Attending an Indigenous Writers Gathering Was Great!

When attending the Indigenous Writers Gathering at a Tribal and Community College an hour from my house, I noted that a lot of the writers’ work came from serious topic areas. Then there were the fun and funny works as well!

One author wrote about Native crime as she noted that there are no Indigenous Native crime authors' stories that she is familiar with. So, she writes fiction based on an event she remembers from her lifetime. So not a true crime, yet anyway.

They were all open to sharing their experiences as writers, both the pros and the cons. I had read a few of the writers’ works and was impressed. I knew a couple of the writers and had even had prior conversations about writing before this gathering.

The publishing group, Black Bears and Blueberries hosted this event and was supported by several others. There was no cost, but registration was necessary and, for many of the participants they bought the author’s books.

It was like a bookstore for me as I don’t get out of a bookstore without a purchase even if I have more than a few books at home that haven’t been read yet.

I love reading books and now writing.

I took a few notes as there was a taxman there who spoke to us. He started with a joke, saying, “How many taxmen does it take to change a lightbulb? Then he said, “None, as we like to keep you in the dark!”

He didn’t speak long, but when he was through, I came away with the idea that I probably need 100,000 in book sales before I need a taxman, an LLC, or to worry about putting away 6500 for later to reduce liability and to borrow from an IRA without liabilities. Or something like that!

My friend sitting next to me asked how much I make on books. I said I do not sell my books for profit. I sell them at a loss as I self-publish and use them as giveaway items for memorials and as fundraiser items. Then writing on Vocal and Medium, I am ahead of my dues but not by much.

If my books don’t all sell at a fundraiser, I will sell the few remaining copies but make no money.

She said, “Don’t do that!” She is so cute! This all is just fun for me so far. I don’t expect to ever sell big. I am aware that my writing is very much like how I talk, and I talk in story form, as I was raised within the culture and there are many writers better than me out there.

Another writer talked about the gifts she was going to give us in her talk. I am not the best at taking notes since I gave up shorthand. I think she said, something like the following:

“Your voice matters.”

“Writers groups keep you accountable.”

“One line will trigger a story, so write it down!”

“It’s okay if the story is weird.”

“You can write a memoir, story, poem, and short story all from the same one line. Writing this way gives you lots of practice.”

4. “If you write 2 days a week, use a reward system.”

“Learners are not expected to get it right.”

5. “Focus on 1 thing at a time to learn it.”

6. “Rejection is a gift, reward yourself.”

The above is what I had in my notes. The quotes may not be what she said exactly, but they are what I heard and wrote down. This author was talking to us from Alaska. Her name is Vivian Faith Prescott. I bought one of her books.

If you have been writing, most of what was said is something most writers already know. There were writers of all skill levels and people not writing but considering it. These comments may help them. They are good reminders, and some are better than others.

We heard from 6 writers, the taxman and one of the two owners of Black Bears and Blueberries who are both writers. When there were introductions, we met some of the artists and some other publishers. It was a good time for networking.

I was glad to see a friend I attended graduate school with, and he is still working and 80 something. I am still working but it’s part-time and he is a good 10+ years older. Since I have been writing I have met others that didn’t publish until well into their old age.

I was also surprised to hear people retiring saying they always loved to write and are considering writing when they retire. That is what happened to me. I all of a sudden had time to write.

There was a call from half of the writers to ask that Native people consider writing materials for schools in Minnesota with the requirement now to teach about Native Americans in the schools, we need to provide the materials we want people to know about Ojibwe and Dakota people.

There was no mention of artificial intelligence or AI as it is a topic of conversation right now on one of the writing sites I publish on. I didn’t want to go there so I was relieved it didn’t come up but that may have been helpful also.

I recommend that you all attend a writer's gathering if you have a chance. It is awesome, as it is very supportive of what we do and how we do it.

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First published by New Writers Welcome in medium.com