I spent the day at the GRW’s Moonlight and Magnolias conference. Every year I go in thinking I don’t belong with all those real writers, all those talented people, and every year I find the same thing: This is a wonderful, warm, supportive community of writers. There are writers at every stage of their careers, from planning the first novel to multi-published bestsellers. Everyone is thrilled to share their experiences, both successes and failures, and to offer advice or tips when asked.
With a nod of the head to every workshop leader to say thank you for what I learned, I have to say the highlight of my day was the keynote speaker, Jennifer McQuiston. She is a New York Times bestseller, but she hasn’t forgotten her first rejections or the speed bumps along the path that brought her to success. Her first five books didn’t see publication, but the sixth was her first bestseller. Her day job is being a veterinarian/epidemiologist at the CDC, and she has husband and children at home. Think about that. She is a veterinarian, a doctor. That is a busy, demanding job. She has a family at home to take care of, and that is a busy, demanding job. She writes bestselling historical fiction–not 75,000 word contemporaries but 100,000 word epics. This is also a demanding job.
Where is my excuse for not finding time to write?
bethwarstadt.com 