If you missed the December meeting, well, we're sorry, because it was spectacular! Not only did we have the annual holiday cookie contest, the book swap, some creative caroling, and a bit of comfortable mingling, but we also welcomed back our own Joni Sensel to SCBWI-WWA. Joni presented a talk titled "Here Abide Monsters," which was based on her Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA thesis, about using in-between spaces to create tension and suspense in our writing. Joni explained that spaces that are between--such as hallways, stairs, cliffs, even graveyards and key dates and times--make us uneasy because danger can come from more than one direction and the rules we are used to following may be in flux. They can also, however, represent opportunity or freedom, so there's a natural tension between risk and reward. She presented advice, examples, a handout, and an exercise to help us think about applying these concepts to our works in progress. I know many of us went away inspired to put these new ideas into practice!
And, looking ahead to our January meeting, stay tuned for previews on our fabulous pair of presenters, Holman Wang and G.G. Silverman. Wednesday, January 20 at 7pm! Be there!
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