“I learned how to engage with a particular idea and take it further than a fleeting thought. It also helped to have parameters and an intelligent set of questions to work with. During moments when I got stuck, I referred to my notes, and I found the questions that would get me ‘unstuck,’ so to speak.
It was really inspiring to work with a piece from an author who is so completely in control of her story. I was very conscious of the author not wasting a single word, deliberating the importance and weight that each word should have.
How did it feel to write a story overnight? Electric. Instead of feeling rushed, as I initially feared, it actually worked as a fantastic filter for getting rid of excess ideas and other things I was tempted to add to the story.
I asked myself if I’d have preferred for the class to be spread out over two weekends, instead of two intense days, but I saw the value of it in terms of staying ‘in the zone’ and in the rhythm of creating.”