NOTHING BUT A WRITER

Judith Arnold

I was pregnant with my younger son when I attended my first writers conference. My older son was twenty months old, and attending the conference meant spending several nights away from him for the very first time. I admit I was anxious about leaving my child—not that I had any doubts that my husband was up to the task. He couldn’t wait to enjoy a few days of male bonding with his little guy. In fact, he’d been the one to insist that I go.

I was already multi-published and under contract with two publishers when I made my writers conference debut. I’d begun writing romance novels before my first son was born. I’d dreamed of being a published novelist longer than I’d dreamed of being a mother, and I was not going to let his birth interfere with my dream. On the other hand, I was not going to be anything less than a perfect mother.

Thus, from the moment of his birth, I became skilled at juggling wife-mother-writer responsibilities. I wrote while he napped. I hired teenagers to play with him after they got home from school so I could write for a couple of hours in the afternoon. I wrote in the evenings after dinner, when my husband could take over the parenting. During the first year of my son’s life, I wrote eleven complete romance novels, of which I eventually sold eight.

I thought this was what “having it all” meant. I was happy. I was exhausted. I was very, very busy. But the books got written and my son thrived.

At that first writers’ conference I attended, however, there were no maternal duties. No toddler to chase after. No peanut-butter sandwiches to cut in zig-zags. No baths. No diapers. No lullabies to sing at bedtime. No walks to the neighborhood park, no pushes on the swing in the kiddie playground. No spills during dinner, no squirming and fussing in the high chair, no racing for the paper towels, the mop, or the Dust-Buster. I could actually sit throughout an entire meal with a napkin on my lap, and speak to my dining companions in complete sentences.

At the conference, I didn’t have to be anything but a writer. I could focus all my attention on writing. I could talk shop with other writers. I could discuss projects with my editors. I could think writing. No interruptions, no distractions, no multi-tasking. For those few precious days, even thought I was waddling around in maternity apparel and drinking milk instead of wine, I was a writer. A full-time, 100% writer.

I can’t count how many conferences I’ve attended since that first conference. My sons are men now. They can make their own peanut-butter sandwiches. I no longer have to write detailed instructions for my husband—“Guitar lesson at 3:30,” “Little League practice at Haskell Field,” “Sign the permission slip for the school trip.” I can head off to a conference without any stress.

And so I go. I learn things in the workshops. I frequently present workshops myself. I hang out with my writer friends. I brainstorm new projects, network with publishing professionals, share insights about marketing, celebrate creative achievements, sign books, and vent about the ups and downs of maintaining a long career in this crazy business. I drink—wine, not milk.

But the greatest pleasure of writers conferences for me remains the same as it was at that very first conference so many years ago: when I go to a writers’ conference, I am not a mom, a wife, a cook, a housekeeper, a chauffeur, a permission-slip signer, or a multi-tasker. I am nothing but a writer.

 

Judith Arnold is looking forward to attending a writers’ retreat in Maine next month, the NECRWA “Let Your Imagination Take Flight” conference in May, the Romance Writers of America national conference in July, and the Novelists Inc. conference in October. Her new release, Dead Ball, the first book in the Lainie Lovett Still Kicking mystery series, is now available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Books-a-Million.  Please visit her web site [www.juditharnold.com] to learn about her independently published romances. For more information about her upcoming titles, sign up for her newsletter.

Greatness Always Looks Easy

by Saralee Rosenberg

Watching Meryl Davis and Charlie White capture the gold in Sochi was breathtaking and inspiring. How could we not be dazzled by their memorable performance? And who among us didn't secretly imagine the thrill of being in their places? Of electrifying crowds, judges and viewers at home?

Then we got up and fetched a snack.

Of course we can't ever be like these champion skaters. Who wants to spend seventeen years perfecting death-defying moves that require another athlete's body being entwined with ours while circling an ice rink on a single blade?

Seventeen years. That's how long it took this talented duo to achieve their dream of standing on the Olympic winner's platform to earn the coveted gold medal.

Greatest always looks easy.

Any time we watch others succeed, whether they've earned a diploma, won a competition, or played on a champion team, we applaud the victory but not the sacrifice. We celebrate the rewards but not the time, talent, energy, and determination it took to get there.

