write « Robin Writes

I feel like I’m caught up in a whirlwind these days. I have a master list, and a few other smaller lists lying around; I have Word .docs saved on my desktop for things-in-progress. Remember those old TV commercials, “This is your brain on drugs?” My brain is more like scrambled instead of fried.

I sit on two boards now—I should know better, I’ve done that before and the results were a combination of hilarious and sad—so I’m just hoping I don’t promote authors on a charity festival FB page or talk about carnival hours on the MWG page. Or wait, maybe they aren’t mutually exclusive . . .

Besides that, we’ve got this farm project. Right now, we can only go down there every couple weeks or so, but in between times I have phone calls to make and extra bills coming in, and it seems like when we DO get to go, it takes at least two days to plan and pack everything.

Not to mention the animals and the husband and the kid. And me. And my upcoming book, Repeat.

Truthfully, all I want to do is take a nap. I have a sleepy puppy across the desk from me, in a chair, and a cat lying ON the desk with his head on my arm. So I guess I have to keep typing so I don’t move and disturb him. But then again, there’s that list, staring at me . . .

I am, however, a firm believer in naps, especially since I don’t sleep well at night. Between the two periods of rest, I do get about 7-8 hours of sleep a day. I have to keep telling myself that, otherwise I feel like a slacker. The problem is lunch. If I’d skip lunch and just drink coffee, I could probably stay awake, even today!

Oh, and I tend to work in spurts: for a couple days, I go all gangbusters, then I have to take a day to recuperate. And speaking of recuperating, I’m in recovery for two injuries—which isn’t like me at all, although those come in spurts too, about a decade or so apart.

Last month, the lid of Da Beast, a three-gallon cast iron Dutch oven, slid to the floor. I broke its fall with the top of my right foot. A purple bump immediately rose up (about the size of two quarters next to each other) but the pain wasn’t as bad as I expected. I used RICE and it was fine in a couple days, albeit purple and yellow for a few more.

A few days ago, I picked up a wine glass to wash, bumped it into a stew pot, and the darn thing broke. The glass, not the pot. Somehow, some way, something stabbed me in the wrist. Didn’t need much caffeine to wake up that morning! Anyway, now there’s a weird, circular cut of sorts on the inside of my wrist, just below (above?) my hand. Almost like I skinned it.

But it hurts. Still. And not in a good place when it comes to doing much of anything with one’s hands.

Am I making excuses for a nap? Darn right! Besides, the cat finally moved, so I guess that’s his way of saying I’m finished with this post . . .

I joined the MWG a few years ago. I wasn’t sure what to expect, and while I thought the experience was interesting and looked good on my list of credentials, there wasn’t a lot of activity. Now, admittedly, like a lot of authors, I’m not exactly a joiner in the sense that I’m going to breeze into a room full of people I don’t know and just jump into the middle of things.

Two years later, I decided I was ready to volunteer. Last weekend, I got elected president of the Guild.

Lest you become too excited over this development, let me assure that it wasn’t difficult or even a nod to my capabilities—there was no one else running . . .

I believe that the MWG should be a respected organization that assists and empowers writers throughout the state, or even beyond.

I believe that everyone should know about us, particularly state and local governments, chambers of commerce, journalism organizations, booksellers, publishers, agents, newspapers, libraries, and schools.

I believe that the MWG should be a point-of-contact for all these groups, and especially for those aspiring to become authors or technical writers or illustrators or publishers or journalists.

I believe we should be active and visible on the state level, and regionally through our chapters.

The Missouri Writers Guild was organized in 1915—this is our 100th anniversary year. I intend to ensure that the MWG is around and alive and kicking for the next 100 years, and beyond.

Let me tell you how we’re going to do this:

This past weekend, we hosted a planning conference with thirty Chapter reps from around the state. We brainstormed, we broke into small groups, we discussed and debated and took notes and made lists.

An excellent start.

However, we cannot lose our momentum or our enthusiasm.

To that end, I’ve been working almost non-stop on Guild business since Sunday evening. Our first Board meeting will be May 1st. We have an action committee, appointed at the conference, who will have a report for us in the areas of next year’s conference, website issues and suggestions, and Guild/Chapter communication.

Already, some of those website ideas have been implemented and the conference committee is making decisions. Additionally, we have a contest committee that is working on revamping and expanding our annual contests, a new chapter is being formed, and the Board is working on bylaws changes and membership levels.

Other ideas put forth include additional levels of membership, a statewide writing contest, increased and better technology, more frequent communication between Guild and Chapters, and a lot more! It would take hours for me to list them all.

If you are or were a member of the MWG, I urge you to renew that membership and stay with us. Adopt a wait-and-see attitude, at the very least. Good things are coming, changes are being made, and I think you’ll be pleased. If you aren’t, drop me an email and express your feelings—vehemently, if you wish; let me know what you’d like to see from the Guild or maybe, just possibly, how you’d like to become involved. I assure you, there’s room for everyone.

If you’ve never been a member, now is the time to join us. Go to our website, missouriwritersguild.org, and fill out a membership application.

Why should you join? Why renew?

To hang out with other writers. To learn stuff. To socialize. To be involved. To make a difference. Connections, mentoring, education, resources—we’re not just an annual conference. There’s going to be a lot more to come . . .

We’re listening to our members, and we’d like you to join us!