Writing Conference Lesson

 The best part of the Bayou Writer's Group conference?  Plenty of coffee. 
It was a great conference.  My brain is overflowing with inspiration and writing knowledge. 

 

So, what all did I learn?

•  It's all personal--don't take it that way.
•  Write what you know--unless you can research well.
•  Ignore negative comments--but pay attention if you keep hearing the same thing over and over.
•  Write everyday--or at least most days.   
• Have a Network presence and socialize but stop talking and get to writing.
• Throw out your rejections--save them all.    
• Publishing Houses are evil--Self-Publish
• Self-Publishing is evil--go Traditional
• Fire your agent.
• You need an agent.
• You need a critique group.
• Don't listen to others. 

It all sounds contradictory, unless you stop and think about it.  There's  a lot of information available:  books, magazines, Internet sites.  You can make yourself crazy listening to others since there really aren't any hard and fast rules.  Sure somethings might get you published easier, but does that make them better?  When I look at some of the things published these days I wonder. 
At the end of the day, you have to be happy with the stories you craft.    Nobody else can tell them since only you know them.  Your perceptions and experiences are unique, which means only you know what words need to be shared.
It all comes down to writing.  You can't be critiqued, submitted, published or rejected if you don't write. 
In ten years your failure won't be in seeing 100 rejection slips in your portfolio.  The failure will be in finding you haven't written anything at all. 
 
For more on the conference and the writer's group check out:
Writing in Wonderland
and
Bayou Writer's Group

Random Journaling

Wow, has it really been since the 12th that I posted here?  Life happens and time seems like it's moving faster than normal. 
So, I'm supposed to be getting ready for vacation and I'm distracted by what I'm bringing.  I know I want a journal, but what do I bring?  My small one?  The one that's almost filled?  My Netbook? 

Then I started thinking about how and what I journal.  What goes in them? 
I looked on the Internet and there are as many journals as there are interests.  Personal journals.  Poetry journals.  Gardening journals.  Zombie journals.  Knitting journals.  Pirate Journals.  And a lot of other kinds. 

I looked around my Creative Room and there are many many journals and notebooks.  Each started as one type and then ended as another. 

I put different things in my journal.  In one I have a leaf from Valley Forge.  In another I have a napkin from the donut shop in the airport at Sao Paulo, Brazil. Along with the leaf I have a penant from the Toronto Blue Jays game.   I have poems, notes, stories, ideas for stories, frustrations, sadness, excitements.  Some people separate different journals: one for creative writing, one for poetry, etc.  Not me.  As I said, I start with good intentions, but they get all jumbled up. 

I like seeing what others have written in their journals as well.  That's why one of my favorite books is the Journals fo Sylvia Plath.  She was an amazing writer, but also creative in documenting her thoughts.  Even though she committed suicide, it's a fascinating read.  The only real sadness in it is that the story doesn't feel like it finished. 

So, why do we keep journals?

I'm sure there's as many answer's to that question as there is journals. I know I like mine because I can't help but write. My journaling is pen and paper and tangible objects, but often they get translated into things like blog posts.

How about you?  What's your journaling style?   

I was going to write about types of journals and all that, but I found two sites that have a better discussion than mine regarding it:

**Blog to Discovery--Katie Davis: http://www.darktea.co.uk/blog/15-different-types-of-journals-to-keep

**Writing Forward--Melissa Donovan:  http://www.writingforward.com/category/creative-writing