The same is true for appreciating writers who toil and sacrifice to finish their novels. Unless you've ever labored over a mess of a manuscript, with its redacted pages, illegible notes, and yellow stickies, there is no way you could  understand the tireless struggle to make the story meaningful and compelling. Or at least coherent.

When I am a prisoner to my work-in-progress- I feel torment, doubt, confusion, frustration and angst-- and that is only after the first few chapters.

That is why I'm both hurt and amused when readers think that my novels took a few months to write. At most they'll allow a year. Then I tell them that each one took two years... or four. And they look at me like I must be lying. How could a book they read in a few days take that long to create?

Well... let's not forget that the skating program that just earned a gold medal took seventeen years to perfect and it lasted a total of four minutes! Plus the skaters had the benefit of full time coaches and trainers, say nothing of family and friends (and fans) to help them through their injuries and exhaustion.

I'm not suggesting that writing a novel and being a champion skater require the same skills. I'm saying that to reach "the end", the game is the same. If you want it bad enough you'll find a way to persevere. It may be at a great price but the prize is eternal-- a living legacy to your courage and strength.

So maybe I'll never experience the joy of getting a gold medal, but I'm delighted to stand before a group of readers who applaud my jokes and ask about my next book.

And by the way. Cheers to anyone who is willing to fall a few million times in the hopes of succeeding.

Saralee Rosenberg is the author of four novels from Avon/HarperCollins including A LITTLE HELP FROM ABOVE, CLAIR VOYANT, FATE AND MS. FORTUNE and DEAR NEIGHBOR, DROP DEAD. Her latest project is a novel for younger readers, THE MIDDLE SCHOOL MEDIUM. Visit her website. www.saraleerosenberg.com

The Number One Reason to Go to Writing Conferences

               Last weekend, New York author, Becky Aikman, (Saturday Night Widows) came to dinner at my home in Los Angeles. We had a blast – after meeting only five weeks ago in Texas at the Pulpwood Queens Book Club Weekend. There, I shared a hotel room with Boston author, Marci Nault, (Lake House), whom I met in Newport Beach last fall at the Southern California Writers Conference. 

The Texas conference was like summer camp – we were stuck in a tiny town with fried alligator and costume party games, but then left with autographed mementos and tears in our eyes. I also met some of the wonderful Girlfriend Bloggers, Christa Allen and Malena Lott, face to face - as opposed to FaceBook, and shared parenting stories with Houston author, Karen Harrington (Sure Signs of Crazy).  

 I referred new writers to an agent whom I’d met in New Orleans in December at the uber intellectual Words & Music Conference hosted by the Pirates Alley Faulkner Society. While feasting  on beignets in the French Quarter, I compared notes with author Jennifer Stell, (Ambassador’s Wife) who lives in Bolivia, and caught up with with my former agent from New York, who introduced me to an editor who remembered my first novel and may be interested in my next one. Now we are friends.

And I’m writing this in my sweats, because I just finished hiking with novelist, Lisa Doctor, a fellow writing instructor whom I met at the Writers Program at UCLA Extension - you guess it - conference.

I don’t go to conferences to make friends, but it's by far my favorite part. Writing can get lonely, hanging out by yourself, talking to imaginary people in your head. When you are stuck at a strange place with other like-minded people waiting in line for coffee, it would be hard to stay quiet. Not only can you share opinions about panels, procrastination, and self publishing, but you can learn where to get the best souvenirs for your kids - and make plans for lunch.

When I was starting out, I evaluated conferences by how much they cost, how far away they were, and what panels would be presented. (I still sigh over the Maui Writers Conference brochure every year.) But my goal was straightforward: to get writing tips and to meet agents. I didn’t know about the fun part. 

Soon, it became obvious that one could have a real conversation with incredible writers simply by asking them to autograph their books. That’s why they are there. 
Or so they say.   
I have a hunch that even the bestselling authors secretly go to conferences for another reason…to make friends.

___________________

Leslie Lehr is the prizewinning author of six books and a contributor to the New York Times "Modern Love."
WHAT A MOTHER KNOWS is her new novel, now available everywhere.
For more information, go to www.leslielehr.com
www.faceboook.com/authorleslielehr

Wise Words from Mikaela Shiffrin

By Cindy Jones

Mikaela Shiffrin is a world champion downhill skier.  I'm a struggling novelist.  Think of it this way:  she races at tremendous speed down snow-covered mountains, I mosey across pages while sitting in a cushy chair.  Her body moves at 80 miles per hour while mine can spend 80 hours not moving at all.  Although we both work on steep white spaces (consider the angle of the white page on the screen), how could a slowly writer like me find resonance in the words of a young super athlete?

