Mount Marty College in Yankton hosted the Great Plains Writers Symposium on Wednesday. Students had the chance to hear work and advice from esteemed writers.
The symposium began in 2007 to explore the arts and humanities through discussions and readings.
The first speaker at this week’s event in Yankton was Kim Verhines, a creative prose writer and the Director of Stephen F. Austin State University Press. She told the crowd of writing enthusiasts that serious writing takes time.
“Those people who tell you that is just comes in an hour, no, it doesn’t happen in an hour," says Verhines. "Maybe a rough draft happens in several hours, but to get it to the level that it can be and make it the best, it is hours upon hours of revision and thought.”
Verhines read some of her work, much of which was based on real stories from her youth.
She says it’s important for writers to take notes on their everyday life.
“Gather as much information, even if you don’t use it, because you’ll be surprised at how much it makes its way into your story because it is part of your life, and whether you’re writing fiction or non-fiction, it still makes its way into your stories.”
Verhines says she often tells young writers no life is too simple for a great story.
Other authors who spoke at the event were Sara Henning and Mark Sanders.