I had the rare opportunity to attend an author presentation this week. Our local Deschutes Public Library System hosts renowned authors each winter. A pair of $25 tickets literally fell into my lap the day before Richard Russo spoke.
Opportunity Knocks
A friend of a friend couldn’t use their tickets so in a roundabout way they were passed on to me. I snapped them up and invited my writerly friend and critique partner to share in my good fortune. Richard Russo is a Pulitzer Prize winning author. So it’s a big deal.
An evening with Mr. Russo
We settled in for an entertaining presentation. Mr. Russo began with a standard speech but soon veered off as only a master storyteller can. He related an insightful account of his childhood followed by a hilarious tale of driving across the country in a beater of a car with his mother. That journey was the beginning of his path to becoming a writer.
Just as I jumped at a pair of free tickets, Mr. Russo accepted every opportunity that came his way. He left New York state for college and adventure in the American Southwest. His goal was to escape the small town of his childhood, but in the end, he returned to it in his writing. He transformed that opportunity into a life’s work.
Beginnings and Endings
During the question and answer portion of the evening, he talked about how beginnings and endings in writing complement each other. The beginning is your promise to the reader, and the end has to deliver in order to be satisfying. On that note, I will leave you with this thought: Grab every opportunity that comes your way, it will enrich your writing and make you an interesting personality. Open yourself to possibilities whether they involve free tickets or crazy road trips with your mother. You won’t be sorry.
