A New Day

* * * For the best advice I'll give all week, read all the way to the bottom * * *

Here I sit at the Max & Emma's restaurant at Dulles, about to begin this post by apologizing for my long absence... but then realized what an utterly girl thing that is to do.

So instead, I'm going to share a few of the fantastically inspirational or interesting things I heard at the Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) conference the last few days. (So many writers! So much wisdom! So much wine!)

In no particular order:

"Good work finds its home." -- overheard

"I'd like to find the courage NOT to tell my stories." -- attributed to Ander Monson

"In every situation, the reader is the most important person." -- Stephen Elliott

"If you're afraid of hurting a reader, you're not being honest." -- Stephen Elliott

"It's not about what happened to you. It's about how you perceive what happened to you." -- Nick Flynn

"The interiors of our head are the most accessible infinities around." -- Ander Monson

Biggest message: Persevere.

Biggest tip: Go to The Rumpus' and sign up for Stephen Elliott's daily e-mail.