I had a great time. These authors frequent the local conventions, so I've met a few of them before. They all seemed to friendly and willing to chat. They each read an excerpt from their story- some were polished readers who had the listeners rapt attention, or their uproarious laughter. Other authors seemed uncomfortable performing in front of a crowd. My friend Dave was one of the former, reading some great banter between a pair of characters trying to stay quiet and lay an ambush.
There was also cake.
Each of the authors there had done something I've always wanted to do, but never actually managed. They had each written a story, start to finish, and submitted it to someone. I have a file of unfinished stories, many more than a decade old. Some of them I think are pretty neat ideas. But I've written almost nothing for the last five years. And I could blame that on Kai. And I could blame that on being an adult with a full time job. But there are many writers out there who manage to work, parent, and still put ideas on paper.
At the end of the day, I'm tired. I want to sit and watch TV, or read Facebook, or just go to bed and read until I fall asleep. It was a struggle to sit down and start writing this post after putting Kai to bed. But I am frustrated with my lack of creative output lately. I once could write a short novel in a month. I can certainly write a short story every few months.
I read somewhere- it might have been the introduction to Good Omens- that the prolific Terry Pratchett managed to start his writing career by not allowing himself to go to bed until he had written at least 400 words. 400 words is not a lot. It's about the length, for example, of this blog post. I think I can do that if I put my mind to it.
PS: You should check out the book! I haven't read it yet, but from the excerpts I heard it should be a fun read. (link!)
