The Thing about writing is...

I recently returned from one of those magical weekends that some of you will be able to relate to: "The Writer's Weekend". My husband is one of those wonderful men that actually not only support me in my writing (This career of yours will enable me to buy this really cool toy some day!), but also fervently believes in my ability to create entire worlds with just the words that flow, seemingly effortlessly depending on the coffee to wine ratio, from my fingers. So he convinced me that this weekend was just what I needed, encouraged me to go, and even made an Herculean effort to get me to Union Station with enough time to catch the train to New Haven. And I write on the train. The thing about writing is that you need the time to do it, and 5 uninterrupted hours on the train seemed to help.

My very dear friend invited me up for a writing weekend in Cape Cod. So I got to knock out two firsts at once. See, not only had I never been to Cape Cod (home of bee-ah and chow-dah), but I'd also never done a writer's weekend before. Now, that's not to say that i've never gone away with writer's - I have. And it's not to say that i've never gone away to write - as again - I have. But this sort of weekend? Not so much. The thing about writing is that you really need to have a venue, a place, that is conducive to the flowing of those creative juices.

I was invited by an award winning, multiple published author. She also invited another multiple published author, and someone else that just got a contract on her first book. Needless to say, I actually asked "K- what the HELL am I doing being invited to this thing? HOW am I going to contribute? Ohhh Myyyy GAWD!" To which she naturally replied something along the lines of "Stop your bitching and get on the damn train, woman!" And hey, how do you argue with that? The thing about writing is that you occasionally need someone to tell you that you can.

So I went.

And Ohhh Myyy GAWD. To say that I learned a few things would be the ultimate in understatement! The other Multiple Published Author (lets call her MPA for brevity's sake) brought an easel, a flip chart, many markers, assorted sticky note pads, and her game face. She got us on track and ready to do characterization and plot studies in no time. I have my characters fleshed out and my plot actually in place. It makes sense this way, though I've never done it this way before. It may revolutionize those long, hard months that occur between the "I have this idea..." phase and the "I HATE THIS DAMN BOOK" phase. The thing about writing is that you have to have a plan.

After many starts and stops on the train home, I got some things reorganized in my head. I also got a few words on the screen. And it makes sense to me, even when I look at all those color coded sticky notes. But still, it's not the same as being there around those three other AMAZING ladies, with those ideas just pouring out of our mouths. I don't know how I'm going to be able to bring some of those color coded sticky notes to life on my screen without them. But here's the deal:

The Thing about writing is...

you just have to DO it!