I went to my second Zona Rosa meeting last night.
Things I learned:
Rosemary’s sister is absolutely hilarious and I hope I get to know her better as I continue to go to the meetings.
Since graduating from college, my grammar has become abhorrent. In short, I suck and need to practice.
Some new goals:
Go to the AWP Conference one day (it’s like the Dragon Con of the literati)
Meet Kim Addonizio
Escape the fear of getting things down on paper, even if they’re not pretty
I talked with a few other women during our break about my fears of judgment, and writing out my demons. (Rosemary calls them exorcises, which is brilliant. I figure, if anyone can get me to pull out what’s hiding in my deepest depths, it’s her). She read a short story (maybe it’s a short story? I have no idea what to call it) that I wrote about a year ago and it was well-received. Which surprised me because I was a little worried. It felt great to have feedback, though. Forget blogging – going to Zona Rosa once a month could turn out to be much more conducive to my writing style.
I realize that I need to be my biggest cheerleader for this or else I’ll talk myself out of going. If I defend it from myself the most, maybe I’ll actually stick to it.
I have Secrets of the Zona Rosa on my bookshelf– how cool that you get to go regularly. And I love what you say about “if I defend it from myself.” Defending things from ourselves is sometimes the hardest thing to do. And Kim Addonizio? I know we’ve talked about her before. She’s fab. She won’t disappoint when you do get to meet her one day.