This is one helluva jam packed week. Last year, I went to EVERYthing and by the end of the week was ready to lie in bed and watch sitcoms. This time around I took a more moderate approach (thanks to Steph for urging me to get out and into the woods more this time around. Everyone needs a partner in crime and she was mine for sure. Great to have someone around who knows what’s important to you and shares those interests and so kicks you in the ass when you are not doing what makes you feel good) and went to those panels and readings which were new in comparison to last year.

Here’s a quick run down of what readings and panels I attended and my reaction to each:

Dorothy Allison on The Story Arc: I could go on and on about how fabulous she is. Seriously. And here she once again gave freely of her writing view. Essentially, her message was that story arc is personal to the writer. There is no formula.

Tom Jenks on The Importance of Time in Narrative Prose: He was an excellent speaker and this talk was a good one. He gave both specific and general ideas for how to establish and maintain time successfully within one’s writing. One of my favorite take-aways from this talk was in regards to pacing, about which Jenks said that the story needs to be synchronized with the reader’s sense of time.

Panel on the Short Story: moderated by Andrew Tonkovich, the panel consisted of–Michael Jaime-Becerra, Dagoberto Gilb, Elissa Schappell, Gregory Spatz, and Jay Gummerman. Provocative questions and answers. Unfortunately, I had to leave before the panel was over as I had to go to “Finding the Story.”

As far readings go, there were some great ones there as well. I didn’t go to all of them but quite a few. Here’s my run down:

Elissa Schappell read a great (funny, honest, sad) essay on her absinthe obsession. Loved it!

Gregory Spatz read a story about a fiddle contest. Michael Jaime-Becerra read an entertaining short story.

Gerald Haslam read a great piece in a truly entertaining way. Oh how I love when writers break out of the “reading voice” and give some power to their performance.

James D. Houston read a fascinating piece about Hawaii.

Jordan Fisher-Smith read an intriguing passage from Nature Noir.

Leslie Daniels read from her HILARIOUS (and amazing) Intimacy and the Feast.

Karen Joy Fowler (who is extremely funny) read from The Jane Austen Book Club (a book I have been wanting to read and now, after hearing Fowler, want to read for sure).

Dagoberto Gilb read an excerpt from a story and a non-fiction piece on pride. Both quite wonderful.

And, last but not at all least, Dorothy Allison gave a RIVETING performance (it was so much more than a reading) from her book in progress. You would be hard pressed to find a person in the audience who was not blown away. When I met with Dorothy the next day (more on this later), what I told her was that it was more than a reading, and it was more than a performance. I told her it was like God (even if you don’t believe in God). Wow. Was it something. Watch for this novel when it comes out. I don’t want to give away too much but I will tell you that to me, it sounds like it is going to break records and hearts. I cannot wait to read it.