Continuing with the Best of 2009 Challenge…
December 6 Workshop or conference. Was there a conference or workshop you attended that was especially beneficial? Where was it? What did you learn?
Alright, this post is a cheat in a lot of ways. First, I only went to one workshop this year: the Kenyon Review Writers Workshop. Second, I already blogged about that here and here.
But in a nutshell: it was amazing.
(Also, because I can never say it enough, THANK YOU to everyone who donated to help me afford the KRWW. It was a huge help. Y’all got my thank you letters afterwards, right?)
While at the KRWW, I met an incredible group of writers, some of whom I still keep in touch with and am lucky enough to call my friends: Aurora, Zara, Celeste, Paul, Joe, and Julia. Oh, and my instructor Geeta Kothari! Searches for her name lead a decent number of people to my blog, so for those of you who are curious, yes, she is fantastic. Both as a writer and as a teacher. (And a knitter, and a dog lover!)
I wrote almost as much as I learned. And I wrote a lot:
- Memories
- Postcard Stories
- Postcard Stories continued
- Exquisite
- Keep the Engine Running
- How to Field Dress a Deer (my favorite of the set — the manuscript is not currently available on my site, but may be soon… donors, you’re among the lucky few who have read it!)
I hardly slept, lol, but that hardly mattered. I spent almost all day of every day of that week writing, and though I may have complained, the truth was, I loved it. There’s something about disconnecting from the world that lets you plug in to yourself.
So yeah. I’d love to go back someday, and try out other writing workshops/conferences, but I think I’ll wait till my savings account recovers from its recent… abuse.
Did any of y’all go to workshops or conferences this year? Do non-writers even do that? I guess maybe for work… but are those fun?
9 responses to “I’ll always miss Gambier, Ohio”
I hope to attend at least one workshop next year. “Hope” being the key word.
I do know what you mean about being able to disconnect from the world. It completely sets you free.
Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to disconnect lately, even a little. Christmas is coming soon and although I will be super busy most of the month, I will be making a trip to see my husbands family in Longview, soon. Which, is good and bad at the same time.
Bad because they’re always fighting. Good because I’m far from my home and everything I know I need to do…so I think it will be the perfect place to get some work done.
At the very least, their fighting should provide inspiration for arguments in my novel…LOL.
Yeah, the holidays are always tough, interfering with writing schedules and whatnot. But like you said, they can often provide good inspiration/fodder for our stories! ;D
“I spent almost all day of every day of that week writing…”
lies. =D
LOL hey! Writing is a complex process; it does not strictly mean typing or handwriting. >P
I guess the only “workshop” I did was a communication course offered by Landmark Education. I’ve done other workshops through Landmark that I really got a lot out of, but this communication course was just okay for me.
A sesshin is not really a “workshop” or “conference” but I think it’s safe to call it a retreat, and the one I did in November was pretty valuable for me (despite what I’ve written about it :) ). It reaffirmed the path that I started on last winter and motivated me to re-dedicate myself to that path.
.-= • Recent post by Sonja: My neighbor’s story is better than mine =-.
LOL. I just got some free time and read your postcard stories. LOL. My favorite is the girl and the army guys. LOL. I’m still laughing. : ) Good work.
.-= • Recent post by Kimberly Franklin: Almost… =-.
Thanks, Kimberly! I was bewildered by those at first, but I think they turned out alright. ;P
You can always come back….we’re still here….
LOL Tyler. That’s true… perhaps I shall someday. ;D