On Writing

Trying to motivate myself back into a routine of writing, I attended an International PEN lecture where two published authors were speaking; Janice Macdonald and Sarah Lovett. Neither are authors whom I have read but the lecture was about creating commercial fiction so I was interested.

Back in the states I attended a class on writing essays. One of the elder students kept raising her hand and asking the instructor if it was better to write by hand or on a computer or typewriter. Everything else seemed irrelevant to her, as if the writing tool is what makes a writer. Given this experience I was prepared to be annoyed.

The event was well attended and the questions from the audience on point. I was, however, slightly annoyed. There was plenty of empty seats in the theater but for some reason a large man decided to take the seat next to me. He apparently had some kind of breathing problem and made the strangest sound during the entire lecture. I felt like I was sitting next to Darth Vader. I didn’t want to be rude and turn to see what the problem was or even to get up and move to another seat. So I endured.

Sarah’s opening joke was, “What did Adam say to Eve? “Stand back, we don’t know how big this thing is going to get!”” She then went on to describe what has proven to be a very successful writing career.

I also took the step to send my children’s story manuscript to a couple of publishing houses. I figure even being rejected can be a learning experience. What have I got to lose beyond a little ego?