Shawn L. Bird

Transcribed from my notes at Surrey International Writing Conference last weekend..  While I was sitting in the front row, I wasn’t typing, so he was speaking faster than I could record.  This is what I got.  Others may have something different!

Donald Maass keynote SiWC luncheon. Sunday, October 23, 2016

We live in a very angry age.  Everyone wants you to listen to their complaint and live as they do.

SiWC is our place of positivity. Our tribe.  We want to live here all the time, but it ends.

So as SiWC 2016 comes to an end, how will we survive the year until SiWC 2017?

We will write.

We will schedule writing time, give ourselves daily word count or time goals, put Xs on a calendar, work with a critique group so we have deadlines, read books on writing.

(Check his blog Writer Unboxed for ideas).

 Why do we write?

Orwell says it’s for hubris, aesthetics, a historical impulse, or to lead the way.

Susan Orlean says it’s to learn about the world

American Christian Fiction Writers say it’s to answer your own questions

Jodi Picoult says it’s to puzzle out the questions she doesn’t understand.

Exercise: For a minute free write why YOU write.  (Everyone writes)

Take that ^ exercise and make it visible, remind yourself daily why you do what you do.  Don’t worry about publishing.  Just sit down every day and write what you need to write.

When we write we connect to others.  When we read, others’ experiences become our own and we are no longer alone.

We are passionate about writing- we’re excited about conveying truth

Matter in motion creates energy.  Writing what matters creates energy.

Life disappears in a moment.  There might not be a chance beyond the writing session today.  Write your best truth in the best way possible.  Today.

#ThisDayWeWrite

(Donald at the podium, me directly in front of him with the long white and purple hair)