GWG Gratitude

This mansion was converted to be the home of the Geneva Press club and is one in a series of buildings that has been used over the years for Geneva Writer Group workshops led by Susan Tiberghien (and sometime others).

It was a lifeline when I discovered the group in 1993. I was one of the original 18 members. With a day job in an NGO finding other people who thought it made perfect sense to spend hours slaving over a computer producing words that might never be read much less paid for was to me, a miracle.

The group is now 250+ strong and includes a biannual international writers conference.

I have been extraordinarily lucky in my writing career www.donnalanenelson.com having had most (but not all) of my novels published. The success was not mine alone, but aided by the GWG.

GWG and Susan have been responsible for helping me hone my craft. The monthly workshops, the critiquing sessions, the conferences and the emotional support were part of it. I learned about markets and magazines for writers. From a British writing magazine (which I later wrote for) I learned about Glamorgan University in Wales where I earned an M.A. in creative writing further improving my craft.

In the room where we hold the workshops are two opposing mirrors, each reflecting into eternity the other. I've always thought of those mirrors are a metaphor for writing, the possibilities go on forever.

It doesn't matter how much one publishes. There is always room to do it better. Yesterday the workshop was on dreams. Once again Susan made me reach into myself and discover something I didn't know was there. 

Thank you Susan.