{"id":17,"date":"2010-04-21T14:12:00","date_gmt":"2010-04-21T14:12:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/omeoflittlefaith\/2010\/04\/nine-things-i-learned-at-ffw.html"},"modified":"2010-04-21T14:12:00","modified_gmt":"2010-04-21T14:12:00","slug":"nine-things-i-learned-at-ffw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/omeoflittlefaith\/2010\/04\/nine-things-i-learned-at-ffw.html","title":{"rendered":"Nine Things I Learned at FFW"},"content":{"rendered":"

I know yesterday’s post<\/span> <\/span>already mentioned my trip to Grand Rapids for the Festival of Faith & Writing<\/a>, but I want to get one more post out while the experience is still fresh. Being around other writers (published and unpublished), editors, and agents is definitely inspiring, and it’s something I hope to do again.<\/p>\n

For those who didn’t make it there, here are nine memorable things I’ll take away from the festival.

1. <\/span>Eugene Peterson eats yogurt for breakfast.<\/p>\n

2. <\/span>Writers — both published and unpublished — are desperate for tips about blogging, Twitter, Facebook, and anything else social media-related. Everyone knows they need to do it in the name of “building a platform.” But no one knows how. Including me. In panel discussions and private conversations, I presented myself as a social media “expert,” but the truth is that I’m just making this stuff up as I go along.<\/p>\n

3. <\/span>Super-agent Greg Daniel looks very intimidating in his Twitter profile photo<\/a>, but he’s actually very friendly.<\/p>\n

4. <\/span>Based on my interactions with Zondervan staff, they only employ gracious, friendly, and super-cool people.<\/p>\n

5. <\/span>It is possible to write honestly about a religious upbringing you have ultimately rejected, while still honoring your friends and family members who maintain those beliefs. Thank you, Michael Perry<\/a>, for illustrating this so brilliantly.<\/p>\n

6. <\/span>Sarah Cunningham<\/a> and Rachel Held Evans<\/a> are as cool in person as they come across in my previous blog interviews with them.<\/p>\n

7. <\/span>The best writing gets polished and polished and polished on the surface level. And all that polishing eventually allows the “fist of truth” to break through with a powerful uppercut from deep beneath the surface. (Thanks, Kate DiCamillo<\/a>, for the memorable analogy.)<\/p>\n

8. <\/span>How awesome is Eugene Freaking Peterson? I gasped out loud when he finished his talk. That is not something I do very often.<\/p>\n

9.<\/span> No writer, despite his or her level of success, is completely satisfied. I had a conversation with a friend of a memoirist I admire. Let’s call this memoirist Author A. The friend of Author A mentioned how frustrated Author A is that her memoir — a quirky but exceptionally inspiring story about faith — hasn’t gotten the same attention as another memoir by Author B, whose equally quirky and inspiring memoir became a mega-bestseller. And here I am, listening to this conversation, knowing that I would be ABSOLUTELY THRILLED to have the sales and attention that Author A has received for her work. Yes — the frustrated, envious Author A.<\/p>\n

—————<\/p>\n

\u2022 Ken Grant<\/span> blogs a review of O Me of Little Faith<\/span><\/a> followed by an interview with yours truly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I know yesterday’s post already mentioned my trip to Grand Rapids for the Festival of Faith & Writing, but I want to get one more post out while the experience is still fresh. Being around other writers (published and unpublished), editors, and agents is definitely inspiring, and it’s something I hope to do again. 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