I just returned from the CWG conference in Chicago, not so much fired up to write as restored by the camaraderie of other writers. True, there were workshops on writing, publishing; there were “pitch” sessions with a few publishers (which don’t mean a thing to me, since I couldn’t sell water to someone dying of thirst.) There were panel discussions and presentations on such topics as handling rejection, maintaining perseverance—or on philosophical topics such as composition of art vs. representation. But, for me, the great benefit of the CWG conference is the chat, the constant conversation with people who are as lop-sided as I am, who spend too much time reading, who can’t resist story-telling, people who are the best audience in the world for other story-tellers because they are natural critics—those who have a natural reflex to edit, augment, suggest, in ways that are always constructive. There is an indescribable feeling of benevolence amongst Catholic writers. We actually crave each other’s success.
Why is that, I had to ask myself. How is this different from others—not that I’ve ever attended more than a couple of others. And the answer was obvious: because we are not so much just for ourselves. There is something larger that we’re all deeply involved with, that matters way more than our own successes. And so we’re delighted to learn that AnnMarie’s Angela’s Song is doing well, elated when Arthur’s A Hero for the People wins the Catholic Arts and Letters Award, even though that means our own novels did not win. Of course it’s gratifying when one’s own work receives positive attention, but I think we all know how dangerous flattery can be, so it’s not excessive or hypocritical, just the feedback we actually need and no more. We understand the psychological and emotional pitfalls that any writer must avoid, and all sorts of other earth-bound dangers, but we also know the spiritual dangers. That’s the difference. What other writers’ conference begins with Mass each morning, offers confession, and has exposition of the Blessed Sacrament all day long? Besides, look who we hang out with:
This is so true! Leave it to you to select just the right words to express what all of us are feeling. (And leave it to you to be bold enough to say it!)
Thanks for this article. It will serve as one of my mementos of the conference.
Blessings
Well said, Dena. The CWG conferences provide both the mental and spiritual support we need to keep on being Catholic as well as being artists, without one demanding we compromise the other. ::applause::