Yesterday — Saturday, July 26 — I helped close up the 2014 Midwest Writers Workshop held in the Alumni Center, located on the Ball State University campus in Muncie, Indiana. It was a new kind of ending for me, filled with equal parts relief and sense of accomplishment.
I’ve lost count of how may of these wonderful events I’ve attended over the years (10 at least), but they were all stand-out experiences that launched me back out into my little writing world pumped with renewed confidence, lifted by that awesome and generous community, and teeming with excitement over the many new techniques and resources I’d gleaned, not to mention the friendships I’d cultivated there.
This year, the sum total of my experiences was no less than that of past workshops, even though my center of gravity had moved. My place for obtaining those many wonderful rewards had shifted from in front of the registration table to behind it.
This year, I was part of the team responsible for setting up and hosting the event … the Midwest Writers Workshop Planning Committee.
This time around, it was my great honor to wear the always in-style, basic blue denim shirt bearing the MWW insignia! (And it should not be confused as a mere fashion statement, because with the shirt comes the enormous responsibility of representing MWW’s 40-plus year history of excellence and the many caring, devoted, and highly knowledgeable MWW committee men and women who came before and left their mark.)
I admit that I spent the first two days of the three-day conference feeling a bit stressed. I couldn’t help but worry that my status as a newbie to the operational side of things would translate to “inept,” leaving other committee people to wonder why they had ever invited me to be part of their committee. But thanks to their many kindnesses — particularly those of Jama and Queen Mum Barb — they made me feel that I did okay.
I loved every minute of the three days. I loved it that I was able to obtain last-minute, classroom teaching aids for faculty authors Jess Lourey and Kent Krueger, that attendees came to me with an array of questions, and that I got to sell books and sweatshirts like I’d been doing it for eons.
With my first MWW as a committee member behind me, I am tired, but energized, and breathing a whole lot easier. I’m looking forward to helping the committee plan the 2015 event, when I will no longer be that newbie in the barely broken-in denim shirt. Next time, I’ll be more confident. I'll be a veteran. -- Janis
This year, the sum total of my experiences was no less than that of past workshops, even though my center of gravity had moved. My place for obtaining those many wonderful rewards had shifted from in front of the registration table to behind it.
This year, I was part of the team responsible for setting up and hosting the event … the Midwest Writers Workshop Planning Committee.
This time around, it was my great honor to wear the always in-style, basic blue denim shirt bearing the MWW insignia! (And it should not be confused as a mere fashion statement, because with the shirt comes the enormous responsibility of representing MWW’s 40-plus year history of excellence and the many caring, devoted, and highly knowledgeable MWW committee men and women who came before and left their mark.)
I admit that I spent the first two days of the three-day conference feeling a bit stressed. I couldn’t help but worry that my status as a newbie to the operational side of things would translate to “inept,” leaving other committee people to wonder why they had ever invited me to be part of their committee. But thanks to their many kindnesses — particularly those of Jama and Queen Mum Barb — they made me feel that I did okay.
I loved every minute of the three days. I loved it that I was able to obtain last-minute, classroom teaching aids for faculty authors Jess Lourey and Kent Krueger, that attendees came to me with an array of questions, and that I got to sell books and sweatshirts like I’d been doing it for eons.
With my first MWW as a committee member behind me, I am tired, but energized, and breathing a whole lot easier. I’m looking forward to helping the committee plan the 2015 event, when I will no longer be that newbie in the barely broken-in denim shirt. Next time, I’ll be more confident. I'll be a veteran. -- Janis
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