On January 14, fifteen SCBWI members from Germany and Holland learned much about creating convincing worlds, be they fantasy, historical or contemporary.

Workshop leader Joni Sensel, author of five published fantasy novels, covered a great deal of material in one afternoon, including writing exercises which challenged the participants to put theory into practice. Joni’s skill in pushing us to identify the specific nature of our “worlds-in-progress” and how that forms and motivates our characters, was particularly helpful. She clearly showed us what kind of questions we need to ask to create a truly convincing world and its inhabitants.