Taos Day 5

Another workshop day at Taos Toolbox, with three critiques and two lectures. Here is Walter Jon Williams explaining techniques for building suspense:

Plus, in the evening we had a showing of CASABLANCA, which Walter analyzed for its structure, imagery, and foreshadowing in the hopes that this would all migrate into the students' next stories. They are working on these for next week. In all, an intense day, and when people lag at showing up for events, Walter sounds the Airhorn of Summoning, which sounds roughly like a moose that has just been whapped by a bulldozer.


All is not work, however. People spend a lot of time hanging around on the balconies of the lodge, talking and enjoying the view. Wildlife wanders across the parking lot below. Hummingbirds come to the bird feeder which Lou Berger has hung from a balcony. Rich Baldwin plays his guitar. The lodge as seen from the parking lot:


There is also the hot tub, which began operation yesterday. Since CASABLANCA was accompanied by margaritas, I grew too sleepy for any more fun, but not so Lawrence Schoen, Danielle LeFevre, George Galuschak, Jason Musgrave, and Oz Drummond (image by Eric Kelley):

Memorable quotes from the day's critiques:

"You can't be both Orwell and Kafka at the same time." (This was later disputed.)

"'Madge' is not a good name for a fantasy character -- it reminds us too strongly of a dishwashing liquid commercial."

"If you want to fry people, you should use KFC instead of McDonald's."