Monday, April 28, 2008

Reflections on the Muse

This is what Lisa posted last year after attending Grub Street's Muse & the Marketplace. Today, she's recovering from jet lag and will try to post her thoughts from this year's conference. One thing is for certain, everyone was thrilled to see her.

Posted by Lisa Marnell

Being Alone. That’s one of the things that draws me to writing. Some of the time, anyways. This past weekend, we in our writers' group enjoyed spending time at Grub Street's Muse & the Marketplace Conference. The comraderie, the sense of togetherness. The tangible evidence that this pursuit is not truly an alone journey. That was nice.

Meeting, seeing, chatting with the talented writers who spoke at the Muse. It’s inspiring. It’s humbling. It makes it seem possible. That could be me. That could be you. But when we leave, as we drive home alone or with a friend. We go back to our quiet, or not so quiet worlds. To the spaces where we work, where we plot, where we gather our thoughts and expend our energies.

Being alone is easier when you carry with you an understanding of Gregory Maguire’s approach to plotting which is so like your own. Or when you hear Michael Lowenthal’s deep voice resonate in your memory, sharing his insights, his inspirations. Being alone is easier when you aren’t alone.

When you have met great writers, who have shared their journeys, you’re no longer alone. They are with you, completely, on some level as you work. So there you are, working at home, where you can write in your jammies, or bicycle shorts even. And you can’t do that at a writer’s conference. Or can you?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just wanted to thank you all again for your helpful and informative presentation on Saturday. I was so inspired by everything you shared that the moment I left the session I rounded up the 3 best writers I know and started my own group. We are having our first meeting this week!

I'm so happy for all of you - it's wonderful to see such talented and deserving people achieve success, and even more wonderful to see how dedicated you are to helping others achieve the same success.

Best of luck to you all - and thanks again (and it was great to finally meet you all in person!)

Larramie said...

Congratulations to The Writer's Group who did give birth this weekend!