Here's a great question every writer will eventually have to ask herself/himself:
What do I do when I arrive home after a marvelous day, only to read my email and find a message reminding me that three hours ago I should have gone online to a specific website where I was supposed to be the featured guest of an online chat, an event advertised the previous Friday and for which twenty people showed up, waiting to ask questions?
Oddly enough, that very situation came up last Sunday when I failed to remember my gig as guest author for an online chat at WritersChatRoom.com. Therefore, I now feel uniquely qualified to answer the above question.
When such a thing happens, you:
1. experience a Twilight Zone moment in which you're thrust into that nightmare of being in school, walking to math class, when you realize you're naked
2. which is closely followed by a mental heart attack
3. that leads to a rigorous psychological flogging
3. followed by repeated vows to never again make any mistake of any kind
4. an impossibility only corrected by the reality that you're a writer, and so ideally suited to writing a heartfelt email to the event coordinator — in this case marvelous Audrey Shaffer — in which you grovel for forgiveness and ask for a second chance
5. which she then grants you (at 7 p.m. EST, 4 p.m. PST on Sun., May 23), thus allowing you to further practice your craft by writing a comedic In the Doghouse (see above photo) guest blog post that will appear on May 18.
The Morals of the Story, (or if you like to use an anagram generator) A Refresh Thy Loom Tots
• Humor goes a long way toward dealing with the foibles of our frenetic, marketing-oriented, be 5-place-at-once writing lives that set us up for occasionally dropping the ball.
• Great writing should never be saved for only literary attempts, but rather practiced all day, every day, meaning in every email, note, written communication we send.
• Good people are good people. If an events coordinator has been reasonable in arranging an event, there's a great chance she'll forgive you for the error and allow you to make amends.
Do you have other advice regarding how to mend a writing event mix-up?
Happy writing!
P.S. At 6:30 p.m. Fri., May 14, I'll be at Ink Spell Books in Half Moon Bay, CA, eating and talking with fellow book lovers. If you can come, call or email Cindi to make a reservation. What could be better than an almost-summer night in a coastal California town?
All right, Tahiti, but that's a bit far for a Friday night.
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