The 2008 Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop has been amazing! Last night I got to listen to Garrison Keillor do his thing. He read a few of Erma's columns, a few of his own, and told stories in between, all over a lovely (and free-to-me) dinner.
This morning I went to two workshops, which I may outline later. I got writing advice from a couple of local newspaper columnists and some networking advice from a business author, former writer for People and Time magazines, and Harvard graduate from near Cleveland. Judi, I think you might be interested in this woman, Sophronia Scott. I'll put some more time into citing everything and including more details.
At lunch today (which was even better than last night's dinner), we got to listen to Connie Schultz. She's a Pulitzer Prize winner and columnist for the Plain Dealer. She also came from very meager beginnings and is a staunch Democrat. Hell, she married Sherrod Brown, the Senator for Northern Ohio. She talked a lot about life on the campaign trail and her decision not to change her name.
This blog is all over the place, but there is one thing I do want to leave you with to make it all cohesive. Erma, Garrison, and Connie are all funny people. But they speak truth, and from the heart. They all have an edge to their work - well, I don't know about Keillor, but he did say last night that if you had a happy childhood, you will not do well to go into comic or humor writing. You should go be an orthodontist or something. I took the line to heart, as I've heard it before. I *did* have a really idyllic sort of childhood. I don't see myself going into humor writing, but I hope that despite my lack of great pain, I have the empathy and the stories to make writing come alive for other people. Thanks for being my crucible and my friend.
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