Two of my writing buddies Pat & Sheila came in on Thursday so we could lunch and antique and thrift before turning our hearts and souls to writing.
But, of course, writing slips in no matter which way we wiggle.
Here's the box of photographs that captivated us:
And here's Sheila & Pat:
On Friday we attended a Writing Intensive with author Candice Ransom. I experienced a number of a-ha moments, one of which was how all my writing seems to revolve around PLACE. Candice's does as well, and she shared many ways this can benefit our writing. The other has to do with mining our own lives for stories. This scares me -- which is a sure sign I need to be doing it!
Friday night we hung out with the Mafia. The MIDDLE GRADE MAFIA. :) Get to know them -- they're great!
Saturday we conferenced ourselves into a hazy state. Great to see old friends and meet new ones... always great to learn new things and to be inspired. Candice Ransom's keynote was all about triumphing over failure, and we were all deeply moved.
My session was on Smart Marketing for Busy Authors, and there just wasn't enough time! Here's a pic of me and Joan Broerman just before I got started:
Big thanks to authors Kate Messner, Holly Schindler, Lisa Schroeder & Tamera Will Wissinger who each contributed to my presentation. Ladies, your words are helping striving writers in the Deep South and beyond! Mwah!!
I have a big envelope of photos that I used with students for writing, Irene. They were always motivated to imagine the characters behind the picture. It sounds like a great time.
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