The Writing Life – Busy, Busy, Busy!

I looked at my day book app this morning and tried really hard not to hyperventilate. It almost worked too… Until I thought of all those little things I have to do between all the events I actually notated into the calendar. I think I’m going to need a clone.

The 2012 Ontario Writers’ Conference planning committee will be in full swing beginning Thursday June 10th. That’s tomorrow. Between now and the 17th…every single day has something marked in on the calendar. Throw in everyday life, and the fact that I still have to go through the final galley of SUMMER ON FIRE with a fine tooth comb prior to its release at the beginning of July, and I’m pretty much screwed. That IS the polite way of saying it.

But, hey, I like this kind of schedule. It keeps me going! This coming Saturday is the WCDR BREAKFAST MEETING I ALWAYS love attending these meetings. It makes a writer feel more legit to do so. This Saturday is extra special, as I’m bringing my daughter to a meeting for the first time. Should be great. And the guest speaker is Camilla Gibb , quite a successful Canadian author. Should be entertaining AND informative.

With 3 OWC meetings in the next week, you would think that would be enough committee planning for one person. But you would be wrong. I am setting out, next Tuesday, on a new adventure that I am EXTREMELY excited about. Along with two of the Durham Region’s finest playwrights, I will be sitting down to plan/strategize a new creation. We don’t know what it will be called yet, but it will be a production company that workshops, rehearses and produces stage-works from local Durham (WCDR) playwrights. It will be an exciting meeting filled with the grandeur of as yet unfulfilled ideas. We WILL put these ideas into action though. The one thing I discovered since entering the creative slipstream of the Durham Region arts scene is that ideas give birth to committees/organizations/events, etc. They all get fulfilled. I am of the firm belief that the Durham Region is the most vibrant writing community in Canada, if not North America…if not, dare I say it, the WORLD.

So, I have the Ontario Writers’ Conference, the WCDR Breakfast, the Durham playwrights group, my novel’s final birthing pains prior to release… I think that may be it for June. And then…I wish you could TYPE a drum roll. I will just ask you to make (or imagine) the sound of a drum roll prior to reading the next line. AND THEN………

THE MUSKOKA NOVEL MARATHON!!! as of typing these words, the website’s countdown to the #MNM2011 (<REMEMBER THAT HASHTAG. MARATHONERS WILL BE TWEETING IT DURING THE WEEKEND OF THE MARATHON TO FILL TWITTER FOLLOWERS IN ON THE FUN HAPPENING AT THE MARATHON!)  is 37 days, 11 hours, 56 minutes and 48 seconds away. I have taken part in the marathon 3 times now. This, my fourth marathon, is something I have looked forward to ALL YEAR! I love sitting down for 72 hours and having a novel to show for it at the end of the weekend. It has become the only way I get things done! If you are adventurous, there are still a few openings for the marathon. Trust me…it’s the best thing you can do for your creativity. (-: I will be taking a friend and fellow Museitup Publishing author, Sandra Clarke, along for the journey!

Well…I guess that’s all for now. I’m just taking a breather to contemplate the fun times ahead in the next few weeks. These are the days of our lives in the Durham Region writing community. Always something happening…always opportunities for growth. There is so much for my muse to get involved in that I sometimes have to remind it to pay attention! The last thing you want is a muse with A.D.D. OR…maybe that’s the best thing for a muse to have? It seems to be working, in my case! (-;