Author Blog of Erica Deel
© 2015-2019 Erica Deel, All Rights Reserved
This past weekend, in the mountains of Colorado, I lived my best, most supreme life for two whole days. And it was beyond glorious.
I mentioned in a previous post that my ultimate goal was to create an artists’ colony where people could gather in
Last night, I gave an “Intro to NaNoWriMo” talk at a local library. It’s nearly NaNo time, friends!
For those not in the know, NaNoWriMo stands for “National Novel Writing Month.” It’s a month-long event that takes place every November, and your goal is to write 50,000 words in 30 days.
Whew. That’s a LOT of words.
Whew. Another whirlwind weekend away, this time at a writing conference down in Tennessee. My travel schedule is getting exhausting, y’all! But what a weekend it was, attending Story Grid Live. New friends, new knowledge, new ways of implementing my editing business. All the best ways forward.
What is the Story Grid?
Last night, I watched the movie World Trade Center for the first time—fittingly, since today the 18-year anniversary of when 9/11 happened—and I was struck by several things. The bravery of the first responders, the fear of the families left behind, and, more than anything, the unity that everyone displayed in the wake of such devastation.
I remember that unity. I remember that quiet strength that, no, we would leave no one behind. Everyone was our neighbor. Everyone was our friend, our family. It was beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time. A little sliver of the purest light amid the darkest day.
And now, 18 years on, look at what we’ve become.
My musical tastes are pretty wide, even if my musical knowledge is fairly limited—to musicals and a cappella, mostly. I’ll enjoy whatever you happen to play, with a few exceptions (mostly of the r&b and rap variety).
One thing I’m not a huge fan of? Death metal. And metal of any kind where the vocalist screams into the mic instead of sings. Which is ironic, considering I attended the heavy-metal festival “Knotfest” last Friday night at PNC Bank Arts Center, where four metal bands took the stage, three of whom were of the “screamy” variety: Slipnot, Gojira, and Behemoth. (Volbeat was the odd man out—and the band I enjoyed the best.)
Why did I attend a show where I was so obviously out of my element?
I just had an epiphany about myself: I am forever writing, but not writing down. I compose blog posts, emails, and stories in my head, word-for-word, and then never (or rarely, at least) make the transition to actually put the words to paper or screen. It’s a problem!
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we’re all apparently participating in a mass hysteria. A trauma so deep that has so permeated our Millennial and Gen-X existences that we’re having nightmares—about the very same thing.
Does this sound familiar?
You’re back in college. Your grades are good, you’re about to graduate, you’re on the highest of highs. You’re about to embark on your real adult life. Everything is going great.
Except.
Following the business retreat I wrote about in my last post, I traveled to Indianapolis for Gen Con: The Best Four Days in…Writer-Conferencing!
The slogan is actually “The Best Four Days in Gaming,” as Gen Con is a tabletop-and-
It. Is. Paradise.
Two weeks ago, I traveled to sunny L.A. once again for another business conference put on by the Live Your Message team, and it was nothing short of remarkable. I came away with more clarity and focus on my editing business, new clients, new venues to give talks at, and more.
But perhaps the greatest takeaway was discovering my raison d’être, my ultimate reason and purpose behind all that I do in life.
And now I’m ready to take that dream and lasso it down to Earth, to make it real.
On this day four years ago, I wrote and shared my first blog post. I didn’t yet know what direction my blog would take, or if I would even be consistent with it (spoiler alert: I wasn’t). But I knew I had things I wanted to say to the world, and so I began my blogging journey.
I’ve grown a lot since that time. A lot has happened to me in the intervening years, both the good and the bad.
