Encouragement

Today I saw Anita and Lyn at the b.s. Anita is a teacher, writer, and calligraphy artist, and helps organize the local SCBWI conference. Lyn is a local children's book author - she writes lively, charming picture books that feature animal characters and are illustrated by her husband. At last year's SCBWI conference Lyn critiqued a sample from the teen novel I was working on. I felt lucky to have an evaluation from an author with a lot of talent, knowledge and experience. She gave me some positive and helpful comments - she thought it was was well-written and the characters had well-developed personalities. She suggested that I add more physical descriptions of characters and places and to use all five senses to make the story come alive. She encouraged me to keep on writing, and I left the conference feeling very inspired and determined to finish the book.
So what happened? I guess life got in the way of my plans. I spent the rest of the summer helping my family cope with a health crisis, and the only writing I did during that time was in my journal. It was more important for me to deal with my family situation, so I put my fiction writing aside, knowing I'd go back to it later. Then, at the end of the summer, I hurt my arm and shoulder at work, and it was painful to do much writing or typing. (It still is, sometimes.)
When I finally returned to my book, I realized the story is part of a series of several interlocking stories. (I mentioned that series in the previous post.) I put it aside until I could have the time and energy and ability to devote to it. I started another teen story (one that I'm sure can be told in a single book) but by then it was the holiday season at the b.s. and I didn't have the time or energy for much of anything besides work.
I saw Lyn and Anita at the b.s. during that time, and I was chagrined to have to say that since the SCBWI conference, I now had several books stuck in the beginning phase. They sensed my frustration, and they both gave me words of encouragement. Lyn even sent me a great book, Screenwriting, by Richard Walter. It has indispensible information on story structure and advice on working through writer's block. I really appreciate it.
So when I saw Anita and Lyn at the b.s. today, I told them I have a new year's resolution to finish writing a book, and this year, I mean to stick to it! I also told them about this blog. They were encouraging, as always. We talked for a bit, about Lyn's latest project and about children's books and publishing. I hope to see them both again soon, and to be able to report that I've made significant progress with my writing.
I really feel fortunate to live in a community of writers/artists who are not only talented but also supportive of each other's work. I've met so many admirable people through the b.s. and writing classes and conferences. And each one has helped in some way to add to my growth and development as a writer. Thanks, to all!