5 Things I Learned at Nebraska Summer Writers' Camp

Good Morning,

I am back from my week at the Nebraska Summer Writers’ Conference. There were a number of other activities (camps, conferences, workshops) on campus for the week so I was surprised when a nice worker at the dining hall asked “So what do you people do at a writers’ conference?” She was holding a pencil with a big fat eraser and an unfinished crossword in one hand and a scanner for my meal ticket in the other. I took great pleasure in informing her that “some of us write…or we sit in class and do crossword puzzles.”

I thought you might like to know what I was doing when not doing crossword puzzles...

5 Things I Learned at the Nebraska Summer Writers’ Conference

when one person decides to have ice cream everyone has ice cream!

As mentioned, there were many camps and “kid” activities on campus last week. We all shared the same dining hall and had the same lunch/dinner hours. A cheeseburger with a side of pizza topped with onion rings the typical plate, the one staple in EVERYONE’S diet a trip over to the soft serve ice cream machine (I scream YOU scream we all SCREAM for ice cream!)! A few nights my timing was off and I arrived at the smokin’ machine just as let’s say the volleyball camp arrived. If you saw one knee padded pony tailer wandering over there…you must wheel FAST!!!...before the other 50 arrived.

there’s a type of arrogance that even if it’s true it's annoying

Benjamin Percy. There’s a type of arrogance that even if it’s true is annoying. In a room full of writers eager to learn creative non-fiction, it’s a bit off-putting to hear him refer to his personal relationship with an Esquire editor "I call him up and say what's up asshole?"…his attitude toward non-fiction writing as “it’s mercenary" or to hear “nonfiction? that’s my Big Mac at McDonald’s job…"

culture shock...

There are 5 stages of cultural shock felt by people who have to operate in a different and unknown culture such as when a young American beat reporter takes on a long assignment in Mumbai (India). Closer to home, I’m pretty sure a similar phenomenon can occur in a week when the “athlete” sits in a classroom full of other writers…

In the beginning, there were encounters that struck me as strange and at first I experienced a formidable language barrier.

My neighbor turned and implored us all...

“You know when you’re seven you don’t want to go home and tell your parents you were picked last for the kick soccer team…”

Several agreed. I could not get past the “kick” soccer team. Who calls it “kick” soccer? All soccer is kick…By the end of the week though, we had sailed through "Negotiation" and were well on our way to enjoying conversations of the World Cup!



Go Big Red?

With the addition of Nebraska, the Big 10 now has 12 teams while the Big 12 now has 10…in the sports world the language that speaks is money.

and lastly...

you are the only one who can tell your story right now

However you do not need to repeat yourself. Sometimes it’s okay to let others do the heavy lifting (i.e. writing/speaking) for you.

When I am in blog mode, I love having the help of ESPN radio call announcers.

I’d like to conclude today with what I hope are helpful (and fun) tips to my new sporty-writer friends for watching the 2010 World Cup Kick Soccer Event.

In soccer the rules are simple. You cannot touch the ball with your hands.

Here's JP Dellacamera and Tommy Smyth with the call...(no you are not missing video. i just love the flow of the language they share : )

that's a handball... from Amanda Vallo on Vimeo.

Happy Monday,

Amanda