Just spent a lovely weekend retreat at the Audubon Center of MN near Sandstone. It was only a few miles off the interstate, but the mental distance from the buzz of the crowds was much greater. I attended a Loft writers' conference on nature and environmental writing. It was much more informative than I could have imagined. This conference had my favorite kind of workshops, where there was no journaling, writing, practicing or otherwise empty time. The sessions I attended were packed full of useful, inspiring information by successful, experienced writers and editors. Kudos to the Loft for creating such a great gathering!
Thanks to this weekend, I have started considering the possibility of doing some magazine writing. It makes perfect sense to write the type of thing I love to read. It just took awhile for me to come around to that obvious fact. The weekend workshops demystified the whole query process for me, which was a major stumbling block. Sometimes you can't learn all you need from reading, it actually helps to talk to people!
So I'll dig out the articles I wrote for the Yoga Center magazine over the past couple years and try to cobble together some sort of portfolio to get the ball rolling.
I'm already seeing stories everywhere.
