Making a Decision

I spent this past weekend at a writers retreat. Ahhh….  {grin} It was just the refreshment my spirit needed after a hectic couple of months packing. We spent a lot of time discussing the merits of Facebook and Twitter and how to make them useful rather than time-wasters. Everyone set themselves up on one or the other and we all felt pretty good about how to proceed.

When I shared with everyone my plans to apply to grad school in Sydney, I was pleasantly surprised to get everyone’s enthusiastic support. I explained how I wanted to study the parts of life that give us stories – anthropology, philosophy, religion, sociology, etc. – and find better ways to incorporate universal elements into commercial fiction. My friend Wendy said, “I’m sorry, but I have to hate you for a minute.” That’s when I knew I’d chosen a good field of study. I think Wendy might come visit me and sit in on my classes.

But I think the best part was the last dinner we shared. We all went around and stated our goals. Saying them out loud to someone who cares makes you really think about what you’re doing – committing. It was a bit nerve-wracking, but I committed to finishing my book by Christmas using elements of BOTH versions. Eeek! I was going to write the two versions of book one as two separate books, book one and book two. But one of the major plot elements of book two is SOOO good, and one of my friends convinced me not to “save it” for book two, but to use it now. So here I go – I’ll start working on the new combined version this week.

It was an awesome weekend. The three things I really wanted to accomplish, I did. I made some concrete goals, and I received great feedback and encouragement.

And the Snickerdoodles were amazing.