I went to a mini-conference this morning -- it was only three hours long -- and came away with a renewed commitment to my writing. I love getting together with other writers and aspiring writers and trading ideas and the like.
I went over to the ABNA threads this afternoon while taking a break from writing and was amazed at how nutty people are being. One poor woman is leaving the threads but she assumes another woman votes 'no' to each post of the first woman. (At the bottom of each post, there is a question, yes or no, as to whether the reader believes that post contributes to the discussion. I can't imagine why anyone who vote no because if you don't like what someone says, you can choose not to read it.) Plus there is incredible anxiety over Monday.
Monday is the day ABNA should announce the 500 or so quarterfinalists. People seem stressed out to the max.
In both cases, I think people should just chill. Writing is highly personal but it is not as personal as a person's life. It is writing. You do it because you love it, because it is a part of you but it isn't the total of you. At least it is not the total of me. And I want to advance in the contest. I truly do. But I'm not losing one moment's sleep about it now nor will I after Monday, regardless of the outcome. The contest does not define me or my writing. Regardless of what happens, I will still be querying agents and publishers, writing my next novel and preparing for the novel I hope to write in November.
Life goes on.
So, after I drop off my daughter, the cheerleader, for the final basketball game of the season, I am going to get back to work on "The Death of Art." I have plotted out a number of future scenes and will probably send some time outlining them so that I don't forget them.
That's it for now. Didn't have much to say but there it is.
Thanks for reading and, like me, get back to writing.
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