During those four days, I have taught writing sessions and done manuscript reviews and conducted one-on-one consultations and tried to assist faculty members who got lost on their way to Gainesville. I've scheduled reviews and consultations for a faculty of 13. I've sold my books and the books of others. I've toted my books around. (Also my computer and my printer and anything else that needed me to tote it.) I've done a bunch of other stuff, too, but it's a blur, so I'm not even going to try to tell you what it was. And I've had a good time doing it.
It's a lot of fun to watch people learn how to improve their writing and how to spread their wings as a published writer. I dearly love to brush elbows with the other faculty, many of whom are old friends. Though it's hard to find the time for quiet conversation, I do try. It's energizing to bond with people who understand the highs and lows of an author's life. And I defy anyone to find a more interesting group of folks than a group of writers.
Sooner or later, I'll make a list of things I learned from my peers this week. It will be a nice postcript to my "Thirty Writing Tips in Thirty Days" marathon. Today, though, I thought I'd post a few photos from a most hectic week. I hope yours was as pleasant and productive!
Giving feedback on a manuscript review
Teaching a session on "What is a Story?" with
Jeanne Leiby, editor of The Southern Review
Enjoying some social time with students and fellow faculty
Mary Anna
Welcome back to Planet Earth from a fellow traveler on the Anhinga Road! You were in perpetual motion during our days at the University of Florida Hilton, so we didn't get talk at all. So let me say this now: "Great work, Mary Anna!"
ReplyDeleteNow, if I may offer a bit of gentle advice: Get a little rest and draw a deep breath before you launch into your next whopping project.
And great work to you, too, Perpetual Motion Bev. When I scroll through the photos on the Anhinga Facebook page, it becomes obvious that the three Anhingas--you, me, and Diana--were flying in three directions for the entire week.
ReplyDeleteHow do I know? Because there's not a single picture of us together! :-D Not even during the two sessions we *taught* together.
As for your advice for me to get a little rest...um...I completely lost consciousness during the middle chunk of yesterday. Slept through lunch, in fact. Then my little Latin champion came home and her brother stopped by for a visit and their sister called and I took my mother out to dinner (since I went completely underground during the Anhinga and she forgot what I looked like.) Normalcy has ensued.
I've been having the urge to look around for another whopping project, but when that happens, I kick myself so that I'm reminded that I already *have* a couple of whopping big projects on my plate. I'm off now to tackle one or the other of them...