How to use this Page

 

This week in the Tollbooth we’re talking about ways to be kind to your creative mind. 

We love to say writing is a lonely job- and it’s true. When it comes time to write those pages it’s just you and the keyboard.

 

But anyone who’s written more than a few quick pages knows much of our writing creativity happens away from the desk. Literally living in a “creative space”- an atmosphere where fresh ideas and the right to take risks are celebrated sparks creativity and the best way for me get to my own creative space is to be a part of a creative community.

 

Finding your creative community

 

For me, Vermont College is a sort of “Creative Roswell”. You know Roswell- that town in New Mexico that attracts aliens like a magnet? Vermont College and Montpelier is my creative ground zero. Just walking on to campus beams ideas into my brain.  Everyone here loves writing for children. But not just that. It’s a safe place where artists are free to experiment. Where new ideas are cheered. Where friends are there to read my drafts and give me a hug. And talk. There’s always lots and lots of talking.

 

But I was a part of a creative community before I’d ever heard of Vermont College and if that’s the sort of environment you crave you can, too.  It doesn’t matter if you live in the heart of Manhattan or Timbuktu. The internet links us all and blogs like Cynthia Leitich Smith’s Cynsations spreads the news.  Verla Kay’s Blueboard isn’t just a place to ask about proper query letter form. It’s a place to share victories and seek consolation. SCBWI is more than just a club.  On line it’s a place to meet and greet- and learn.  It’s also a central meeting point for children’s writers in your area. No meetings in your town? Contact your regional advisor and offer to host a meet up at a coffee shop or restaurant.

 

Unless you’re a hermit your own hometown already has a creative community. Want to find lovers of children’s books? Head to the children’s room at your local library. I promise you’ll find the librarian is a kindred soul. The teachers in your neighborhood elementary school “get” children’s books, too. 

 

Take community building into your own hands. You’ll be rewarded a thousand fold. 

Have you faced challenges in finding other creative spirits?  Tell us about it here in the comments. And better yet, share your ideas for finding a creative community here in the comments.

 

At the end of the week I’ll pick one commenter for a really special, one of a kind creative prize from Vermont College.

 

Oh! Lest I forget, here’s what’s happening at the residency- Zu Vincent has started he

Add a Comment

Submit an application to join the Macondo Writers' Workshop in 2010. Leslie Marmon Silko will be leading the Famosa Workshop. Sandra Cisneros will also be co-teaching a workshop with Lourdes Portillo in her yellow office Casa Xochitl. Application deadline is January 29, 2010. First-year online applications are available online. Visit www.macondofoundation.org to apply.



An association of socially-engaged writers united to advance creativity, foster generosity, and honor community.


The Macondo Foundation, Inc., is committed to bringing together a diversity of writers crossing borders of all kinds. As an association of socially-engaged writers united to advance creativity, foster generosity, and honor community, the Macondo Foundation attracts generous and compassionate writers who view their work and talents as part of a larger task of community-building and non-violent social change.

Officially incorporated in 2006, the Macondo Foundation has its roots in the Macondo Writers’ Workshop, which began in 1998, in the kitchen of poet and writer Sandra Cisneros. The Workshop rapidly grew from 15 participants to more than 120 participants in less than 9 years.

The Macondo Workshop has been more successful every year, expanding community involvement through annual events with the Our Lady of the Lake University, UT-San Antonio, Trinity University, Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, Jump-Start Performance Theatre, Casa de Maria y Marta and the Bexar County Juvenile Detention Center. We would especially like to acknowledge the generosity of Our Lady of the Lake University.

Macondo currently makes its home at Our Lady of the Lake University. Recent Macondo Foundation undertakings include the Gloria Anzaldua Milagro Award, meant to care for our community’s writers in a time of needed healing; health insurance coverage to our member writers; the Elvira Cordero Cisneros Award, and the Casa Azul Residency Program.

Along with the commitment and vision of Macondo’s founder, Sandra Cisneros, Macondo enjoys the ongoing support and participation of other internationally recognized writers, including Denise Chavez, John Phillip Santos, Luis Rodriguez, Dorothy Allison, Joy Harjo, Carmen Tafolla, and a large body of emerging writers who are also publishing books, touring in the U.S. and abroad, and working in their communities.

Add a Comment

This week in the Tollbooth we're talking about finding the right agent. Today is all about learning more before you send that query.

Writing a novel can be a lonely experience. but in my opinion every children's writer looking for an agent should enter the community.

Add a Comment