Last Friday, Kendra Levin (author of The Hero is You), asked the group of twenty or so people in audience, What is your writing mission? What are you writing for? After a few minutes of jotting in my journal, To change the world. To tell stories that matter, I came to the mission that rings most true for me: I want to tell little stories, to show the unseen, the unheard, and the unthought of.
Levin had opted to call her book signing a Writer's Workshop, and it really was that—but better. She told us to ask her questions we had about her book or writing style, or just to tell her what we've been working on. Levin is a life coach for writers, and her book is her trademark. I haven't read it yet, but I'll write all about it when I do.
It was an interesting hour, being in that room and surrounded by writers, because I heard so many stories and even got some marketing ideas, and it was the first time that I was surrounded by writers wanting to tell true stories.
Instead of thinking of the overload of topics I've been dreaming about writing for years, I went home and opened my folder of half-written blog posts, and I began to finish them. I plan on posting a blog every week, and I signed up for Twitter. It's amazing what the excitement of a few people who share a love can really do for each other, and shows me that writing is not lost to the world.
Levin had opted to call her book signing a Writer's Workshop, and it really was that—but better. She told us to ask her questions we had about her book or writing style, or just to tell her what we've been working on. Levin is a life coach for writers, and her book is her trademark. I haven't read it yet, but I'll write all about it when I do.
It was an interesting hour, being in that room and surrounded by writers, because I heard so many stories and even got some marketing ideas, and it was the first time that I was surrounded by writers wanting to tell true stories.
- A tall, skinny man was there with his wife (who wore a long fur coat) and talked about a specific complex topic that he's been dying to write for the last 25 years, but he can't seem to pin down the focus. He comes to a dead end, then starts a different chapter, over and over again.
- Kathleen, a woman, in her 50s or 60s and who was a little shorter than my average 5'5”, said that she's working on a business book with humorous nonfiction stories. Her issue is that she's a public speaker, and can't seem to make the stories sound as funny on paper as they do in real life. She was wearing silver sparkly tennis shoes with matching socks. We exchanged e-mails later, and that night she sent me a message telling me to get to work on my blog and write those human interest stories.
- Susan, a dark-haired woman with a deep voice, discussed how she used to work in social services, and she wants to research and write about whether or not it made any difference in peoples' lives. Her main concern was in what medium to write the book—a book, a script or something else?
- I asked how to get my nonfiction work out there and make money—because I can't write the kind of stories I want to write without making that my full, or even just part-time job. Here is what I got:
- The owner of the bookstore said that most of the nonfiction books that come into Jabberwocky came from blogs.
- Eryn, a marketer, suggested that I update my blog at least once or twice a week, and get on Twitter.
Instead of thinking of the overload of topics I've been dreaming about writing for years, I went home and opened my folder of half-written blog posts, and I began to finish them. I plan on posting a blog every week, and I signed up for Twitter. It's amazing what the excitement of a few people who share a love can really do for each other, and shows me that writing is not lost to the world.
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