Shut Up and Write!

There's a Buddhist Proverb that says, "When the student is ready, the master appears," and that's certainly been true for me. As a writer I've been blessed with many wonderful teachers, mentors, and critique partners over the years.

Last night I attended the book launch party of one such mentor, Judy Bridges, the founder of Redbird Studio in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Some years back I had my first experience with Judy Bridges when I attended a novel writing workshop at Redbird. The event was held on a Saturday and consisted of a presentation by Shauna Singh Baldwin in the morning and one by Elaine Bergstrom in the afternoon. In between the two, Redbird provided a catered lunch. Judy was there to oversee the whole thing. I loved being among writers and I soaked up the wisdom from these two established novelists. I still remember a lot of the information given that day. Elaine said it was helpful to give your main character a sidekick, and Shauna told us to make sure our fiction gives the reader a complete sensory experience.

That day, during a break, another writer, Felicity Librie, and I started talking. She suggested I join Judy's Tuesday afternoon Roundtable, which I did. Judy's Roundtables are critique groups of the highest order. By joining this great group of people I received invaluable feedback, met some terrific writers, and made some good friends (one of whom is Felicity).

Just recently Judy wrote and released her book, Shut Up and Write!, a collection of writing advice, inspiration, and personal anecdotes. The title comes from Judy's popular course of the same name. Even if you have a million writing books like I do, you'll find this book helpful and motivating. Plus, she wrote a little bit about me, which thrills me to no end.

Last night, the wonderful Boswell Book Company in Milwaukee hosted the second of Judy's two book events. In generous Judy fashion, she asked four other writers to share the spotlight and invited them to read a selection from their respective novels. I was one of those honored, along with Shauna, Jeannee Sacken, and Doug Jacobson.

Here's a photo of Judy with bookstore owner, Daniel Goldin:

The store was set up for a big turnout, but even so, they had to take out extra folding chairs as more and more people poured into the place. And then, even the folding chairs weren't enough. In the end, it was standing room only--a testament to all the lives Judy's touched in 18 plus years of mentoring writers and building a writing community in her corner of the world.   

And here's a photo of me, looking like I'm about to hock a loogie. I have no idea why I take such terrible pictures. I refuse to believe I actually look like this, but maybe I do...

My kids tell me I make weird faces. It's not intentional, I can tell you that much.

All in all it was an excellent evening. I ran into some old friends, and met some interesting new people. I know it was Judy's party, but it felt a little bit like it was mine and the other authors too. I think Judy planned it that way.

Judy still teaches and speaks to groups, but the day-to-day operations are now handled by the very capable Kim Suhr under the heading, Redbird-Redoak. If you live in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area and are looking for  a writing workshop,  critique group or a kids' summer camp writing program, I'd recommend checking it out.