Writing can be a lonely occupation. It's a solitary endeavor. I spend the greater part of my day with my hands on the keyboard, staring at the computer screen, my mind wandering far away from the walls of my office space. My characters become more real to me than the people living next door. I discuss things with them in private, and talk about them in public.
More than once I have had people ask me, "Is [insert name here] your brother?"
"Oh, no," I reply, "they are part of a story I am working on."
The strange looks that I have received after that explanation remind me that "normal" people don't understand writers. Yes, it is true, and I freely admit it - I live in an imaginary world. I have imaginary friends, and I sometimes forget that those friends are not "real".
It always excites me to meet up with other writers. One of the best things about Facebook has been networking with Authors and aspiring writers all over the globe. My circle of friends has grown, and I finally feel like I'm a part of the on-line writing community. Things in the "real" world, however, are very different. I am still alone. Working in my solitary way. Still, I continue on, enjoying my on-line community and wondering what it would be like to meet with other writers in person.
On Saturday, I finally had my chance to meet other writers in my community. The Deep River public library hosted a writing seminar with Michelle Desbarats. There were only sixteen openings, and I was fortunate to snag one of the spots. The seminar was more of a workshop than a teaching time. Michelle gave us several exercises to do, getting the creative juices flowing. It was a lot of fun, and challenging.
The seminar attracted many memoir writers, a few poets and others who were just interested in learning something about creative writing. One woman, Andrea, stood out from the crowd. She had a flamboyant personality and, during the introductions, announced that she had her first book, a mystery, off to a publishing house at that very moment.
Andrea, I came to find out, lives right around the corner from my house. Yes, I discovered, I have a writer in my backyard, and I didn't even know it. What a blessing to see that I'm not as alone as I thought.
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Thank you for being part of my writing community! I appreciate that you took the time to read my post. There are exciting thing on the horizon for this blog. I promise to share more in the very near future!
