April at the Hollywood Schmooze

The Hollywood Schmooze continues to grow! We had a lively Workshop Session in April. 
First: we met new members and shared our writing news.
Next: we discussed some fantastic quotes by Newbery Award winners.
And asked:
What makes the sentences work together and flow?
What gives the paragraph its power?
We agreed:
Emotional connection is key.
Sensory details help us connect.
(I learned about interspersing description with emotional reaction -- sentence by sentence, line by line -- this really moves the story along.)

We agreed to disagree on: which quotes we liked and which we didn't like.
That's why there are so many styles of writing... and so many different kinds of readers.
Our task as writers, we agreed is: To plant seeds, ask compelling questions, and add mystery and suspense.

Paragraphs from our own writing were shared. We read out loud to a quiet room. We received praise and constructive criticism. The writer was meant to listen, but it is difficult not to respond when people are talking directly to you. (A personal suggestion: the group could talk as if the person isn't there there…this may sound weird, but I think it would actually make it easier for the person being critiqued just to sit back and listen.) Nonetheless, the comments were very helpful to all involved. Written comments were also given to the writers who read their work. 

A funny quote from the evening (in response to a question about a character’s hairstyle) -- “If there’s a girl in the book, there’s always a hair thing!”

The writing and comments shared were all outstanding. We are off to a great start this Spring.
See you in May,
Deborah Fletcher Blum