Getting Ready For A Writer's Seminar

Last year I attended the Hawaii Writer's Retreat and got to work with the New York Times bestselling thriller author, William Bernhardt. I'm not a thriller writer so why would I take his class, you might ask? I wouldn't have, except I knew how fantastic a teacher he was. In 2008 I attended my first Hawaii Writer's Retreat and I was suppoed to be in James Clemmens class. He's a remarkable fantasy writer for those who don't know, ironically, he's also a thriller writer under the name of James Rollins. Due to an unfortunate incident James didn't make it to Hawaii. I was rescheduled in Mr. Bernhardt's class. I was deeply disapointed but remained optimistic that I could learn at least something. Boy did I.

That class was full of writers from all different genres, not just thriller writers. It's where I met Aprilynne Pike and Sarah Brennan and fell in love with the young adult genre. More than that though, my writing moved to a whole new level I never imagined. Mr. Bernhardt had a wealth of knowledge to share, regardless of what genre any of us wrote. My writing life changed that summer. So in 2009 when I attended the retreat again I signed up for Mr. Bernhardt's class, and I learned even more.

When he invited my classmates and I to attend his advanced seminar in February I knew I had to go. My writing has gone from mediocre with promise to publishable and agented. I'd be crazy not to want to take it to the next level! I'm preparing for a trip to Oklahoma in less than a month, no Hawaii for me this time. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. I can't wait to take my writing to yet another level!

So remember, if you get a chance to learn from a New York Times bestselling author, do it, regardless of what genre you write and they write. You don't become a NY Times bestseller without knowing what you're doing! Check out Mr. Bernhardt's seminars here: http://williambernhardt.com/small_group_seminars.php

Comments

  1. Sounds awesome, Heather, I hope you have as much fun as you did in his class in Hawaii, and I hope we see some tips learned from his classes here on your blog! *wink*

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  2. Wow, that sounds fantastic! I love hearing about your writing journey--especially when it takes you to cool places like Hawaii ;-) I hope Oklahoma is equally inspiring.

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  4. Thanks ladies, it is going to be awesome. I met some great people last year and can't wait to see them again. I'll definitely be posting some good tidbits from class so keep an eye out during February. As far as Oklahoma being inspiring, well, I may get a lot of writing done without a beach to distract me!

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