Writing Advice

Running my fingers through the pile of jewels that are my notes from AWP (Assoc. Writers/Writing Programs).  What is the best piece of writing advice you ever received?

Writer's Conferences

Heading off to Los Angeles today for AWP.  What is your favorite Writer's Conference or event?

My favorites include the Iowa Summer Writing Festival, Cape May, Philadelphia and last, but certainly not least, The Rosemont Writing Retreat.

Missed week

A missed week on my blog due to a funeral in the family.  The event is generating a good deal of prose in my head, but my fingers hesitate to do the actual writing.  I feel stuck, and have decided to give myself time to heal.

Have you noticed or experienced an effect on your writing after a personal tragedy?

Fan Letter

This week I had the very pleasant experience of receiving an e-mail from an author to whom I wrote expressing my admiration of his book.  He very kindly sent me a list of books I might find helpful, since our subject matter comes from the same time period in ancient history.  Of course, he is in England, and I can find none of the books he suggested here in my local library.  Thank god for the information super highway.  I'm sure I can get them somewhere.

So, have you ever written a fan letter to another author, and did they respond?

I had a bad day again...

What do you do on those days when things are going bad, and writing is the last thing on your mind?

This morning I woke up to steady rain and burnt oatmeal.  Later I have to get a cavity filled.  I don't expect much from my brief writing attempts today, but I've got a 10-minute play assignment due for tomorrow.  As I write this I am only up to about six and a half minutes.  At least writing this post has gotten my fingers moving. 

Quitting

Have you ever decided to quit writing?  Did you ever hang up your hat and decide you were done with it?  What brought you back?

I did it a couple of times, mostly when I wasn't receiving support from home, or when basis survival was on the line.  I always came back because the ideas just wouldn't stop.

Teachers

I finally got up the nerve to send my scant pages to my thesis advisor.  I do look forward to her response, though, because she is a great teacher.  I've had good ones and I've had bad ones, but my emotional favorite was my 7th grade English teacher who held up a poem of mine and cried out, "She's done it again!" That had something to do with me becoming a writer, I think.

What teacher had the biggest influence on your decision to become a writer?