This last weekend I attended the San Francisco Writers Conference, and I have been digesting the deluge of learning ever since. I took copious notes while there, and while trying to categorize the things I really wanted to remember, I created another 7 pages of notes. It was a very different experience from any other writing conference that I've been to. I knew going in that this conference was specifically about the business of writing (as opposed to the art or craft of writing, which have been the emphasis of the other conferences I've attended). The business of writing includes all those skills I need to develop that are very outside my comfort zone, involving things like (I'm sweating as I type this): self-promotion. Having been so immersed in the world of my novel and revision thereof, showing up at the conference felt exactly like what I imagine Fido feels when he realizes the lovely car ride he has been SO enjoying turned out to lead him to the vet's office.
"In the midst of winter I found in me an Invincible Summer." - Camus ...On exploring strength in its many forms: strong people, strong writing, strong curiosity, obsessions, stances, and loves. Strength as a concept wide enough to encompass fear, truth, vulnerability, and joy.