Write On

Yesterday, I volunteered at the South Dakota Festival of the Book in Deadwood, SD. I learned so much from the seminars I attended. Perhaps, the most important thing I found was: I really am a writer.  I know this sounds weird because, of course I am a writer.  I write this blog, right?  Well, sometimes I get discouraged at the quantity and quality of my writing. So . . . I pout. I procrastinate. I watch too much TV. I surf the Internet. I sleep too much. I socialize too late. I do all these things instead of writing.

Doesn't matter, I'm still a writer.

Anyway, after I took attendance and made sure everyone had a seat (my volunteer duties) I was able to enjoy my first seminar. John Dufrense, author of "Requiem Mass" and "Is Life Like This: A Guide to Writing Your First Novel in Six Months" was so real about the craft of writing. He told us that the first rule of writing is simple: "Sit your ass in the chair . . . and write." I had to laugh at this, especially considering all the distractions I face. Sometimes I have serious anti-writing ADD.

The next thing he said, "The only reason to leave home is to get more material" really struck me. Sometimes I think I am a weirdo. I not only like to people watch . . .I always know exactly what is going on in my immediate area. It's like I am an FBI agent or something. I do this all the time. I am constantly learning things from interacting with people, or simply by watching them. Stalker status, right? Guess not--apparently, this just makes me a better writer. Thanks Mr. Dufrense.  I suppose I am not a freak after all . . . right?

Other things that I thought made me weird . . . obsessions.  Writers obsess about things in order to learn more about them.  "We write about what keeps us up at night" in order to learn from, teach about, or change what we know.  Holy crap, I do this too!  And I've always done this . . . I get fired up about something or really excited and it is all I can do to contain my typing fingers or pen and paper.

The last seminar I attended was given by Sandra Brannan, who focused on the publishing industry and breaking into the market.  I appreciated her realistic approach about how publishing nowadays is basically all about whether an author can produce a three book minimum.  If this is the case, I want nothing to do with publishing.  I used to think that being published would make me a better, more accomplished, writer.  I think interacting with quality people, listening to their stories, learning life lessons, and living my life to the fullest is the only way to write well.  And then everything else will just fall into place . . .

I love writing this blog and I am working on other pieces of writing too--in-between my daily distractions!  I was so excited to share some inspiration I experienced this weekend with you and also find out----

What inspires you to do what you are passionate about?

Love,
Nik