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Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"It's no surprise that writing is our biggest form of personal, emotional, and sometimes spiritual expression," Said Annie Cho, award-winning author of three national bestselling fictional books. She was a petite, fair complexioned woman with big brown eyes and an even bigger smile. I had been obsessed (and I mean, obsessed) with her work for years now and I knew the second I had seen her name on the program, I had to attend her seminar, "How To Get Your Groove Back".

Ironic, right? Nicole's still not over it either.

Anyway, I was seated in the first row, naturally, watching in awe as she took the podium in one of the ballrooms. There was a full house for her seminar. Several people were even lining up against the walls of the room because there were no more available seats.

I had a notebook and pen out, ready to write anything inspiring that would hopefully get me back into the groove of writing. Even though I had another section of my life (note: the love life department) to get back on track, I've been lacking that extra spark in my writing these past few months. Hopefully this seminar would help clear my head and let fresh perspectives in.

"But when you're caught up in all the glitz and glamour of seeing your writing published in magazines, newspapers, and on bookshelves, life tends to get a bit redundant. You start to think - oh great, another article, another story, another novel to write. And even worse, you're expected to do better than your last work over and over again. Suddenly, writing has lost it's appeal and you'd rather be stuck in traffic for four hours than sit down for thirty minutes trying to come up with a plot twist."

This garnered a collective laugh.

"I remember the first time I saw my first novel, The Soul Keeper, in the 'New Releases' section at Barnes and Noble. I had a minor freak out that included a series of silent squealing and underarm sweat. I was a mixing bowl of emotions - excitement to see my name in one of the biggest bookstore chains in the world; nervousness because it was the first thing you saw when you walked into the store; anxiety from the fact that the front cover I chose suddenly looked like a soft core porn magazine ad; and finally, anticipation to call my mom and tell her all about it. It was in this moment of seeing my first published book that I realized, not many people in the world get to experience this small, sometimes forgettable feeling. It was so minor and personal that the second I got home, I wrote it all down. Later, that two page journal entry about seeing my first published book became the center of the character development to my second novel, Hollywood Isn't Real."

She shifted on her feet before continuing on.

"We find happiness in the simplest of forms - the smell of cookies baking in the oven, a favorite song playing on the radio. For us girls, happiness is taking off your bra or four-inch heels after a long day of torture."

Another laugh ensued.

"But what makes these small, sometimes forgettable things in life special, is that you do it as a writer. And when these small, sometimes forgettable things happen, it turns into something incredible. This small, sometimes forgettable things or feelings or instances, can trigger an idea, a character, a plot, and eventually, a story."

"As a writer, you have the natural gift of being able to transform those small, sometimes forgettable things into life-changing experiences and uncontainable emotions. You transform it into words. Into a story. Into a form of personal, emotional, and spiritual expression. That's not something just anybody can say. That's something only a writer can say."

"It's in these moments that you are at your most truest form of being human. Robots don't know what it feels like when you get butterflies talking to someone you like. A dog won't ever experience the sweat you get when you're about to perform on stage in front of hundreds of strangers. A bird can never feel the gratification of seeing their published words in someone else's hands."