7 Steps to Superior Writing
On August 14, 2021, a free workshop with William Bernhardt will be provided by the Enid Writers Club, Park Avenue Thrift, and The Enid Arts Council
- James and Ann Bryant, owners of the Champlin Mansion, have generously offered this historic residence for the workshop.
- Although free, advance registration is required as the workshop is limited to 60 people.
- Workshop hours are 10:00 to 4:00 with registration beginning at 9:00. Lunch and snacks are provided.
The local Enid Writers Club is the oldest writing club in Oklahoma in existence since 1923. They have contracted with best-selling author, William Bernhardt, William Bernhardt author and speaker, for this event. Bernhardt will take participants on a guided and interactive tour through the essential elements of superior writing, prose that captivates readers and leads to successful writing careers. Bernhardt will provide insight on structure, character, plot, dialogue, and much more. Take your writing to the next level!
Bio: William Bernhardt is the author of over fifty books, most recently the Daniel Pike legal thriller series, starting with the #1 best-selling novel The Last Chance Lawyer. His previous works include the bestselling Ben Kincaid series, the historical novels Challengers of the Dust and Nemesis, two books of poetry (The White Bird and The Ocean’s Edge), and the Red Sneaker books on fiction writing. In addition, Bernhardt founded the Red Sneaker Writers Center to mentor aspiring writers. The Center hosts an annual writers conference (WriterCon), small-group writing retreats, plus a bi-weekly e-newsletter and podcast. More than three dozen of Bernhardt’s students have subsequently published with major houses. He is also the owner of Bernhardt Books, which publishes poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction, as well as the literary journal Conclave.
Bernhardt has received the Southern Writers Guild’s Gold Medal Award, the Royden B. Davis Distinguished Author Award (University of Pennsylvania) and the H. Louise Cobb Distinguished Author Award (Oklahoma State), which is given “in recognition of an outstanding body of work that has profoundly influenced the way in which we understand ourselves and American society at large.” He has been nominated for the Oklahoma Book Award eighteen times in three different categories and has won the award twice. In 2019, he received the Arrell Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award from the Oklahoma Center for the Book.
In addition to his novels and poetry, Bernhardt has written plays, a musical (book and score), humor, children stories, biography, and puzzles. He has edited two anthologies (Legal Briefs and Natural Suspect) as fundraisers for The Nature Conservancy and the Children’s Legal Defense Fund.
The H.H. Champlin House (The Champlin Mansion) H. H. Champlin House – Wikipedia sits strategically one block west of the intersection of Hwy 81 and Hwy 412 at 612 South Tyler in Enid. An historic residential area with Champlin Park across the street, participants will find parking on the street. You will not be able to turn onto Tyler from Hwy 412 because of the concrete median. Sequoyah Drive south of the intersection of Hwy 81 Hwy 412 at the Midgley Museum will lead you west to the mansion. The workshop is limited to the first 60 people who register but is free to the public. Mail your registration form to Enid Writers Club, PO Box 327, Enid, OK 73702. Forms can be found on the Enid Writers Club website at Enid Writers Club (wordpress.com).
Join us in the morning for coffee and donuts and an afternoon break will provide drinks and snacks. The free boxed lunch from McAlister’s Deli has a vegetarian option on the registration form and let us know if you need handicap or assistance in parking. You must pre-register.
The Heavener Runestone is set in a magical forest. Southeastern Oklahoma is home to the Ouachita Mountains and lore of Vikings that predate Columbus. The words “Glome’s Valley” is what some people think is carved into the sandstone monolith in the park and as a writer that sparked my imagination. I call the Glome books Oklahoma fairytales because of the myth surrounding the area.
This week was the annual Oklahoma Writers’ Federation, Inc. conference. Due to the pandemic, it was virtual. Not as good, but still I got to connect with friends and sit in on some very informative sessions. I missed a few and plan to go back and watch them later. At least one deserves another look. That is the good thing about a virtual conference.
I don’t know about you, but I sometimes have trouble getting my checkbook to balance. Dumb stuff like math errors or not entering something correctly (or not at all!) make it impossible. Math! Ugh! But what if math were something you could do to make magic happen? Or what if the numbers danced on your page? They did for Ian.
It’s writing conference time in Oklahoma!!!!
It’s time for a beach read! Novella, Strawberry Sundae Delights, is available e-published and in the anthology, One Scoop or Two from The Wild Rose Press. It is a part of the Sandhill Island series and may be just what you need to get your warm weather started. Check it out!
It’s Easter! Do you have your Easter bonnet and is the ham cooking? I hope your Easter is unexpectedly wonderful. 
This Thursday is April Fools Day! I don’t know how you celebrate this obscure holiday (or if you do) but I have a unique way of doing it. I interview on LA Talk Radio, The Writer’s Block – on April Fools Day 
Yesterday was the first day of spring. A time of renewal and breaking from the cold winter months. Flowers bloom and Robins reappear (I still think they are here all winter). I read that sometimes Robins winter in our area but don’t sing during the winter. My opinion is there’s not much to sing about in winter. They’re fairly smart birds.
Peggy Chambers "Views from the Hammock" site 