All right all my writerly friends out there….Wanted to take the time to drop in a quickie from the field. I was selected by Midwest Writers Workshop, along with eight other authors, to attend this year’s Writer’s Retreat at Pokagon State Park in Angola Indiana. Today’s session started at 9:00 and is just now winding down. Lots of coffee. Lots and lots of coffee. This is a yearly event put on by the fine folks at Ball State University / Midwest Writer’s Workshop. If you are into this writing gig, I encourage you to check this out and apply for a fellowship next year. The staff is professional and the accomodations are superb. The group I was in, three author’s and our mentor, Dennis “Doc” Hensley, spent a few hours “mugging” the first 3 chapters of my novel “Sudden Impulse.” Did I say mugging? We beat the pure blood hell out of that sucker! And I loved every second of it. Why? Editing and revising helps me become a more polished writer so the folks who pick up my work can enjoy every Dark and Deadly page of it. And if my readers enjoy it, well hell, you know I do.
What else have I learned? I mean things that I can share, that anyone can use whether you’re a writer, a reader, or just your average, every day scruffy looking nerf herder? 1) Make what you do exciting—for yourself and those around you. 2) Always give back more than you take. 3) Give it everything you’ve got, then add 25%. Now multiply that by fifty. 4) Never pass up a chance to introduce yourself. You never know who is on the other end of that handshake. 5) Never pass up a chance to listen to and talk with someone else. There’s a story in just about every conversation. 6) If you have a dream, any dream, chase it with due dispatch.
Now, I’m not trying to go all Stuart Smalley on you here. I’m just sayin’… O.K. gotta go do my homework. Read a lot. Write a lot. And above all….ROCK ON !!
murphyedwards 