I understand your point from the very small perspective of an elementary school ‘writing’ teacher. It was actually my 4th graders who taught me how to have conversations about their lives and then their thoughts and ideas - where a few ended up on the page. In the meantime, textbook company reps, curriculum specialists, administrators, etc. kept pushing “writing programs” on teachers. No thanks.
Sorry to hear about your experIences at US Writers’ gatherings. Come to Adelaide, South Australia. We love to meet the people whose writing has taken us out of ourselves. We can question and affably disagree. You have taken me out of myself on multiple occasions. You can be like a prickly pear, but you provide the nourishing fluid for the mind that more than compensates.
Your description of the experience of reading for you was eloquent and will enhance my reading experience tenfold. Your writing is as impressive as is your investigating.
“The only thing more intolerable than a literary festival, I have found, is a writers’ conference.“
Lol! I wish I’d known that before suggesting or inviting you to the San Miguel Writers Conference (SMWC) in San Miguel De Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico.
I hope ours, the SMWC, is not as bad as what Andra Watkins described in her comment. I mostly pose as a reader and a local, and I rely on sharing free shots of decent Tequila. Not caring about publishing anything probably helps.
Know that Mexico is still waiting for you, intolerable writers (and readers) conferences notwithstanding. -s.
Yes, yes, and hell yes! I've been writing for more than 40 years and early on I *did* go to conferences. Not festivals. Those are the worst. I learned things at conferences about how the industry works and I might not have successfully published without some of that advice. But all you've said happened there, as well. I had a taste of NYT fame and you can have it. Not for me. Thanks for this piece. We have a festival here in Tucson and I've never known how to answer the people who expect me to want to go. Now I have an answer. Much appreciated!
I agree with you!
Love this
I understand your point from the very small perspective of an elementary school ‘writing’ teacher. It was actually my 4th graders who taught me how to have conversations about their lives and then their thoughts and ideas - where a few ended up on the page. In the meantime, textbook company reps, curriculum specialists, administrators, etc. kept pushing “writing programs” on teachers. No thanks.
I’d love a list of your 10-20 favorite books if you wouldn’t mind sharing.
thank you
Wow... lovely.
"Instead, I’ll be in the garden, with a book whose writer’s name escapes me because it’s just that good"
Maybe the best compliment a real writer can ever get.
Well said.
Yay for introverts!
Sorry to hear about your experIences at US Writers’ gatherings. Come to Adelaide, South Australia. We love to meet the people whose writing has taken us out of ourselves. We can question and affably disagree. You have taken me out of myself on multiple occasions. You can be like a prickly pear, but you provide the nourishing fluid for the mind that more than compensates.
Your description of the experience of reading for you was eloquent and will enhance my reading experience tenfold. Your writing is as impressive as is your investigating.
I kinda feel the same way about festivals and conferences. Sometimes, even the smaller local ones have at least 2 egotistical eggheads.
Chef’s kiss 😘👌🏼
“The only thing more intolerable than a literary festival, I have found, is a writers’ conference.“
Lol! I wish I’d known that before suggesting or inviting you to the San Miguel Writers Conference (SMWC) in San Miguel De Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico.
I hope ours, the SMWC, is not as bad as what Andra Watkins described in her comment. I mostly pose as a reader and a local, and I rely on sharing free shots of decent Tequila. Not caring about publishing anything probably helps.
Know that Mexico is still waiting for you, intolerable writers (and readers) conferences notwithstanding. -s.
I’m not a writer, but aren’t writers forced to go to those things by their publishers? It’s enough to make me not want to write.
AND...and be sure to have an espresso martini at hand to keep you and your book company...
Yes, yes, and hell yes! I've been writing for more than 40 years and early on I *did* go to conferences. Not festivals. Those are the worst. I learned things at conferences about how the industry works and I might not have successfully published without some of that advice. But all you've said happened there, as well. I had a taste of NYT fame and you can have it. Not for me. Thanks for this piece. We have a festival here in Tucson and I've never known how to answer the people who expect me to want to go. Now I have an answer. Much appreciated!