a busy month, indeed

We do not write because we want to; we write because we have to.
- Somerset Maugham

To say it's been a busy month is an understatement... which explains why I haven't had any new blog posts in nearly as much time =P

With the magazine, school, book writing, anniversary celebrations (4 years!!), a short story competition, that other magazine (hint hint), a weekend conference, website redesigning in the works, Chinese New Year shows, and just overall to-do-list madness, it's been a little more than hectic.

And of course, during it all, I've had a thousand ideas and plots and characters race through my head, out of which I've managed to get, maybe, a handful down on paper.

Fortunately, though, I have been writing, and much of it is thanks to the writing group I recently joined. A lot of times, you get bogged down with work, and the writing, because nobody's watching the clock waiting for it to be finished (except for you, that is), gets pushed to the side, leaving you even more frustrated and stressed out. It's an irritating circle, but it makes it all the more worthwhile when you break out of it - even if the moments are few and far between, and the busier it gets, the harder it gets.

Another thing I had working for me this month was the SCBWI Annual Winter Conference. I heard some amazing authors/illustrators/
editors/agents talk about the business, their writing, their drawings, the creative process, their inspiration, their readers, and the overall market. It was really a great experience. Topping the list was meeting two amazing editors in small group sessions. Hopefully, I'll be submitting something to them in the near future...

I had originally intended to blog about the conference the day I got home on Sunday, but I just never got the chance to - not even the following weekend!! So here we are, almost two weeks later, and the plan is to blog a little bit more about the experience in the next few days.

Maybe - just maybe - I'll even post the first poem I've written in a long time, which I just so happened to write during the conference.

I know you're excited...

Stay tuned...