IT'S NEVER TOO LATE!

I did not blog about my experience with this year’s SCBWI-IL Words in the Woods.  It was held at the same location as last year, Villa Maria in Springfield, IL, on June 22 through 24.  My decision to attend was a last minute one, but I am glad I went.  This year we had three speakers; a publisher, an agent and a writer.  I don’t have their names in front of me now, but I will mention them in another post.  I just got an urge write this morning, but was not really prepared.  Anyway, they were great and I will tell you more about them when I have their names.

Besides the speakers, we had a bonfire one night and a party  on Saturday, so there was plenty of time to socialize and get to know people, plus we shared rooms.  We also had manuscript exchange groups, in which writers working on the same kind of material shared their work with the others and we commented on them.  There were four people in most groups, deliberately kept small.  When I heard the remarks on my work, I went to my room that night and began to rewrite it into the earlymorning hours.  I thought that momentum would continue after the conference, but it did not.

I did take a walk in the woods and saw a deer again.  This time the deer, a female was closer to me than the ones I saw last year.  We both stopped and looked at each other and her large ears were standing up.  She did not move away until I took a couple of more steps.  A pair of ducks were on the lake and I saw many geese too, but could not get as close to them this year.  They walked away before I got near them.  Being a city girl and usually only seeing animals in zoos, other than some birds, squirrels and mice, I get excited when I  have a chance to see them up close in their natural environment or get to go to a petting zoo where I can touch them.

I have not posted here for a long time because I said it would be about my writing, but I have been in a non writing slump, (other than journaling which is not of interest to everyone and too personal sometimes for me to want to share).  I did, however put an entry in my writing.com portfolio tonight.  It is called THE BLESSINGS OF DISORGANIZATION.

I can also share that I will be going to SCBWI-IL’s Words in the Woods retreat June 22-24.  It is held a beautiful Villa Maria just outside of Springfield, IL right on a lake and forest preserve.  I went last year and loved it.  I was not sure I was going to go this year, so I postponed making the decision for financial reasons, but the coordinator emailed me details of room assignments and the schedule by mistake but it turned out that someone who had registered cancelled and I was able to get in after all, so I decided it was meant for me to go.  I hurried up and got the application for and check in the mail and I have booked a round trip on Amtrak.  I could have gone by bus but the train is more comfortable and not that expensive, just over $40.00 for both ways.  I’m looking forward to it and it sounds better than last year because this year they will have speakers.  Before it was more of a use the time to write type of affair.

The owners of the pet shop I got my parakeets from will watch them for me while I am gone.  The shop is right downstairs on the corner and the owners live in the building I’m in too.