I was sitting at my desk the other day, getting ready for my writers’ group meeting. I had just printed out the pages I was planning to read, and as I was stapling them into sets, my stapler jammed. This usually means it’s almost empty, and the loose staples inside are bent and blocking the opening. But when I tried to open it to remove the logjam and refill the stapler, the pieces wouldn’t budge. No matter how much I pushed, pulled, pried or squeezed, [...]
A week after the all-day event celebrating her 75th birthday, I still have Alice Walker Fever. I’m sure one of the reasons is that our local newspaper this week was filled with stories and photos from the day, giving me a chance to relive it and to read about some of the activities I missed. Also, after writing about Alice and the celebration in my last blog post, a number of people have been emailing me to say they were at the event and that [...]
Warm. Gracious. Humble. These are the first words I thought of to describe Alice Walker when I met her on Friday. We were at the Georgia Writers Museum, where several events would be taking place on Saturday as part of an all-day celebration in honor of her 75th birthday. As she walked in, she smiled, extended her hand, and said, “Hi. I’m Alice.” I was able to restrain myself to keep from blurting out, “Yes! Yes you are!” Instead I simply smiled back, shook her [...]
It was a long day, but a wonderful day. I spent most of the morning, afternoon, and evening at the Georgia Writers Museum on Thursday. Over the course of the day, I spent time reading, reflecting, and studying. I also spent some time cleaning, organizing, and setting out refreshments. I took part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony, met some new people, and got to know others a little better. I was both exhausted and energized by the end of the day. Volunteer activities always make me [...]
I was surprised – honored, but surprised – when a friend and former coaching client contacted me recently and asked if she could interview me for her podcast. I felt honored, because my friend is amazingly accomplished. She has a PhD and is an ordained minister. She is certified in several areas of healing arts, and has a thriving business helping and teaching others to live an authentic, happy, purposeful life. She has published a book, developed a spiritual growth app, and produced dozens of [...]
I’ve been in a number of writers groups over the years. Some focused on writing and feedback, others on the business aspect of writing. Some dealt with a specific genre or required a certain level of expertise, others welcomed writers of all types and all levels of experience. I just joined a new writers group, and I’m really excited about it. Many members of the group are published authors in a variety of genres, and everyone I’ve met so far has provided thoughtful and helpful [...]
“A year and a half? You’ve only been here a year and a half? It seems like much longer.” I’ve heard that from several people just in the past few weeks, and I’m taking it as a compliment – even though I suppose it could be interpreted as, “It seems like we’ve been putting up with you a lot longer than that.” It’s actually been one year and seven months – if you want to be precise – since we moved to Georgia after 18 [...]
My class at the Georgia Writers Museum is tomorrow, and I’m really excited about it. I was there for a few hours this morning helping with set-up and getting things arranged. I’ve printed out all my handouts, and tonight I plan to bake some cookies so I’ll have some homemade snacks to serve. Everything else is pretty much taken care of. The class is a two-hour version of a full-day workshop that I presented a number of times in Minnesota, along with my friend and [...]
I attended a writing class last weekend at the Georgia Writers Museum. The class was taught by a prolific and best-selling author. I learned a number of things I wish I had known years ago, and that I will certainly make use of going forward. I was impressed with the class even before it started. When I arrived, the room was set up with a table tent for each attendee, already filled out and on the table, along with a colorful notebook, a pencil, and [...]