Words fall like leaves...

... If those leaves were welded to a iron tree, and it was the dead of winter, and all of the good leaves were already long brown, shrivelled and swept away. In short, I've got very few words as I enter day one of the Bendigo Writers in Action festival. This prompts the question that when surrounded by brilliant people and an abundance of information, will inspiration grow within myself or deflate in insignificance? At the end of this festival will this blog be a mess of murky, mismatched entries? Or will I be able to insert the light of insight into them that I can feel burning at the back of my brain but can't name or see clearly just yet?

I guess we will find out...

Nonetheless, I have decided on my time table and sessions that I'll attend over the course of the next 4 days. I've heard other people mapping out their sessions based on the topic that they'll be doing their assignments on, however lacking that kind of pre-determined direction myself I've chosen sessions that simply appeal to my passions: young adult literature, kids, world topics, music, and religion. So I have quite a large array of topics that i'll be immersed in over the weekend and I'm desperately hoping that by the end of it something close to the assignment requirement will fall out of my brain.

I do think it's important though, to attend sessions that excite and spark something within your soul and mind because though the surface intent of the weekend may be to pass a subject, you might find that you are able to gain a lot more in your soul, heart, and mind then just credit points.

So, am I daunted by the oncoming festival and feeling nugatory in comparison to some of my favourite authors and speakers? Yes. Am I feeling lost in a sea of subject requirements and anxious that I won't meet the mark?  Yes. But, am I feeling excited and impassioned about the journey and discovering who I will be by Monday? Yes.