COLORADO

My heart goes out to everyone affected by this tragedy. I watch the news and know that grief can be overwhelming, that it all seems senseless and once more we are being reminded that lives can change in an instant.

It is at times like this that writers are needed most even as we are likely to wonder if our writing matters at all. But it does. We writers can give voice to grief, words to pain and comfort through what we write.

Some writing will explore the question everyone is asking: Why? There are writers who through their words explore how someone can be in so much pain that they will lash out as this shooter did.

Other writers offer hope through stories of how people can rise above tragedies like this one. Some will write of heroes and others simply of every day people doing the best they can.

Some writers will create the shared experience of grief so that no one has to be alone in what they feel.

Some writers will simply offer comfort and distraction at a time when emotions might otherwise be overwhelming.

I’ve heard it said over the past few days that a sense of community matters and I absolutely agree. Writers help to create that sense of community. Writers so often help to show how people who seem different are almost always more like us than not, that hopes and dreams and fears can be universal.

Writing matters, perhaps most of all at times like this. What we write has the ability to touch hearts and minds. What we write may help make sense of what otherwise would seem overwhelming. What we write may provide both hope and a kind of road map for the ways that people can overcome or at the very least survive the challenges in their lives.

What we write matters and each of us has a unique voice with which to do so. That voice will resonate with those who most need to read what we have to say.

If you are a writer, note your own reactions, your own emotions. Pay attention to how you handle those and how others handle theirs. Even if you do not do so now, the time may come when this knowledge will inform your writing and help you to add depth to what you write and make it more compelling and in doing so what you write may help someone in the moment they need it most.

Writing matters.

JULY BOOK IN A WEEK ONLINE CLASS

It's time for another Book in a Week class! Based on response to the last two classes, it's clear that people prefer having 2 weeks to write and therefore a 6 week class so that's what I'm offering again this July 2012. Here are the details.

NEXT BOOK IN A WEEK ONLINE CLASS

Note: You can sign up to be notified when I am offering this or any other class by using the link on the righthand side of the blog.

Book in a Week Online Writing Class

Cost: $85 ($45 if you have taken it before) Dates: July 15, 2012 to August 24, 2012 Deadline to sign up: July 13, 2012 (though I do sometimes take people at the last minute if there is still room in the class) Lessons: Everything is handled via email so that you can do the work at your convenience.

Class size is limited.

Payment for the class may be made by check or by Paypal.To sign up send an email to aprilkihlstrom@yahoo.com with the title of the class you wish to take in the header and in the body of the email please put: your name and whether you prefer to pay by check or Paypal. Also, please let me know if you have taken the class before.

Note: If you do not get a response back from me, please try emailing me at april.kihlstrom@gmail.com. Unfortunately email does sometimes simply disappear into cyberspace.

Class Description: This class will take you through every step of the writing process—from beginning to brainstorm all the way through sending material out to be published. And it will help you discover who YOU are as a writer. You can participate as much or as little as you like in email discussions.

Weeks 1-3: This is when you do the prep work with lessons that are designed to get you thinking in new ways about your project. Among other things, I'll cover characters and book structure, imagery and use of names, POV and how to make sentence and paragraph structure work for you. If you choose, you can post answers and get help brainstorming ideas for your book but NO ONE is required to do so!

Weeks 4 and 5: Intensive Writing Weeks (August 4, 2012 through August 19, 2012)This is your chance to write better and faster than you ever have before, to discover what YOUR natural first draft will look like and ways to fit writing into your life that you may never have thought of before.

Week 6: Here's your chance to look at the experience of weeks 4 and 5 and use it to create a writing method that works for YOU and is tailored to your most natural writing style. We'll also look at how to revise your work in the fastest, most effective way possible and I'll be sharing some of my thoughts on query letters, synopses, etc.

Does BIAW work? Well, a number of people who have taken this class are now published or under contract with material they worked on during my classes!

Bio: April Kihlstrom is an award winning author of 31 published romance novels (32 as of October 2012). She offers coaching to fellow writers as well as classes and workshops on writing and has spoken at many conferences including: the Romance Writers of America national conference (romance) and the East of Eden conference (non-romance).

Testimonials from students who have taken the Book in a Week class:

Flo Fitzpatrick wrote: "I hope you get a ton of students, April! ONE OF THE BEST WORKSHOPS I EVER TOOK!!!! ( It enabled me to write Hot Stuff in a week - and that book received four and half stars - Gold on RT Reviews and is under option for film.) TAKE THIS CLASS, PEOPLE!!!!"

“I have taken several online classes, none of them writing related. Still, none of them have been as well planned, documented and executed as BIAW.”

“Wow...Let me begin by saying Thank you Thank you Thank you! What an amazing process and generous amount of information given in a relatively short amount of time!”

“This course was certainly value for the money. A price can't be placed on the invaluable information and experience you imparted during this course.”

“I'm a better writer. I'm a faster writer. I'm a more confident writer.”