Writing Retreat and Band Camp

The World’s Greatest Critique Group spent four days at a retreat center in Saugatuck. When I left home, I was unsure what I would work on. I started with a sequel to SSA, but my plan for this book didn’t fit well with the novel format I learned from Martha Alderson’s Blockbuster Plot series, so I put it aside for now. I switched to a new project and didn’t expect to get far, but ideas came, and I ended up with a plot plan, twelve chapters outlined and one chapter written.

On Monday morning, I headed out to band camp. For incoming freshmen, band camp is their first high school experience. Watching the transition from the middle school to the high school mind set is fascinating, and the reason why I’ve written a couple manuscripts with 14-year-old protagonists. I’ve also written novels with 17-year-old protagonists. Perhaps that’s because some of the seniors enjoy being at the top of the heap while others are ready to move on.