I was happy to participate the North Carolina Writers Network Fall Conference in November.
The conference featured authors from all genres, who gave talks on a range of writing topics. I presented an all-genre workshop, "A Key Ingredient: Integrating Research into Your Writing." Here's the description of my presentation:
"Imagine that you are in your kitchen cooking soup. You toil over this dish, not just chopping your onions into big chunks, but carefully mincing them, eyes stinging, tears running down your cheeks. You’re putting everything you have into this soup because you want it to be delicious. Now, imagine that the recipe also calls for a key ingredient—maybe a potato, maybe a chicken, maybe salt. Would you leave it out?
"Research is a key ingredient in prose and poetry, but writers can fail to recognize its value and leave it out. This class will focus on how to use research—whether compiled from archival or historical investigation, interviews, travel, or other sources—to make your writing richer, more compelling, and more vitally connected to the world around it.
"In the class, we will discuss avenues for research in your current writing projects, look at examples of well-placed research within published work, and engage in a short exercise that aims to help you integrate research into your writing. If possible, please bring a smartphone or computer to class to help you with this exercise."
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