festivals in China. They treated us good!
3rd: Sunday was our “New China” feel: The Temple House in TaiKooLi (one of the most posh places in Chengdu) We ended well.
Take aways and Reviews:
Conferences and Workshops can accomplish so much in so little time. Ideas. Tools. Networking. New Cps. Inspiration. GO TO WORKSHOPS. THEY ARE WORTH IT.
Praise for the Workshop:
“I can’t believe how much I got out of this. It was amazing. I can’t wait for next year.” 2018 Participant
“So professional. So fun. I would have never thought I could get this kind of workshop in China!” 2018 Participant
“One of my favorite weekends ever in China.” 2018 Participant
“I thought I came here for just the breakout session on self-publishing and agents, but I got so much more. I learned so much.” 2018 Participant
“This far exceeded my expectations.” 2018 Participant
“I didn’t want it to end…” 2018 Participant
Stay Tuned for the next Write A Novel Workshop!