I should have clued in I was a writer, when I questioned my sanity. Journals, stories, poems, and random thoughts cluttered my bed side drawer and every surface in my home and car.
My friends should have clued in that I was a writer when they thought I was opening birthday gifts year after year that could pay off my mortgage, but the tears and elation was a gift of paper or a new fresh white journal! OH JOY!!!!
“You have a very unique writing style” was something I heard of over and over again in University, and when I completed my first full length play, or wrote an essay. I thought it was a polite way of saying I was incomprehensible, but it turned out it was God pointing me in my direction.
I knew something was up when I made my writing professor tear up with laughter, reading my incomplete story of Gwenyth Gurth and the Shitiest Engagement Ever ( Dung Piles and Diamonds) . It was all fun, and exploration.
It wasn’t until I was at home several years later, with my 5th child, and I became desperate for an outlet so I started to blog. I soon realized that I wasn’t writing because I wanted to anymore, I was writing because I HAD to.
This exploration turned into passion, and then it grew a limb, and became a part of my being, like if it wasn’t allowed to be nourished and grow, the rest of the body would suffer. It was then that I knew this was more than a random abnormal hobby, or an exploration of creativity, or even an expression of me, it was a call and it was time.
So now what? I asked
Get your behind to a writers conference, that’s what!
It was three years ago that I googled “Canadian Christian Writers Conference” and WRITE CANADA popped up. The trouble was, it was only 3 weeks away, and I was on the other side of Canada! BUT, when God opens a door, calls us forward, nothing gets in His way. 3 weeks later I found myself gripping my notepad and fiddling with my name tag, taking a deep breath and stepping into the unknown with counterfeit confidence.
Here’s an excerpt from my 1st experience…
“But I don’t want to go among mad people,” Alice remarked.“Oh, you can’t help that,” said the Cat: “we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.”“How do you know I’m mad?” said Alice.“You must be,” said the Cat, or you wouldn’t have come here.”Lured by the trail of a white rabbit, Alice in wonderland stood in the center of a new world. Lured by the prospects of a world outside of motherhood I have landed in Ontario, celebrated my first night alone in years, mourned the loss of my hair straightener, and shuttled my way with a BBQ master christian surfer dude, and another Alice, to one of the most beautiful cities I have seen in Canada.
Today I have met the most unusual of God’s creations and have naively followed all the signs that say, Eat This, or Drink That. I have met characters whose passion for writing is driving them mad and just as the cat purred, the only reason I am here is because I am mad as well! I have indeed met my DNA!!! I cannot wait for more!
“have I gone mad?
I’m afraid so, but let me tell you something, the best people usually are.”
― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
It was transforming for me, and it changed me as a writer, but also as a person.
This June I am off to Write Canada for the 3rd time, it is a part of our yearly expenses now, like new bikes, and swimming lessons for 5 kids. However, this time the man is coming with me and we are off to Montreal after the conference for our first couples getaway in a very, very, very long time!
Kids, what kids?
DOUBLE BONUS!
So, I will be busy preparing, and editing and compiling, so my blog may be infested with crickets for a while, but all for a good purpose, the plague shall soon pass as I answer the call.