SHU January Residency: Day 5
(If you haven’t read day 0, day 1, day 2, day 3, or day 4, you might want to check them out first.)
Our last day was a little reversed. Instead of starting with critique groups, we started with a module. I took Research for Writing with Barbara Miller. She showed us a lot of good online resources and we had the class in a computer room, so we were able to learn hands-on, which is great.
After lunch, the critique sessions were shorter than usual. The groups were set up so that each person would critique on three days and then on a fourth day, have a writing workshop. I learned on day 5 that they had engineered it so that all the ‘ones’ had our writing workshop on day 5. Dr. Albert Wendland taught us about hooks and beginnings – very appropriate for a group of people starting on their thesis. Everyone else’s writing workshops were taught by the outgoing ‘fives’ who had to teach a class as a requirement for graduating.
The day rounded up with the graduation ceremony and reception, and a race to the airport. As I mentioned on day 1, I underestimated how long it would take to travel from Greensburg to the airport, and was very afraid I would miss my plane. I made it, though, thank goodness! Next time, I’ll plan my flights better.
And now we’re in the middle of the semester. I’ve already had my first deadline and have contemplated huge changes to the plot of my book (naturally). I’m waiting to see what my mentor and critique partners thought of my first submission. Our first chat was a lot of fun (as well as informative, of course!) and I am so, so glad I decided to apply. I can’t wait for the next residency. 🙂
