Change of Scenery

My friend Jenny and I went to Asheville for a couple of days. Our goal, besides just getting away for a few days, was to meet and greet several YA authors at Malaprops Bookstore who we read and admire: Beth Revis, Carrie Ryan, Megan Miranda, Alan Gratz, and others. It was a wonderful opportunity and we both got some great advice and ideas.  One comment Alan made on Thursday night about having a critique partner tell you whether your book is getting across the message you meant it to, sparked a lively conversation between Jenny and I on Friday. In response to other comments, we talked about our critique group and whether it was pushing us to the next level. We discussed the three main points of a story: a character, their goal, and what keeps him/her from getting to the goal and whether our books meet that simple criteria. We chatted about Carrie's ability to mix beautiful literary style with the suspense of her zombie apocalypse plot and vowed to get there ourselves someday. Jenny got the reassurance she needed to know that she's on the right track with her queries and what she needs to do next while I got the push I needed to get an agent.

But what I loved most about our two-day retreat was how a simple change of scenery will recharge my batteries and give me inspiration. Walking the charming streets of downtown Asheville, surrounded by beautiful blue hills, inhaling deep lungfuls of cool air while being warmed by sunshine--somehow it opened the creative outlet and I knew how my work-in-progress should end. I worked on a scene that had been bugging me while sitting at Malaprops sipping Blue Mountain spring water. To my amazement, I found that I like taking my laptop with me and letting the stimulation of having people around give me ideas. I can, and should, leave my comfy office some days and change my perspective!

At Thursday night’s event, the authors answered a question about what they loved most about the writing life. I wasn’t surprised when they each came up with something different while also agreeing with everyone else’s answer. There’s just so much to love about writing that anyone who does it could go on and on…right on to happily ever after.