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"What Taos Toolbox is most like, is a graduate level mixed workshop and lecture course on the craft of the Science Fiction and Fantasy novel, taught by two experts in the field, Walter Jon Williams, and Nancy Kress. Walter has, according to Wikipedia, two Nebulas and a Sideways, and Nancy has four Nebulas, two Hugos, a Campbell and a Sturgeon. You don't often find this kind of expertise in universities. You don't often find masters of science fiction short stories like guest lecturer Jack Skillingstead in universities. These are working pros in the field right now, and they are some of the best. Their lectures alone, their critiques alone, would make the workshop worth every cent and every second invested. Personal conference with the faculty? Yup. In the Jacuzzi? Optional.
"It was a pleasure and honor to be able to sit at the right hand (and sometimes the left hand) of Walter and Nancy and learn from such outstanding and accomplished writers at Taos Toolbox. I know I'm a better writer for having attended, and also know that all the practical knowledge I've gained will elevate my writing to a new (and hopefully profitable!) level. I have attended other well-known workshops and can say without a doubt that Taos Toolbox stands head and shoulders (to the tune of around 10,000 feet) above the rest." "My first and only pro sale was a year and a half before I attended Taos Toolbox. In between I'd continued the write-submit-reject-resubmit slog, wondering what was wrong, growing more disheartened with every month that passed. Two weeks on the mountain with Walter and Nancy was like having the best of every book on writing I've read over the past ten years (including Nancy's own!) distilled and fed back to me over a two-week period. I came back, wrote two short stories, and immediately sold them both to pro markets.
"Taos Toolbox accomplished exactly what it advertised and more... An intense, well-organized two-week workshop filled with invaluable lectures and discussions, useful writing exercises, excellent reading assignments, wonderful guest lecturer, and laser-sharp critiques that mercilessly cut through the crap and made your prose, plot, characters, and descriptions bleed (for the better). Of course, the toolbox could not have been complete without its modifier: Taos. The Taos Ski Valley was a gorgeous setting to place the toolbox within and called to each of our Muses no matter the hour. In short, we were not only provided incredibly valuable writing tools, but also were taught how to appropriately use/apply them as well. Just from these two weeks alone, the quality of my writing has greatly improved. Not only have I become more aware of the issues in my writing, but also have the tools to fix them! Oh, and extra bonus: Who knew one could regain their Chastity in just two weeks?! Such is the power of the Taos Toolbox. Stand in silent awe; that is, until you hear the Horn of Summoning, or a Bear, or a laptop tray fan..." "Taos Toolbox was, for me, an ideal workshop experience - much the
right length, with enough time to work and enough time to process the
work while connecting with others. If it had been another week long, I
would have burnt out, and a shorter workshop would not have saturated
my brain. The critiquing was top-notch, from both the other students
and the instructors. I came out certain that I'm just a step or two
away from being able to publish at a professional level, given
dedication and commitment. I also walked out knowing exactly what
those extra steps will require, and holding the tools with which to
climb them. As a bonus I bonded with a pile of good friends in a
similar state of readiness, creating a support group for our future
writing endeavors." "I had an amazing time at Taos Toolbox, and I feel that it really helped to take my writing to the next level. Before attending, I had a lot of craft information floating around in my head, but Taos really helped me put it together all the puzzle pieces into a coherent picture. I find that my writing process has undergone a material change for the better since the workshop, and I'm also much stronger at revision due to the lessons I learned. For that matter, I even feel like a better critiquer, and I have a better understanding of fellow writers' critiques of my own work." "Taos Toolbox only produces good writers. (The rest get fed to the bears.) "Walter Jon Williams and Nancy Kress are an unbeatable team. If the right don’t get you, the left one will. Their areas of strength are beautifully complimented, their differences of opinion enlightening. Between them, they provide a wonderful variety of tools for the student writer.
1) "Taos Toolbox nestled in the high altitude of Taos Ski Valley, New
Mexico took a quivering mass of insecurity and made a man out of me.
Which is pretty amazing considering I was a woman before I went."
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