Wow, has another month gone by ALREADY??? Seems the summer
is flying by in the Northern Hemisphere. And, for me, this spring/summer has
been full of firsts. I did my first signing in May, and just last week, I went
to my first writer retreat, hosted by the publisher for THE ZODIAC COLLECTOR
(YA coming September 2014), Spencer Hill Press.
Most of the folks there I’d met via social media and the
interwebz. It was nice to put faces to names and have an in vivo conversation with people I was used to interacting with via
tweets and FB updates. Had I planned better, I could’ve stayed the entire
weekend and participated in the local con, Pi-Con, and spent more time with
everyone. (I’ve never attended a con before—does BEA count, considering I was
there for only a few hours and specifically for my signing?) Still, the evening
retreat was packed full of fun, laughter, and commiserating with writerly
types. Everyone was bright, vivacious, and eager to chat stories, books,
characters, and dreams. Just being around them was inspirational.
On the drive home, I realized how important it is to keep a
strong support network going. As Kate Kaynak said, “writing is a solitary
endeavor” (paraphrase) and we need to gather together whenever we have the
chance. It enlivens us. It feeds our souls. It reminds us we’re not alone.
I have to say, the timing of the retreat was PERFECT. I’ve
been editing my latest WIP, a YA contemporary about a boy with heart failure,
and had considered deleting it. The strong voices of my support network talked
me out of doing it (as did another author kind enough to read a partial; she
called me crazy, rightfully so, for thinking about striking the delete key).
Thanks to my writerly buddies, I started to believe in my story. And that
belief was reinforced at the retreat.
Once again, my support network talked me off the proverbial
ledge. They bolstered my self-esteem. Then hanging out with them, face to face
in the same room, reignited my creativity and passion. I’ve since polished off
the round of edits I’d put off for weeks and now I’m drafting a query letter.
Yep. I’m back in the saddle.
Your turn to share. When has your support network been
helpful to you?
* * * * * * *
Laura Diamond is a board certified psychiatrist and author of all things young adult paranormal, dystopian, and horror. She’s a lucid dreamer, meaning she can direct her dreams while they’re happening. When she’s awake, she pens stories from her dreams and shares them with her readers. Laura has many published titles including the Pride Series (New Pride, Shifting Pride, and Tsavo Pride), the Endure Series (Endure and Evoke), The Zodiac Collector, a novella Sunset Moon in the Lore anthology, and several shorts stories. When she’s not writing, she is working at the hospital, blogging at Author Laura Diamond--Lucid Dreamer, and renovating her 225+ year old fixer-upper mansion.
If you’re interested in reading more about me, or interacting with me on the web check out the following links:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DiamondLB
Author Laura Diamond: www.authorlauradiamond.com
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Laura-Diamond/e/B009Y7L432/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1377733776&sr=8-1
Hope to “see” you soon!
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