Awash in authors

Writing for Charity was awesome! I was a little concerned that our turnout would be too small to make it worth the authors' time, but we had some great last minute publicity and our turn out was terrific for a first year. I was also nervous because I was organizing this shindig and am so not an organizer. It could have been a disaster. Somehow, it all came together. Huge thanks to Laura Middleton and our wonderful volunteers for running the show!

We earned over $4500 for the Wheelchair Project, enough to buy 54 wheelchairs. That feels really good. Fifty-four people whose lives are changed because of all the participants who came! Thank you! I was MC'ing, and unfortunately I mentioned how much we made up front and got emotional, and it took me awhile to get a hold of myself. Erk.

I was also a little emotional to be sharing the stage with so many awesome writers who all donated their time.


(back row) Scott Francine, Wendy Toliver, Mike Knudson, Tracy Hickman

(middle) A.E. Cannon, Kristyn Crow, Sydney Salter, Rebecca Hickox, Anne Bowen, Laura Hickman, Mette Ivie Harrison, Ann Dee Ellis, Ann Dee Ellis's belly

(front) Kimberley Heuston, Shannon Hale, Chris Schoebinger, Brandon Mull
Photo credit Enna Isilee

I really hope we do it again next year. I think I'd better not be in charge again, but the plan is another local author will pick the charity and organize the event. I'd love to participate.

Some more photos from last week. Several cool authors came to Utah for a literature conference, and I got to be Jennifer Holm's date and crash the party! A major perk for being an author.

X.J. Kennedy, Jennifer Holm, me, Candace Fleming, Kenneth Oppel, Eric Rohmann, and Vivian Vande Velde.

Here we are, the lovely ladies of literature. We were showing some leg, I believe. Very telling perhaps that Rachel (was it? I hope I'm remembering right) who took the photo cut off our legs. I have a feeling the choice was made in wisdom and out of pure benevolence.

Comments

[Anidori-Isilee]

I'm so glad it was a success. I so wish I could have been there, but unfortunately, Utah's a *bit* too far away...

Great pictures!

[Enna Isilee]

W00t! I got a photo credit! ;)

Writing for charity was great. I'll totally come to all the others.

And on a side note, Jenny Holm is really cool. I saw her at the lit conference, she was great.

[Rebecca Joy]

Congrats on your success! Nice pic, Enna Isilee. :D

[Q]

Love the expression on the last picture.

[Gretchen]

What a fantastic result of Writing for Charity! Way to go!

[Marianne]

As a participant, I would say it was a success! Great conference. You all seemed to be really lovely people (as well as talented writers) but I guess I should have expected that from a group of people willing to be so generous with their time and talents.

[Dr. Sallie N. Cheinsteen]

Let's pretend I'm a teacher.
Class, can you spell jealous?
J-E-A-L-O-U-S
very good class.
Well, you look like you had an amazing time.
Maybe next year.

[Jeni]

As one of the attendees, I have to say that the Writing for Charity was wonderful! I attended WIFYR at BYU a few weeks ago (I met you there, Shannon---Max stole my name tag when you brought him and Maggie to visit), and I have to say that this just felt like a continuation of that event. It was great! Thank you for organizing it.

[hwalk]

Writing for charity was amazing. It was incredibly helpful for me and was so much fun.

THANK YOU!!

[Brinnaroo]

Writing for Charity was incredible! It helped me a lot-- the highlight was definitely Shannon reading the first page of my story aloud. Eep! :D

Yay for you, Shannon!

[Sydney Salter]

Thanks, Shannon! I was proud to be a part of such a wonderful event. Look forward to next year.

[myrna]

Writing for Charity was great. I didn't think that I was going to be able to go, but then I didn't have work for a week. So I took the kids to my in-laws (in Orem) for a week vacation.

I loved Brandon Mull and Mette Ivie Harrison's reasons that they gave for writing. So funny.

And the feedback was not at all what I'd expected (unexpected feedback is good). I had no idea they would try to convince me that my picture book was really about streaking. And that streaking is an excellent subject for a picture book. I'm still laughing. I'm not sure how to move forward, but I'm sure it will require re-writing and more re-writing.

[Shayla Smoot]

That was SOOOO fun Shannon, thanks for looking at my book! I have a lot more written! About 95 more to be exact!!! ha ha

[Alyson King]

It sounds like so much fun! I was so sad I missed it. I had everything ready, babysitters, money, everything, and I woke up Saturday to get ready and my baby had a fever of 103, and a croupy cough. I couldn't bring myself to leave him with a babysitter. I cried for two hours that I missed it. Hopefully next year!

[NerdyEm]

My feet are still having trouble touching the ground after your Writing for Charity event. Thank you, sincerely, for hosting such an inspiring gathering for us aspiring wannabes.

So Shannon, as soon as I walked into the library I nearly bumped into you at the registration table. And I could kick myself now for not having taken my copy of Princess Academy to have you sign (and request that you write a quirky author's note or two in the margins of your favorite/least favorite parts--like you would've had time for that with such a schedule. I can imagine how it goes...).

Anyhow, with a book in hand I would've at least had an excuse to shake your hand without feeling completely sycophantic.

So, Kimberly Houston was the author in charge of my group's reading-of-manuscripts. Can I just say, she was absolutely stellar; what a boon to my ideas and understanding about writing!

I came across a review of her story The Shakeress in The New York Times (I think it was) several years back. I was so impressed by the review that I scouted out Kimberley's book and was happily transported to a Shaker community for several months as I relived in my mind again and again her detailed descriptions of meticulous herb gardens, freshly-scrubbed pine floors bathed in sunlight, and the overall feeling of goodness and order winning out.

So to arrive at the conference and find that I would be in Ms. Heuston's group was sensational!

I will admit though, that sharing something I'd only written and revised that week was a little, shall we say, TERRIFYING!? But, how else does one learn then?

Now that I've finally come out of the closet about attempting to write, I'm patting myself on the back for actually having had the chutzpah to ask my husband, two nights before the fact, to watch the kids that Saturday for Writing for Charity.

It sounds silly, but it was a landmark milestone for me to confess to my husband "Uh, I'm a little embarrassed to admit this, but I kind of really want to go to this writer's conference on Saturday, so would you mind watching the kids for most of the morning and some of the afternoon?"

For some reason, I felt as though I was announcing that I wanted to belly-dance around the neighborhood wearing scuba gear. My husband answered, "Why not?" And that was that. Whew!

So the accounts that your author line-up gave of how and when they write were very enlightening. And with your gems of insight at the pulpit as mistress of events, I'm realizing that writing isn't so much inspiration as just sitting down CONSISTENLY to make it happen. Thank you, sista', for clueing me in on that. I've been waking up a little earlier each day, trying to squeeze in a thirty minute block of writing time each morning before the cyclone hits when the kids wake up, and it's been blissful, staring peacefully at the empty computer screen for the quietest half-hour of the day. Joking. Kind of.

Anyway, I just wanted to thank you for following an urge to "do something good" because it obviously will revolutionize the lives of those receiving wheelchairs, but it has opened a door for me, that I've been longing to have opened for years.

Power on, Shannon!

[sarah]

hi shannon,
I read Princess Academy for my summer reading report and really enjoyed it. I was just wondering what time period or year the book took place in.
-Sarah

[Kallie]

Thanks man, it worked.
http://www.pdfspirit.com/semakan-kplspm