Barbara Seuling's Manuscript Workshop

My friend and mentor, Barbara Seuling died yesterday. Her obituary is in PW. She was not only a wonderful writer, but also a great teacher. I read and re-read her book on writing for children for many years until I outgrew it. My kids loved her series of Robert books. And Barbara's favorite, the story of Jane Froman was a joy to read. I got another copy for my in-laws and they, too, loved it. I can only imagine how many hundreds, no, thousands of people she has touched with her words. I had the good fortune to spend some time with her at a workshop twelve years ago, which I wrote about below. Requiescat in pace, Barbara. 

From the web archives: The Workshop

I have never had a "writing vacation" until I won a full scholarship to attend Barbara Seuling's Manuscript Workshop.  When she called with the good news, I was preparing dosas for my children.  We were all so excited I had to turn the stove off before I burned the house down.  The workshop was a gift to last a lifetime. My mother-in-law came to stay with the children and care for them while I was away so that Michael could continue to go to work. 

For four days, I was in the company of writers.  Good writers.  Each story pulled me.  I wanted more.  And it made me think about how we come up with stories -- a scenario, a character, even a piece of dialogue can snowball into a story.  It was a pleasure to read our stories and give and receive constructive criticism. 

I cannot say exactly what I learned because there were no formal lessons per se.  Everything I learned was specific to improving a particular story, but these are some of the points that were driven home:
 

1.  Tell yourself the story.  How does it unfold?  Why do story people (or animals) do the things they do?  Know the motivation.  Even in a deceptively simple picture book, we must know why the character does what he does.
 

2.  We read excerpts from several novels.  Every scene in the novel must move the story forward.  Otherwise it has no business being there.  It is not sufficient to have a scene just to give back-story or description.
 

3.  Read, read, read widely to study structure and style.  Especially read in the genre that you're trying to write.  Know what is being published today.  Read the classics, too.
 

The students: Carolyn, Sheryll, Doris, Lee, Becky, Syrl and Vijaya.  We did writing exercises and critiqued from 9-12 in the mornings and from 7:30-9 at night.  We socialized during mealtimes and it was wonderful to have delicious food come to our table while we spoke of our families and writing life.  We became friends.  I enjoyed having all of our activities under one roof at the Landgrove Inn.
 

The afternoons were free.  Most of us worked on our manuscripts.  We took breaks for a walk in the woods or a swim in the pool.  There was a lot to process (I'm still digesting what I've learned and trying to apply it to my novel).
 

Guest speaker Melissa Stewart spoke about her love of science and bringing it to life for children.  Tips from her:
1.  Make your writing lively. 
2.  Go for the heart of the story. 
3.  Do your homework and then interview experts for information not readily available.
 

Barbara runs this workshop in an environment that is conducive to writing.  We are guided from the discussions about our craft.  I truly believe that to become a better writer, we must honestly assess our work alone and with others and work with writers who can teach.  Barbara is one of the best.  She has a generous soul.  And she's funny and astute, too.  It's no wonder that out of seven students, over half have attended these workshops several times.  What joy to learn from Barbara and her students.  I know I'll be back ...
 

From the left: Barbara, Vijaya, Melissa, Becky, Doris, Sheryll, Syrl, Lee & Carolyn.