May Letter From the Editor

Well, folks, we've made it through the Pikes Peak Writers Conference yet again, and it was a smashing success. Fabulous keynotes, knowledgeable faculty, and hardworking staff, plus all the great people who attend and really make the conference.

This was my last conference as the Managing Editor of Writing From the Peak. While I've enjoyed my time here, thanks to the talented folks who write for the blog, it's time I stepped down and passed the bloggie torch to the incoming editor. My work with the Non-Conference Events committee has strained the time I have to volunteer in my other capacities, so I've decided to focus on NCE and give it my full attention. It was a hard decision, and I value the time I've spent here on the blog. I appreciate the phenomenal columnists and guest posters who strive to bring quality posts for our readers. They don't get paid. As with all other positions within Pikes Peak Writers, a non-profit, they donate their time, talents, and writing to the blog for the love of writing. I'm thankful that they stuck around with me during my tenure.

However, I leave you in good hands. Debi Archibald will be taking over in the next month, and I know she'll do an awesome job. Here's a quick peek at her bio:

Debi Archibald is a Colorado Springs native but spent most of her life wandering both the Arizona desert and healthcare administration. She is now blissfully reestablished at the foot of Pikes Peak. She has one very bad novel under her belt (and in a drawer) and a second, hopefully not so bad, underway. In addition to fiction, she ventures into humor and short memoir. A recovering foreign language geek, she is also passionate about hiking, cooking, reading and being a grandmother, the role she is sure she was born for. She shares her home with the world’s most human Siberian Husky, Sasha. You can find out more about Debi at her website: http://pikespeakpen.com/

Welcome to Writing From the Peak, Debi!

March Letter From the Editor

Hello, and welcome to March! Time of rain showers (or, as in the case of Colorado, typically, month o' snow.) Are you hoping for one of those monster blizzards we occasionally get, or ready for spring?

Courtesy of OCAL at clker.com

When we hit the beginning of the year, we jump in with goals, but spring is also a time of new beginnings. It's also a time of spring cleaning. Why not apply that to your writing space? Does your office need a little work? Could you be more organized? Is your email inbox cluttered?

Courtesy OCAL, clker.com

A positive thing to do is to look at how you're organizing your writing, your writing space, your files, and your time. Maybe you need more time, or you need to switch it up to work around some other things. Maybe you haven't been documenting submissions of your work, or you've saved a bunch of copies of one piece of writing, and it would be good to go through and put these in files so you don't have to dig to find the latest version of your WIP, article, short story, poem, etc. Now's a great time to cast an eye over how you're doing things, whether you're keeping up with the goals you set in January (or whenever), and whether anything needs to be changed or updated.

We're actually doing a little rearranging around here. I'm looking for someone who would be interested in taking over as Managing Editor of Writing From the Peak. You need to be organized, able to keep to deadlines, comfortable with editing and giving feedback to columnists and guest posters, and willing to work with various other departments in Pikes Peak Writers to insure your information is accurate and timely. If you might be interested in this position, please contact editor@pikespeakwriters.com. Please note that this is a volunteer position, but it's also a great position to have if you enjoy reading great posts on writing, and if you'd like to be a part of the Pikes Peak Writers team.

Take a moment to share how you're doing with goals, and what you think may need reorganization!

~Shannon Lawrence
Managing Editor, Writing From the Peak
PPW Director of Non-Conference Events