Painting With Light

Nevis at Sunset.

Last October, I attended the 10th Annual Rochester Writers’ Fall Conference. As always, I got a lot out of it. The host, Michael Dwyer, can be counted on to put together a good assortment of presentations for the day.

I meet a lot of interesting people, too. Ambitious indie-authors who, like me, want to learn everything they can in order to get their book to the next level. Their collective enthusiasm is always contagious, and I often learn as much from other participants as I do from presenters.

We’ve all experienced a combination of no-motivation days, beautiful sentences, writing blocks, sudden inspiration, painful editing days, re-writes, boosts of self-confidence and bouts of insecurity. Hanging out with fellow authors – people who truly get you – is fortifying.

There are many opportunities to get inspired, and even to get a keener sense of your own writing projects. By the end of a writers’ conference, attendees inevitably experience an endorphin high. Capitalizing on this state of excitement is crucial.

You will probably not feel more stoked than you do on the way home from a writers’ conference. Let that work for you. While some people feel light-headed from all the information, I say do something about it immediately! It will feel productive to have taken a first step, and even the smallest adjustment could create momentum.

Some of the ideas at a conference will strike a chord with you, others will not be right for your projects. Take the time to figure out what feels right. Allow yourself to get excited about small victories. That way you are enjoying the journey and staying engaged, instead of feeling burned-out or overwhelmed.

I used the good feeling to re-visit my website and make some much-needed adjustments!

However, to tell the truth, my batteries needed recharging and I waited a month to do it … taking some time to really think about it during a much-needed vacation with my eldest son and his family.

Birthplace of Alexander Hamilton on Nevis.

That’s exactly what I did on the beautiful Caribbean island of Nevis. I had a successful book-signing just before we left, and I have another one scheduled with other local authors at the Orion Township Library on Saturday, December 9 (from 1:00-4:00). During my time off, I uncharacteristically did no writing at all.

It worked. My writing block is gone and ideas abound.

Hopefully, it will be a fast and glorious road now to my next book, taking one step at a time.

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You’re invited to visit my website, BROKEN GLASS, or
like my Book of Face page. You can find me on Goodreads, or follow some of my shorter ramblings on The Twitter.

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Visit my web site to hear the remarkable radio interview about my novel “Blood Lake” by The Authors Show.

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Comments posted below will be read, greatly appreciated and perhaps even answered.

Tags: award-winning writing, Rochester Writer's Conference, self-publishing, storytelling

This entry was posted on December 2, 2017 at 12:01 pm and is filed under Award-Winning Fiction, Independent Publishing, Storytelling. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.