A report about summer camp--Lenora Worrh

I took this summer off after finishing a multi-book contract. Both my brain and my body were seriously tired. After we kind of impulsively bought a brand new house in March, I decided not to attend RWA this year. I've been every year for twenty years, so this was not a decision I took lightly. But I refused to sit home and pout. We worked on getting this house organized and furnished (and the money I saved by not going to conference helped to fund the furnishing part.) But I needed something else, something to keep my writing blood churning.

That's when I saw a need for writers to teach at Harlequin's Camp Gonnabe. It was like deja vu all over again since about twenty years ago, I wrote an article for RWR magazine about being a gonnabe instead of a wannabe.

A gonnabe learns the craft, reads in all genres and joins writers groups to learn everything about writing from plotting to characters to handling a small business. I don't like the term "I'm a wannabe." I didn't like it twenty years ago. I told people who said that "Be a gonnabe." I believe if you truly want to be a writer (and I've met many people who thought they wanted to write but they really wanted other things) then you will have to tell yourself that one day, you are gonna be a writer. Become a writer before you even pitch your first proposal.

So anyway, I decided to volunteer to conduct a workshop at the camp because it was for those who couldn't be at the RWA conference. I thought if I stayed busy that week discussing writing, I wouldn't be so lonely. And boy, was I so right! I'm so glad I took on this task.  The lovely and sweet Heather Rae Townsend was my moderator and after a brief panic on Monday morning when I couldn't get signed on and had a frantic discussion with a nice customer service person only to find out it was operator error (me), I taught my first workshop at camp. It was so much fun. I had about five or six very serious students and some friends dropping by. I wanted to discuss a lot and we did that. I tried to tell them in an Elnora way what I know about writing. Which isn't much, actually. But we got going and broke down plots, rebuilt them, twisted them and ended up with some really good ideas.

I looked forward to each day. Monday, we talked about hooks and themes, Tuesday was beginning, middle and end. We eliminated another negative phrase--the sagging middle. That is now the Meaty Middle. On Wednesday, we did Wacky Wednesday stuff such as what to do plot-wise, sensual-wise and length-wise in a Love Inspired story. Then we had Throwback Thursday where we discussed the Classic Themes and how to twist them into modern stories. On Friday, we had a wrap-up and a fun question and answer session and I gave away prizes because we had pop quizzes all week and homework, too. My girls did me proud with both so I tried to reward everyone with either an ebook or a paperback. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting these seriously gonnabe ladies and I made them promise to let me know when their stories are in print.

So that's what I did at Summer Camp. While I missed RWA, I think God put me right where I needed to be that week. He reminded of the many things I love about being a writer. And one of those things is how I love GONNABEs!!! I like serious writers, not those who are just messing around with a dream. Writing is about goals and accomplishments, not just dreams. I told my students to dream big, but set small goals. These girls were amazing. And Rae and Danica came to my rescue when I needed them. I didn't drown in the camp lake. I resurfaced and did a fist pump, ready to get back to writing again!!! Thank you, Camp Gonnabe Girls!!!

Ask Elnora--About Masquerades? Lenora Worth

So yesterday, we asked to see some costume pictures. I'll get back to that in a minute. But all this talk of dressing up got Elnora to thinking. What is it about masquerades that bring out the strangeness in people. Here we have a big party each Halloween called artscare (with no caps). Artscare is put on by the local Arts Council and Elnora used to be a social reporter for a local magazine and artscare was actually one of my first assignments. I know you won't believe this, but I'm rather shy and entering a dark room full of people wearing masks and heavy make-up almost had me running away in fear. I didn't masquerade. Elnora wore a black tuxedo suit with a jack-o-lantern scarf slung around my neck. That's about as costumey as I get. Kind of James Bond meets Ichabod Crane. Wearing pumps. Anyway, it was fun to take pictures of people dressed as zombies, gypsies, rock stars, mad scientists and fairy princesses. Just another day in high society. And given the fact that I live in the land of Mardi Gras, I see a lot of strange costumes all year long. It's alway fun to see what people will come up with. So that begs the question--Why do we like to masquerade as someone else? Why is it fun to change our appearance into something else just for laughs? Or for scares?? Here is a picture of my group of friends and me at Mardi Gras a few years ago, celebrating The Wizard of Oz theme. We were "Good Witches', of course!

Let's talk about dressing up in costumes. And in the meantime, let's celebrate our costume winner--Beth N--who was brave enough to send me this picture of her dressed as a Centurion. Beth writes that this is her favorite costume. She wore it at a kids program she helped lead at her church. She told the story of the Centurion from Luke 7 wearing this amazing costume. Congratulations, Beth. I will get your mailing address and send you the promised prizes! If anyone else is brave enough to share a picture, we'd love to see it!

Thank you, Beth, for sharing. Now, everyone, how can we apply this masquerade theme to our stories? Readers, do you like this type of theme? Let's discuss!