Rio Hondo

Rio Hondo is a river that flows from the mountains above Taos to the Rio Grande (I think). It’s also the name of a writers workshop hosted by Walter Jon Williams and Maureen McHugh. Walter’s blog gives an overview of last week better than I could. We spent the morning critiquing stories, the afternoon reading, talking, hiking, talking, soaking in the hot tub, cooking, talking, eating, and drinking.

I get a lot out of a workshop like this. I try to write really ambitious stories, then I have really smart people tell me why it doesn’t work and how to fix it. This is awesome. I also get to read stories by these same really smart people. Doing it all in a simultaneously intense and relaxing environment is just that much cooler.

Other highlights: two days of snow (I didn’t bring enough warm clothes), hiking to the snow line, wandering around Taos Saturday afternoon, and meeting Melinda Snodgrass’s horse (before the workshop started, but still. Way cool.).

One of these days I’m going to talk about critiquing and why it’s so important (for me, at least) and how to get the most out of it. But I’m still recovering, and I have other things to talk about. Like Speed Racer. Onward…