The day started early with a lecture by Ellen Howard on Sacred Silence. A self-styled luddite, Howard eschews the use of technology whenever possible – she uses a typewriter (albeit with 1 page memory) and a copy machine. That’s it. No email, no internet, no cel phone.
She inhabits this space in order to give herself the best chance to write without distraction, and I’m thinking I will do similar, writing long-hand during the week and typing it up on the weekends. I’m not sure how long my hands will last, but I’m the first one to admit that when I’m stuck, it sure is easier to check my email (all three accounts), the forums (obsessively), and the news. If I’m really stressed there’s always Lolcats to view, YouTube flicks to watch, and blogs to skim. The idea of just sitting and dreaming and writing seems…unnerving.
I know I need to be more quiet, but I’m often unsettled by my thoughts as they bounce around telling me what I haven’t done and what I should be doing and what I’ve failed to do. I’ve been encouraged on several fronts to take up meditation, but I often fall asleep as a result. But learning how to wait and be patient – I can see the value of this.
Today was also the last workshop and I snapped pix of my workshopmates and tried to soak in their wisdom. After a quick lunch, I tried to catch up on …yep… my email, blogs, etc. skipping the Career Development Discussion and waiting for Graduation.
Watching the graduating class receive their diplomas and be recognized for their work was very inspiring. They’re a very cohesive group of writers, bonded at the hip and all bound to do great things in children’s literature. It’s amazing to think that in 2+ years that will be me.
The graduating class very graciously gave my class journals – spiffy ones made of old hardbound kids books. Most of my classmates got classic titles – Dr. Seuss and Dick and Jane. Me, I got “Tom Swift and His Space Solartron” (c) 1958, which looks like a cross between the Hardy Boys and Spaceman Spiff. It’s the perfect journal for me considering I started this whole writing thing with writing science fiction back in junior high. And it’s a terrific way to recycle old hardcover books! Interleaved with the blank pages are several pages from the actual book.
Opening line: “Calling Tom Swift! Power failure in the wind tunnel!”
Talk about immediacy, use of dialogue, and conflict revelation all in one!
Ending line: “Dare you to make a roast beef dinner with our skipper’s solartron!”
Apparently exclamation points are important too.
After the reception, most of my cohort headed to the main restaurant for NECI. We figured that if what we had been eating in the dorm was ‘first year’ food, then we deserved to know what ‘graduate food’ tasted like. I had a nice virgin strawberry daiquiri with a plate of mussels and a salad. Delish. Our group was too big to seat all at one table, so we were broken up over three tables. The discussions were lively but bittersweet with the knowledge that we wouldn’t be seeing each other for six months. But we were all very excited to get home and work on our first packets.
