CLASS OF 2014

Odyssey 2014: Great experience! For me, the value was the critiquing of my work by experienced and professional writer-editors and by the other Odyssey members. Jeanne’s input in particular was very instructive and helpful, and that in a strong field.

“I am not a teacher, but an awakener.” —Robert Frost

Jeanne, thank you for the awakening . . . as well as the kick in the ass and the hugs.

A writing career has all the elements of a horror story: self-doubt creeping in the closet, murderous frustration hiding under the bed, and loneliness peeking around the corner. Odyssey is a totem, a working flashlight when yours has failed, a program that will utterly transform you as a writer and give you the tools to survive.

I have been part of many workshops and writing groups over the past five years, but Odyssey was by far the most informative, rewarding, and impactful. Through six weeks and six stories, critiqued by fellow students, established authors, and Jeanne Cavelos, my understanding of narrative, along with how I write stories, changed drastically. It was an honor to read other students’ stories with more focus than I thought I could, and have my stories treated with such care in turn. Now when I watch a movie, read a novel, or revise my own work, a voice inside me says, “That’s a great way to reveal exposition!” or, “This story rambles. It would be better if it more closely followed a three-act structure.” This new way of thinking has provided me with the ability to not only see where my stories are going off the rails, but has given me the tools to learn how to put my stories back on course.

However, Odyssey extends far beyond craft. Perhaps even more valuable are the relationships I’ve formed with other students. Only two weeks after Odyssey, I’d gotten two rounds of critiquing on a story from other students, and my roommate and I text almost every day about our writing and what we’re hoping to get done tomorrow. I still have a LOT to learn, but I’m relatively certain that the people I met at Odyssey will help me reach my goals, and I hope I can help them reach theirs.

I cannot believe how much I have learned here. I have seen a marked improvement in my work. My last submission—a quickly written draft—was noticeably stronger than stories I worked months on before attending Odyssey. If anyone had told me that was even possible I would not have believed them, but it really is true.

If words are the trees in the forest of a story, the author is a woodsman blazing a trail for the reader. But trails can meander, loop, and the woodsman lose his way without a wider perspective apart from the trees. The Odyssey Fantasy Writing Workshop provides a bluff upon which the author can stand to survey the lay of his work and better plot his trails. Daily workshops provide insight not only to the author’s effectiveness as a trailblazer but to that of his peers, which ultimately yields an invaluable tool to the artist: objectivity. Of all the tools gifted by the Dark Queen of the Wood—her Fey Majesty Jeanne Cavelos—the ability to shape a more objective perspective of my work so to better gauge where my trails meander and where they cleave fast to the most engaging contours of the land was by far the most rewarding, appreciated, and unexpected. I thought I’d gain hatchets, axes, perhaps a spade or a pick, but instead I was gifted a mountain from which I can look out across my forest vista and divine the best trail to blaze. Powerful magic. And I am so grateful for the opportunity.

Jeanne is scary in all the right ways. We the Scared dubbed her a “Jeannius” because she’s scary smart, scary organized, and scary good at teaching how to become better readers and writers. Jeanne is other positive scaries as well—many others—but you’ll have to attend Odyssey to discover those for yourself. Sometimes it’s good to be scared.

I had many expectations coming to Odyssey, and they were all met or exceeded in the first two weeks. One thing I did not expect, because I hadn’t thought about it, was how proud and humbled I was to be included in a group of authors of the caliber I discovered in my fellow students.

Jeanne is an amazing, supportive, and nurturing mentor. This has been one of the most transformative experiences of my life, and I say that as a veteran of the Marine Corps who has spent a significant amount of time in combat zones.

This is the best investment that I have ever made in myself. I think it was worth every penny and every minute away from home, loved ones and work.

I was completely unprepared for how amazing and special this workshop was for me.

Odyssey was a writing workshop, but I was unable to learn one aspect of writing: how to put into words exactly how amazing the Odyssey experience was. The combination of writing, critiquing others’ writing, and incomparable lectures and discussions with Jeanne was a transformative experience for me. I learned more during these six weeks than I had in my previous twelve years of writing fiction. I want to mention that my best mode of learning is not in a classroom (in fact, it is probably my worst way)—but the lectures were perfect for me; I should also mention that I am a major introvert, but the living arrangements couldn’t have been better for me. I had plenty of time on my own to write and nearby new friends to talk with and grow close to.

I have three graduate degrees, but I can easily say that Jeanne Cavelos is the best instructor I’ve ever had. I came to Odyssey with specific ideas about what the problems were in my fiction. During the first week, I learned I had problems with my fiction that I didn’t even realize I had. Jeanne, though, teaches us that those problems should not overwhelm fiction writers; instead, she teaches us how to solve them. I now have the skills that I believe will help me succeed as a fiction writer.

The Odyssey Writing Workshop was the best writing experience of my life, which is no surprise since Jeanne is the best teacher I’ve ever had!

It was a truly helpful, instructive, inspiring, and enjoyable experience. Now that I’m home and a few weeks have passed, I’m beginning to realize that it was not only the best writing experience of my life but one of the best experiences of my life.

Thank you, Saint Anselm College, for hosting us!

Odyssey has been one of the best and most important experiences of my life. Jeanne is amazing and unique, and it has been an honor to learn from her. I feel incredibly lucky to be part of the class of 2014. I look forward to learning with them and from them for years to come.

Every aspect of this amazing odyssey made me a better writer. Before I even arrived, Jeanne had a solid grasp of my current skill level, my strengths and, most importantly, my weaknesses. I was blown away time after time listening to her incredibly detailed and incisive critiques, both of my stories and of my classmates’. She guided us through a learning experience that was a skillful combination of lecture, class discussion, deep practice, critique sessions and, of course, a hell of a lot of writing. Yet it didn’t stop there. Jeanne helped me with my personal success plan and demystified the process of publication. I will succeed in becoming a professional writer of speculative fiction by a combination of my own determination and because of what I learned at Odyssey. I’m still pinching myself that I got to be here!

I came to understand about plot arcs—it’s possible to have continuous excitement and emotional engagement for six full weeks!

I learned about character development—it’s possible to write a story you are proud of in only a week!

I improved my grammar—“Can’t do this” should be “Can so!”

I learned proper spelling—“Genius” should be spelled “Jeanne-ius!”

Odyssey rocks!

Regardless of how much you may think you know about writing, fiction, or genre, the six-week workshop at Odyssey has more to teach you. Jeanne has spent years analyzing works and it shows. Moreover, she cares about her Odyssey students, and she puts her full efforts into their success. It was a wonderful experience.