I am reading Write Away by Elizabeth George. My good buddy laid this book on me this past weekend during the Sechelt Writers’ Festival. 

We listened to so many great writers this weekend. We laughed, along with a mostly sell-out crowd, to Canada’s mystery writer, Louise Penny. She had the crowd mesmerized with her snappy one-liners and insights into her process of discovering what makes people tick. She mentioned that she loves to read poetry and she will copy and clip one small stanza from a poem to help her stay focused on what emotion she is trying to capture in whatever book she is writing at the time.  I found that amazing and I’m glad someone else is recommending reading tons of different poetry as another way to strengthen the writing mind.  

Maybe I’ve been under a rock somewhere because I’d never heard of Craig Boyko, but if his writing is anywhere near as sardonic and droll as his comments on last night’s panel, well…sign me up. I’m finding Blackout asap. Apparently a few judges have found him because he has whacks of awards to boot.

The other incredible presentation was from Ryan Knighton. He wrote Cockeyed and C’mon Papa – Dispatches from the Dark. He is blind and he has quite obviously spent a lot of time thinking about being human. His answers to the questioning crowd covered the gamut; on how and why we smile, to what creates trust. He had me thinking about seeing in a whole new light…He’s working on his next book of travel called, Nothing to See Here.

It is of course, exhilirating and inspiring to listen to all these authors. But it is also devastatingly depressing to see all they’ve done and to ever imagine actually truly finishing this book I’m working on, or for that matter, any book at all.

However, there is one thing that is sneaking upon me in my older age…I’m beginning to believe and trust in the process. It is such a cliche saying, but it’s true. What I mean is that I am starting to have faith in how things are supposed to be unfold for me. Not how they went for someone else…but how this is the right timing for me.

I have promised myself to be oh-so British and to simply Keep Calm & Carry On. 

Yes. Read. Write. Walk. It’s apparently the tried-and-true formula. I think there’s probably one other thing to add to that formula, but perhaps it just goes without saying, that is: You’ve also got to Want.

As in –  I Want to Write.