This past Saturday I went to an all day writing conference hosted by a local organization called Writers and Books, a non-profit that promotes literary art. I got to chat with some former teachers, spent time with a past fellow student and learned a few things. There were four different sessions going at the same time so you could pick the discussion that  would be of most use to your own situation. I sat in with the agents and learned they get between 25 and 30 query letters a day. That means yours has to be not only good but exceptional to be noticed. In the publishers forum I heard that the first paragraph of the manuscript has to be a truly awesome hook to get the person wanting more. I came away from the day with the conclusion that there are a lot of writers out there; some are pretty good, fewer are really good and even fewer get noticed. (Sort of like in the music business.) I didn’t hang around to pitch my manuscript to an agent because I have now accepted it needs more work than I am willing to put into it. I can still brag I wrote a good novel that my friends like, but it will probably never get published unless I do it myself. 

My blog is now two years old. If you go back in the archives to when I first started writing, my posts were more enthusiastic when I discussed a National Day of and shared my memories on the subject. Changing subjects every day might have been fun for me, but it means I do not have a specific group I am trying to reach. It’s just general conversation fodder. I have never had more than 30 views in one day, which means I am spinning my wheels. The followers I have are very loyal and I thank them.

Last fall I discovered flash fiction and Carrot Ranch Literary led by Charli Mills. The Ranch is an international writing group that responds to Charli’s weekly prompt. I have been sharing that writing with you here as well. The 99 word stories are more creative and challenging to accomplish. There is an element of fun in them and an “I did it” moment when I hit the submit button. Carrot Ranch is bringing out their second anthology this fall and some of my writings will be in it. Those I have not shared o my blog.

So what am I trying to say. The reality is I have gotten a little tired of the National Days so you will be seeing less of them. I will continue with the flash fiction and maybe add more. I enjoy writing so maybe I will post whatever comes to mind. Stay tuned and thank you for sharing part of your day with me.

If you want something interesting to do, look up “taking stock” on Google. I did to make sure it was a viable phrase and was amazed at how many definitions it has. One more tidbit of conversation fodder.