8 February 2005 A LOT OF CLASS My class at the Gladewater Library in Gladewater, Texas, has one more week to run. It’s held from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.. There are 20 people signed up for the class, all from varied backgrounds. One of them is a creative writing teacher at Kilgore College, another a physics teacher from Northeast Texas Community College. Another is a retired medical examiner, one a pharmacist at a major hospital in Longview. The oldest attendee is in her early 80s. One member of my class is totally blind and I’ve been her mentor for some time now. They come from Tyler, Longview, Mt. Pleasant, Winnsboro, and points in between. They are all fascinating to me, all very serious and determined to write well. Charlotte is filming me as I sit in a chair on the small stage, with the tables arranged in a horseshoe so that no one is blocked by someone sitting in front of any member. I plan to make DVDs of the sessions and offer them for sale on this website. However, the videos do not carry the title of the class and none of the participants appear on camera. So, the title of the 5 videos is entitled: REFLECTIONS ON WRITING, which gives a better picture of how the classes are conducted. For those wishing to know more about the substance of my “reflections” I have suggested they buy and read, WRITING THE POPULAR NOVEL, by Loren D. Estleman and THE WRITER’S JOURNEY by Christopher Vogler. My approach to teaching the art and craft of writing is not so much a litany of hard and fast mechanics and rules, but more a philosophy of approach to writing, using those books as a basis, but venturing somewhat beyond, into the field of semantics, mythological structure, and symbolism, along with the use of metaphor and simile. I also deal with characterization, points of view, scene creation and plot structure. But, I hope none of this material is delivered in a heavy-handed way, nor taken as gospel. My wish is to guide, not lead, open doors in every aspect of the business of writing (and, yes, we deal with agents, publishers and other necessary evils). My teaching methods would no doubt cause an uproar in the halls of academe, but, since I encourage interactive participation, the method seems to instill a burning desire to write on a higher level than many other teachers require or demand. We play with ideas and those in the class seem to have an abundance of them. They are all talented, and I hope they all come away with that other necessary ingredient for success, a burning desire to write, against all odds. Some time back, I mentioned Paragon and Skyward Publications. Since that time, Shirleen Sando has purchased Skyward from Paragon under the banner of her company, Ozark Marketing and Publishing. She and Ellen Grey Massey are compiling a second Ozarks Mystery anthology. Shirleen has a number of projects underway and seems bound for success as a publisher. My latest novel for Berkley, BLOOD RIVER, is now available on the stands and from this website. There is a reader review of the novel on www.amazon.com, and there may be reviews on other sites as well. I’m midway through the writing of THE BARON DECISION for Forge Books, and my next novel will be another one for Berkley, THE SUNDOWN MAN. After that, I will write the first of another new series for Berkley called THE SAVAGE GUN. More about these titles later. Jory Sherman * * * * *