Tag: Flatirons

Posted on by Ellen Seaton - No Comments on Third Anniversary For This Writing Broad

Third Anniversary For This Writing Broad

Cupcakes with candles! Just perfect for a celebration. What am I celebrating you might ask? Why, it’s the Third Birthday for the RoadBroads Blog! Now, doesn’t that make you feel festive? Works for me. No, I didn’t eat all three cupcakes by myself. I had help from a friend. I only ate the equivalent of one all by myself. Half red velvet cupcake and half chocolate cupcake to be exact. The flavor of the third cupcake will remain a mystery. Many thanks to the nice people at Sprinkles in Highland Village for the tasty treats.

RoadBroads is three years old? Back in 2018 Melanie and I took off on a road trip where we headed west to Boulder, Colorado for one of Max Regan’s 10-day writing intensives. During this trip we blogged on a daily basis to document our adventures. This is the Boulder Bookstore where we would meet daily with other writers to hone our craft. I also bought several books while I was there, because a writer never has enough books. In the evenings we had salons where we could share and discuss our recent writings. Whenever I was outside, I could see the Flatirons off in the distance. What a wonderful adventure.

That was three years ago. This month I am once again attending one of Max’s writing intensives, but this time I am at home and zooming through class meetings and salons. Max is joining us from Boulder, but other attendees are in Texas, California and Maryland, among other places. Instead of looking out the window to admire the Flatirons, I see the same neighborhood that I always see. Instead of staying at a nice Air B&B condo shared with other writers, I cleaned my home and stocked my fridge for the 10 day experience. Instead of traveling to Colorado, I leave daily in my head to visit the stories that I am currently writing. Since I am working on science fiction paranormal urban fantasies, I go to some very interesting locations without leaving home.

Fortunately, RoadBroads is not location specific. Where I am or whatever journey I am on, the blog goes with me. That means that this will continue wherever I am and whatever road trip I take. This blog documents my efforts to always improve my writing craft.

The most important part is that I am writing and enjoying my stories and staying in contact with my writing community.

Until next time.….……

Posted on by Ellen Seaton - 1 Comment on Tea Houses, Flatirons, and Salons

Tea Houses, Flatirons, and Salons

There is nothing like the weather and scenery of Boulder to provide inspiring places for meeting and getting inspired about writing. I have already written about the Boulder Bookstore.

Now I have had a meeting with my writing coach on the patio of the Dushanbe Teahouse sipping fresh brewed teas while surrounded by beautiful roses.

What isn’t inspirational in that kind of a setting? Of course it helps that I finally have a solid story outline, I know where the story begins, where it ends, and what has to happen in between. Now all l have to do is start filling in all of the spaces and ideas I have outlined. It is very energizing to get to this point. Before this, my story was just this amorphous blob of an idea that sat in my mind without a good form. On with the first draft!

After my meeting at the Teahouse, I could not help but walk along the park and soak in the beautiful Boulder surroundings.

I keep taking pictures of the Flatirons as if I am afraid that they will disappear before I have admired them enough. It also helps that once I leave the park I know I am welcomed in Boulder because they have special crossing signs just for people like me. The good news is not everyone in Boulder is 20-something and climbing mountains every day. Some of us just want to go for a walk in the park and cross the street safely.

Tonight I did get my chance at reading at the salon. I picked out a selection that I wrote several years ago. I dusted it off, re-wrote, and edited several spots. The good news is that when I look at pieces I wrote several years ago, I can see that I have in fact grown as a writer. I have had a wonderful teacher in Max Regan and a wonderful writing support group in Houston. I felt good about my reading tonight and I received some very good feedback from the other attendees. It all inspires me to keep moving forward with my creative work.

But first, I need another good night of sleep and I have been sleeping really great in all of this clean mountain air!

Sweet Dreams!