Rutgers, Writers, and Neil Gaiman

This past weekend I had the opportunity to attend the third annual Rutgers Writers' Conference. It was an amazing experience to spend time focused on the craft of writing, getting insights from talented writers who I truly admire, and best of all, spending the weekend with two of my favorite people - Mike Shaw and Kara Knauss from the Pitman Writers' Guild.

So, in no particular order, here's Rutgers Writers' Con 2019:

• East Jersey Old Town Village in Middlesex County is charming. It's no Colonial Williamsburg, but it blows Bridgeton's Swedish Farmstead out of the water. Worth checking out.
• Neil Gaiman is exceptional. He told his story about getting over his own Impostor Syndrome - one of my favorites.
• Neil also talked about his advice for what to do when you finish your book... Start the next one!
• He ended the session with Inventing Aladdin. Read it.
• The Doubletree's cookies are legit.
• It doesn't matter how famous you are... You need to understand your purpose. True for writing and speaking.
• You can write "the other" if you put in the time and effort to do it the right way.
• Meeting an agent is never NOT scary... at least not yet.
• Colum McCann is my new writing hero.
• He talked about writing into what you DON'T know, and in the process, you reveal a truth you may not even know you know.
• Colum McCann - "Stamina, desire, and perseverance can outweigh talent."
• Also from McCann quoting Kurt Vonnegut - "We have to continually be jumping off cliffs and developing our wings on the way down."
• Don't zoom in when you're taking a picture of a spider. If it jumps... it's scary!
• McCann quoting someone else - "Everything's shit, until it isn't."
• Also McCann - "Trust your gut" - It's the only way we can know what belongs in our stories
• So many writers can be huge jerks. There are some good ones too.
• Join a writers group. I'm a better writer today because of the Pitman Writers' Guild.
• Time spent with friends who share your passion and understand your obsession should be treasured. They know this writer's life better than anyone else because they've lived it, and in that common experience is a promise - not of success - but of company, and that makes all the difference.

All in all, it was a great weekend!

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