Are you writing/creating? If so, keep at it. If not, why not?
I recently attended the inaugural Maine Crime Wave conference offered by the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance (MWPA). If you are not a member of such an organization, I highly recommend you join. If you live in Maine, I highly recommend this one.
Imagine a full day of panel discussions and workshops in the company of other writers and creatives. Imagine sitting in a workshop with an author whose books you've read and receiving insights into that writer's process. Imagine a panel made up of those who write and those who publish offering advice, constructive feedback, and encouragement. Imagine opportunities to chat with others who "speak the same language," to have a manuscript critiqued, to interact with a broader community.
How could you not come back to your writing desk inspired and enthused?
The theme I heard most often repeated by writers and publishers alike was: write a good book. Put your seat to the seat and keep putting it there until it's done. Publishers are looking for well written characters in well written stories. Don't think about publication until you have written something to publish! It's that simple. Take one step at a time and the first step is: write a good book.
I can't say enough about the value of occasional conferences, retreats, and workshops. They constitute an important part of my writing life. I'm not a crime writer, but I gained a great deal from this very full day of immersion in the writer's craft in the company of other writers. (And, I may just pull out that short mystery story I wrote years ago and give it a rewrite!)
Reinforced message of the day: seat to the seat. Again and again and again.
Thanks for the encouragement, Mary Lou. I would think all writers, new or accomplished, benefit from the company of other writers. Or any artists in general. I find that even teaching writing can stir my creative juices and inspire me to apply pen to paper. Or fingers to keyboard.
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