Here is what she said about getting down a tough racecourse:  "Things you don't expect come up and you have to adapt.  You can't let it throw you off.  You have to cope...."

If Mikaela and I were discussing setbacks we might agree on some general categories:

• Bad Snow Distraction.  Patches of melting snow, afternoon shadows, and unexpected ice probably distract a skier a lot like social media and mindless internet 'news' articles with their attendant photo galleries distract writers.  Spending the day with a computer that has access to pictures of The Royal Baby can undermine the most self-disciplined among us.
  
  
• Racing on a Tough Course.  Skiers race on courses full of tight turns, just as many writers have day jobs as well as family responsibilities.  The gold medal does not care how many gates a skier manages to clear any more than a publishing house cares how many obligations an author juggles.  Skiers scope out the course before the race and writers can block out time on their calendars.
  
  
• The Dreaded Wipeout.  We've all watched coverage of skiers who lost their edge and went careening off the race course, out of the race, and possibly out of the sport for surgery and rehab.  A writer can be thrown off-course by devastating events that sap their emotional energy.  Without emotional capacity a writer cannot connect to the story and if I appear to be harping on this, it is because I recently spent a lot of time in writer's wipeout.                       

Mikaela's words resonated because she reinforced what I've been thinking:  nothing that happens to set me back will ever be made right.  The bottom line is, if I want to reach my goals I must do everything I have been doing, plus address my setbacks: working smart, striving for self-discipline, planning ahead, and praying to the setback gods to spare me from wipeout.  But I will save my setback stories because they do win points at author talks.    
        

Cindy Jones is very close to finishing the 7th draft of her work-in-progress and is the author of My Jane Austen Summer, the story of a young woman who thinks she may have realized her dream of living in a novel when she is invited to participate in a Jane Austen Literary Festival.  Her problems follow her to England where she must change her ways or face the fate of so many of Jane Austen’s secondary characters, destined to repeat the same mistakes over and over again.

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Sometimes I Hate Writing by Christa Allan

Years ago, before the release of the movie it inspired, Simon Birch, I read A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. Over a decade later, it's still on my top five favorite books of my so-far lifetime list.  (Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels is also in that number. If you've not read her novel, stop reading this...buy it now...and be prepared for a beautifully written, searingly haunting, and heart-exploding redemptive novel.)

I binged on Irving novels for a while after that until I read A Widow for One Year. Three-fourths of the way into the novel, it seemed as if he grew weary because the remaining one-fourth went by at warp speed. I remember closing the book wondering what caused him to gobble up all the lose ends of the novel with one gulp rather than allowing us to savor what remained.

Now I know.

I've written five novels, and I experience the same angsty impatience three-fourths of the way to the finish. I hate my characters; they're whiney relatives who came for a week and stayed for a month.  And when they're not whining, they're mute or engaged in a gab fest entirely unrelated to anything I ant/need them to discuss. I hate the novel. I wonder why I thought it was brilliant 300 pages ago. I want to curl into the fetal position inside a cloaking device and become invisible because, when the book releases, everyone will finally know what a fraud I am.

So, anytime I'm near the end of the novel, and I'm scurrying about like Chicken Little's twin sister, I remember Irving.  And I breathe, then call a friend who can walk me off the ledge. I make sure I have a case of Coke Zero, boxes of Mike& Ike, and I allow those insistent, annoying characters to take me where they want to go.

Sometimes, they're actually smarter than I am.

Christa Allan's fifth and newest novel,  A Test of Faith, will release in March. You can track her down at www.christaallan.com, Facebook, and Twitter. You can find her other novels here.

Happy Valentine’s Day: 10 Things I LOVE about Being a Writer by Ariella Papa

I’ve never been the biggest fan of Valentine’s Day. I guess I don’t like being told that I have to express my emotions on a certain day or have a corporate sponsor for my affections. Yet somehow, this is the second time the formidable girlfriend goddesses have  scheduled my turn for Valentine’s Day.  Last time, I outsourced with a guest post and put SEX in the title (everyone likes sex, V-day or not.) This time I decided to embrace the LOVE head on. It may be cheesy or precious, but sometimes that’s how love is.

