Kindling Words 2010

Last weekend, I attended my very first writer's retreat: Kindling Words East. It's held in northern Vermont and is specifically for YA and children's book writers, illustrators, and editors.

Here's reason #1 that I loved it:

Yellow walls. View of snow. Candle in the window. It's the perfect writer's nook. Midday, a sunbeam traveled across the desk. I started writing when the beam hit the left edge of my manuscript and stopped when it crossed over the right edge.

Here's reason #2 that I loved it:

The people. (I didn't take any photos of people so please imagine a picture filled with so much awesomeness that it sparkles.)

I walked in late on Thursday (at the end of dinner), saw everyone chatting away, flashed back to that middle-school cafeteria moment when you see full tables and don't know where to sit, and promptly fled under the guise of "oh, I just have to check in." But I gathered up my courage and went back in there... By the end of the weekend, I'd met almost everyone there. Everyone was immensely nice and friendly. Plus every single person there loved books. I had so many great conversations and talked to so many awesome people that I want to go back every year.

For those of you wondering... yes, I did eat s'mores at the bonfire! (The marshmallows were a wee bit frozen due to the fact that it was 3 degrees outside, but it still brought back lovely memories of Girl Scout sit-upons and of my dad dressing up in a gorilla costume to scare all of us at the campground as we told ghost stories... Still not exactly sure what gorillas have to do with ghosts, but whatever.) We also sang Kumbaya because, you know, it had to be done. For a song that repeats so much, I know shockingly few of the lyrics. Also, we made wishes for the year by writing them on scraps of paper that we threw into the fire. And one of the other writers nearly burnt her shoe...

Thank you to everyone who was there. You guys made the weekend so special. Hope to see you again next year, if not sooner!