…let me count the ways.

Okay, actually I’m not going to count them because numbers and I don’t jive so well. Instead, let me just say once again that My Book Therapy is the best thing that’s ever happened to me writing-wise. I have learned…I have grown…and I have met such super stellar, absolutely awesome friends. And folks, Susan May Warren’s impression of a nervous writer about to pitch her book, it’s classic, just classic!

So, one week ago today I was hanging out in the classy Cedarbrook Lodge in Seattle, WA, for the third My Book Therapy Retreat…aptly titled the Polish Retreat. That’s “polish” as in, “Nothing’s better than pine-scented Old English for polishing those beautiful hardwood floors,” not “polish” as in “I’m a proud Pole with a perfectly Polish accent.”

(I’m not actually Polish, just really fond of alliteration…)

The retreat rocked! From late night brainstorming to writing our one-line premises to working on our synopses to practice pitching with agent Chip MacGregor…the whole thing was a blast from beginning to end. For one thing, Susan May Warren’s expertise is invaluable. (Anybody who can write something as breath-taking as Sons of Thunder and uproariously fun as the P.J. Sugar series is no doubt someone I want to learn from.) We got to witness Susie’s mental wheel-spinning on display as she helped us develop our premises and one-liners. My favorite moments were the “okay-okay-okay’s” she broke into when she got an idea! 

And the chance to learn from Chip MacGregor – whose agency, by the way, was named the top literary agency in 2009! – was something we writers soooo jumped at. He gave us a realistic look at the state of the publishing industry without, er, dashing our dreams! 🙂 And we all walked away from our practice pitches with helpful advice and encouragement. 

More than anything, though, the Seattle retreat cemented, for me, the importance of letting others into my “writing world.” How easy it is hole up, to hold a story so close to one’s heart that letting anybody else see becomes a risk too great to take. But there’s simply no reward in that. No real fun either. It takes courage to share your story…even moreso to share your heart…to share yourself. (Cue Hallmark music.) Writer friends are a massively huge blessing, indeed. I’m so glad God opened the doors for me to attend all three of these MBT retreats so I could meet such cool people. (Miss you, Ponderers!)

Are you a fiction writer? Then join My Book Therapy. Attend a retreat. Meet new friends. You won’t be sorry.

(And hey, Susie, if you ever decide to make an infomercial for My Book Therapy, you should so totally choose me to be your spokeswoman!)

*****

p.s. Next Wednesday, June 2, I’ll be posting a blog about the upcoming ACFW annual conference as part of the conference blog tour. I’m an ACFW conference newbie, so rather than experienced wisdom, expect freshman excitement and second-hand, but highly-reliable info! 🙂

p.p.s A few more photos of Seattle…awesome photographer Beth Vogt (who we like to call our paparazzi) gets all the credit for these. I stole them from her facebook page…thanks, Beth!