There's nothing like the invigoration that comes from spending a weekend of learning with like-minded individuals. I'm still processing all of the wonderful experiences from SPJ in NYC and will share them this week as time permits. Here are a few gems that capture the theme of this weekend...
It is clear from both speakers and participants that writing is a vocation. After all, as the author Leo Rosten said, "The only reason for being a professional writer is that you can't help it."
Writing is hard work. But the joy comes in learning, perhaps over a lifetime, that you can discover many things about life, yourself and the world through the process. And there's a deep satisfaction that comes from knowing you've written well. You may not feel it often, but when you do it's the drug that will keep you hooked. "Inspiration is wonderful when it happens, but the writer must develop an approach for the rest of the time... The wait is simply too long."
Leonard Bernstein
People are energy and light personified. And as the great Edith Wharton says, "There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it."
And so the bottom line is that, "You owe it to us all to get on with what you're good at." — W. H. Auden
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