Jack and Jill Redux

I’ve just returned from the Tennessee Mountain Writers annual conference in Oak Ridge. While it wasn’t the most scintillating literary event I’ve attended in my writing and editing career, this year’s slate of speakers held my interest, and the conference afforded plenty of opportunity to meet folks and discuss writing with authors across multiple genres.

I’d have to say the most memorable part of the weekend was being awakened by my roommate at 4:41 Saturday morning to wait out a tornado warning with other hotel guests in a first-floor corridor. Potential twister notwithstanding, I got to spend the better part of two days immersed in children’s literature, storytelling, play writing, poetry, manuscript evaluations and story prompts.

Here’s a secret I’ve learned about story prompts: They’re a great vehicle for short circuiting those pesky bouts of writer’s block. When faced with a blank page (and an equally blank imagination), jump starting your thoughts with a timed writing exercise can send you on a flight of literary fancy and, in the process, prime your writing pump to get that creativity flowing again.

One of my favorite story prompts at this year’s conference was to rewrite an existing story to make it more satisfying. For your amusement, I offer my oh-so-satisfying retelling of a nursery rhyme that had never made a shred of sense to me.

Jack and Jill went up the hill
To fetch a pail of water.
Jack fell down and broke his crown,
And Jill came tumbling after.

That’s really not how it happened.
Often at odds, Jack and Jill fought bitterly – as siblings will – that bright summer morning as they ascended the hill toward the well on their uncle’s farm.
Jack kept deliberately swinging the pail into Jill’s leg. And, as anyone who’s ever been repeatedly clunked with a galvanized water pail will tell you, it doesn’t tickle.
Finally, Jill had had enough. So she retaliated in the only way she knew how. She pushed Jack down the hill with a gratifying shove, then drew the pail of water. Whistling nonchalantly, she headed for home.
Coming upon her bleeding brother, who had hit his head on a rock, she realized she’d get in big trouble for having pushed him, so she pretended to lose her footing and tumbled down the slope herself, water from the pail cascading over them as she went.

And that, dear reader, is how it actually went down that day. Well, maybe not, but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

However, the tale of Jack and Jill (the rest of which I’d never heard or read until a moment ago) continues, and I must admit it makes far more sense now. But I still prefer my version of the story.

Perhaps next week I’ll discuss another writing exercise I found particularly intriguing – and helpful.

How do you vanquish your bouts of writer’s block? Drop a suggestion in the comments and let’s help each other out.

About the Author:
Rita M. Reali is a two-time international award-winning author and longtime editor who most enjoys editing memoir, general fiction and romance, along with inspirational writing. She’s self-published five novels: Glimpse of Emerald, Diagnosis: Love, The Unintended Hero, Second Chances and Tender Mercies – the first five in the seven-volume Sheldon Family Saga. The sixth novel in the series, Brothers by Betrayal, is scheduled for an early 2024 release. Her first children’s book, The Purringest Kitty Finds His Home, was released at the end of February. As a former disc jockey in her native Connecticut, Rita used to spend her days “talking to people who weren’t there” – a skill which transferred perfectly to her being an author. Now she talks to characters who aren’t there on “a little chunk of heaven in rural Tennessee.” Contact Rita. To purchase your own personally inscribed copy of any of Rita’s books, download this order form at her website.

The Women in Publishing Summit Is Over… Now What?

Alexa Bigwarfe has done it again: another marvelously successful and highly informative Women in Publishing Summit. It wrapped up yesterday and if you weren’t there, you missed out on a remarkable learning experience – and all I can say is perhaps next year you’ll pay closer attention when I begin to effuse about it.

This year’s event featured some sixty of the leading experts in their respective fields – from writing and editing to cover design, publishing, marketing, analytics and advertising. The Summit really did offer something for just about everyone involved in any aspect of the writing and publishing arena.

Attendees hailed from all over the U.S., Canada, Germany, Norway, Ireland, England and Australia. I’ve almost certainly left off some countries, but it was truly a global event. This was my fifth WIP Summit and I don’t know how Alexa and her team manage it, but it just keeps getting better every year!

Some of my favorite presentations came from Judy L. Mohr, Shayla Raquel and Tamara Dever. Seriously, look these women up. They’re each remarkable in their own way and if you’re a writer, you would do well to learn from them.

Another highlight (in my opinion) was the Zoom chat room. Open three times a day for an hour each time, the space afforded attendees kind of a virtual lounge in which to connect over a cup of coffee (or a glass of wine, depending on which time zone each participant was in), chat about the previous sessions and get to know one another in a relaxed social environment.

So, what now? If you attended the Summit, you probably have several session recordings to view, and a ton of presenter assets to download. I know I do. In between all the other things I’ve got going on this month, I’ll be systematically watching the videos and learning all I can about writing, editing, marketing and publicity.

“But, Rita, you’re a professional author and editor,” you may be saying. “Don’t you already know a lot about writing and editing?”

Yeah. But I can always learn more. We all can. That’s why attending conferences and webinars and summits is so important: It gives you the opportunity to learn all you can and to improve your skills.

But the learning doesn’t end there. At the end of this month, I’m attending my seventh Tennessee Mountain Writers Conference. This two-day event in Oak Ridge will focus on various aspects of the written and spoken word. Featured sessions will include storytelling, poetry, small-press publication, young people’s literature, play writing, fiction, nonfiction and more. There’s plenty of occasion for networking with other writers, too. Plus, I’m bringing a carton of The Purringest Kitty Finds His Home to sell (and autograph) in the conference bookstore.

It doesn’t matter if you’re an aspiring author or a writing veteran with multiple titles to your credit. You can always benefit from attending a good writers’ conference. So, if you’re within reasonable driving distance of Oak Ridge, I urge you to consider attending. And if that’s too far afield, check out a writing conference closer to you. You won’t regret it.

If you’ve ever attended a writers’ conference, what was it and what was the best thing you learned?

About the Author:
Rita M. Reali is a two-time international award-winning author and longtime editor who most enjoys editing memoir, general fiction and romance, along with inspirational writing. She’s self-published five novels: Glimpse of Emerald, Diagnosis: Love, The Unintended Hero, Second Chances and Tender Mercies – the first five in the seven-volume Sheldon Family Saga. The sixth novel in the series, Brothers by Betrayal, is scheduled for an early 2024 release. Her first children’s book, The Purringest Kitty Finds His Home, was released at the end of February. As a former disc jockey in her native Connecticut, Rita used to spend her days “talking to people who weren’t there” – a skill which transferred perfectly to her being an author. Now she talks to characters who aren’t there on “a little chunk of heaven in rural Tennessee.” Contact Rita. To purchase your own personally inscribed copy of any of Rita’s books, download this order form at her website.