a top-notch event

The wind was brisk today but the sun felt warm, a promise of more and better things to come. I discovered the first green leaves of the season on the bushes along the hedgerow and tiny white flowers between the corn stalks in the field. Ah, hints of spring at last!

I got home late last night after spending two days at the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group conference—The Write Stuff. This is a relatively small conference compared to some I’ve attended but it was a top-notch event. Breakout novel guru Donald Maass, http://www.maassagency.com, editor Lisa Rector-Maass, http://www.thirddraftnyc.com, Janice Bashman, http://www.janicegablebashman.com, and fantasy/thriller author Jonathan Mayberry, http://jonathanmayberry.com/ were all there, among others. For a beginner like me, their workshops are not only helpful when it comes to the craft of writing…but they’re encouraging. These are people who are at the top of their fields and yet are welcoming, willing to help, and fun to be with. You don’t need to feel shy or intimidated around them. We learned about writing tight dialogue, about getting to the heart of the story, about creating three-dimensional characters, about revision and marketing. If you are interested in writing, a small conference like this is a great place to start. People will welcome and encourage you no matter what it is you write…or want to write…or wish you could write.


In just five days, the A to Z Blogging Challenge, http://www.tossingitout.com, begins. I’m #231 out of over 600 bloggers who have signed up. Every day in April (except Sundays) we’ll be entering short posts on topics of our choice that begin with the letters of the alphabet sequentially. If you have the time and interest, you can follow me right here. I welcome your comments.


After that is finished, I have promised myself that I will do a “final” revision of The Bandaged Place…but it may turn out to be more than just an edit. I’m contemplating rewriting the story in second person/past tense instead of first person/present tense based on comments from one of the agents who rejected my manuscript. So…maybe one more year…


I hope that by the time I post again, the temperature will moderate, the yard will dry out, and the daffodils will bloom. Let’s hear it for Mother Nature. Let’s cheer her on: “Yeah! Woo-woo! Keep it up! You can do it! Hurray!”…and now let’s hear it for you!


Has anyone cheered for you lately?

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“If nobody smiled and nobody cheered

And nobody helped along,

If every man looked after himself

And good things all went to the strong,

If nobody cared just a little for you,

And nobody thought about me,

And we all stood alone in the battle of life,

What a dreary old world this would be!”

--unknown--

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Watch for my A to Z blog posts starting April 1st. I wonder what I’ll come up with!

jan