Sue Woolfe Workshop

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I’m still working on the proto-novel.  In fact working rather harder than usual because a couple of weekends ago I attended the first session of a three part workshop series with novelist Sue Woolfe.  (What a fantastic deal, even moneywise…three two hour group sessions with Sue for only $50!  Thanks to FAWWA for pursuing funding so we can have access to this great opportunity out west where there isn’t much for aspiring writers!)

Last year I read Sue’s book, The Mystery of the Cleaning Lady, about the neuroscience of creativity.  She researched it while trying to break through writer’s block on her novel, The Secret Cure.  Her base writing method is basically the same as mine (ie free-writing), but there are a few differences to her approach when it comes to subsequent drafting.  I won’t spoil it by telling you everything she said, but there is one idea you and I might like to consider.  If you’re into free-writing this might come as a bit of a shock, so hold onto your chair:  Everything you write goes into your draft.  Yup.  Everything.  Even that piece about the crack in your big toe nail.

The idea is that everything is interconnected.  It makes sense; you, the writer, are the source of connection, the common denominator. So everything that comes out of you has been filtered and integrated into a system of understanding the world.  Interesting.  My huge stack of notebooks is now looking more like a treasure trove than a dumping ground.  Looking forward to tomorrow’s session to find out more.