Please tell me what you LOVE about writing and also how are you celebrating or avoiding the holiday in the comments.

1)                    Jammies – Not always but quite often, I work in my jammies. Who can argue with comfort?

2)                    Connection- There is nothing I love more than connecting with people. And even though I can be a bit socially awkward at times, when people read my work we are connected in a cool way.

3)                    Control – Have you seen the LEGO movie yet?  You should. And if you do, you will get what I mean. There is so little about life that I control, but the worlds I create in my stories, I do. I’m a benevolent dictator.

4)                    Community- I love talking with other writers in extremely nerdy ways about the craft. I love all the resources online and in the world for people like me

5)                    Just doing it – I have a love/hate with this one, much like going for a run. Sometimes I really have to drag myself to the chair to do it, but other times when I’m in it, there’s a perfect clarity and flow.

6)                    Just having done it- Again it’s just like running because I have a great sense of accomplishment when I’m done. And I might be sweaty.

7)                    Time travel- Stephen King talks about this in his awesome book “On Writing” but I like the idea of writing something here on this couch that gets to you there in that chair or wherever. Really, after you see the Lego Movie you should read his book (again).

8)                    Helping Myself Out- If I didn’t do this, I would have a lot of voices in my head and I wouldn’t know what to do with them. I never imagine the alternative.

9)                    Figuring Myself Out -When I read stuff that I wrote years ago, I am reminded of things and choices and history and it all leads to here.

10)                 Finding out about others -On more than a few occasions people have talked to me about something they never talked about before because of something I wrote. I truly love this. It goes back to connection.

So what do you love about writing? And what are you doing tonight?

I will be celebrating it like any other Friday with an inhouse date night with my favorite date. Perhaps there will be more wine than usual. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Ariella Papa likes homemade Valentines and prefers cheese to chocolate. Her latest novel A Semester Abroad is the perfect read for ANY day in February.

How About Attending a Writers Conference This Year? by Wendy Tokunaga

It’s a new year, which means that there are scores of upcoming writers conferences. And this topic is super-relevant to me because I’m off tomorrow to participate for three days in the fantastic San Francisco Writers Conference. I’ve attended this conference over the years as both a pre-pubbed and published author. This year I’ll be on a couple of panels, and will also do short consultations as an independent editor, helping writers with their queries and pitches, and any other concerns they might have about their novels or memoirs.

San Miguel de Allende

I think it’s well worthwhile to attend a conference as long as you have an idea about what you want to get out of it. And if you keep your expectations in check and based in reality. Though it has happened to a few writers, it’s not likely that you’re going to walk away with an offer from an agent or a book deal in hand. Yet attending a conference can be helpful at any stage of your writing life, whether you’re still toiling on your work-in-progress or are ready to pitch to agents and editors. While there is tons of information about the craft of writing and the publishing world on the Internet, nothing beats the face-to-face contact and networking you’ll experience with a variety of people from diverse writing backgrounds—from industry professionals to serious writers and, yes, even daydreamy wannabees.

And the breadth of these conferences offers something for everyone. Some emphasize craft over business, where you’ll be able to have a portion of your writing workshopped, as well as the opportunity to give fellow writers constructive feedback. Others will have lectures and panels on the state of the industry and how to get an agent or become a successful indie author. Still others will have a combination of many aspects and might target a specific genre such as Romance (RomanceWriters of America), Thriller (ThrillerFest), Children’s and YA (SCWBI) or Mystery (Book Passage Mystery Writers Conference).

While it’s certainly easier on the pocketbook to attend a conference that’s close to where you live,

there’s something to be said for combining a vacation and journeying to a place that’s further away, where you can also have some adventure and fun. I attended the Maui Writers Conference years ago and, while I didn’t have the best time at the conference, who could really feel too down in the dumps while being in awesome Maui? It turned out to be a great, memorable vacation. And I’ve always had a hankering to go to the San Miguel Writers Conference in Mexico—it looks so charming and beautiful there.

One of the best guides to writers conferences is right on the Internet: Shaw Guides. You can search by location, date, genre, etc. There is truly something for everyone there. I urge you to check it out and seriously consider attending a conference in the near future.

Girlfriends, what writers conferences do you recommend?

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