Christmas in Chicago

Image from dnainfo

Christmas in Chicago is a fun time. The image above is of the current windows in Macy's, which used to be the Marshall Fields, down on the Magnificent Mile. This window has the Cubs celebration because, you know, 108 years since we won the World Series and all. This really should be the first stop, especially if you're going for holiday shopping or just shopping in general. There are a great many stores and just going in for the decor is half of the fun.

Another part of the city to spend some fun time is in the Lincoln Park Zoo. They do an event called ZooLights, where they have free family-fun activities and light up the zoo with Christmas light displays. The dates for ZooLights are December 2-4, 9-23, 26-31, and the 1st of January. It's a very nice and fun thing to go to and just spend time with family. It will be cold, so do bundle up, but you'll have a lot of fun. Don't expect to really see any animals - if you want that, go during the day - but the lights make up for it.

The last big stop to make is at the Christkindlemarket - the Christmas Market - at Daley Plaza. It is another free event, mostly because you will probably spend more than you think you will there, and there's a lot to take in. The idea was taken from one in Germany in 1545 and has a lot of German influences throughout the market. I highly recommend going on an empty or near empty stomach so you can also eat some of the excellent German food that is sold there. Just don't drink any of the wine until you've gotten something to eat. They've still got the boot shaped mugs around and you should pick up some for a nice Christmas present.

There is a ton more going around Chicago during Christmas, like ice skating, but these are the top three that I enjoy. They're things that you can do with family or alone without feeling alone and I hope you enjoy them as well. Until next time, happy holidays. 

How I Spent Last Saturday: 2016 Writing Workshop of Chicago

If you're a writer, then one of the things that you do is find workshops and go to them.  You might be going to network or to find out new things about the craft or even to pitch to an agent or get pages critiqued.  I did two out of the four on Saturday, as I like knowing all I can about what the profession for the rest of my life is going to be, and I came away knowing more than when I went in.  I did come away with more than that, including the fact that I need to get over myself when it comes to my work and getting feedback, but we'll do highlights.

By the by, the Writing Day Workshop has seven more states and one stop in Canada before they're done in November.  I highly recommend finding one near you, especially if you're looking for an agent to pitch to or a critique of your work, as you will learn a lot in one day.  I think that their model of workshop, which is five blocks about a hour in length each, is perfect to give focus on how to get published.  This is less a writing workshop, where you would write and work with fellow writers, and more of a how to workshop.  Both have their merits and I've now been to both, but this is great if you're breaking into a new genre or simply need to learn how to get published.

Let's get into how the day is scheduled.  Like I said, it's five blocks about a hour each.  There's three topics that you can go to and you're not locked into the schedule.  If you find that one talk isn't hitting the right notes for you, you can quietly leave and go to a different one.  Or go to your agent or critique meeting without needing to make a fuss.  Also, there's fiction and nonfiction topics, so it doesn't feel like it's just catering to one sort of writer.

All of the talks I went to - Your Publishing Options Today; 14 Tips for Writing Mysteries, Thrillers, and Crime; Talking Fantasy and Science Fiction; and Author Social Media and Blogging - were my favorites.  It was part of the reason that I picked them in the first place, as they were topics I needed to hear more on, but I learned valuable information.  I learned that one should try traditional publishing before going to self publishing instead of the other way around.  I learned that delayed gratification is a really good idea in a mystery novel, especially with asking a question and then withholding the answer from your reader until the last possible moment.  That, sadly, we're coming to the end of the cycle where vampires are things that readers and agents want to read for about seven years.  I'm sad about that one, considering I have an entire dhampir series that I'm working on but, you know, there's always ebooks and self publishing.

The best thing I learned, thanks to Amy Sue Nation, in the last block of the day on social media and blogging, is if you don't like it, don't do it.  She was talking about blogging and Facebook, but I took it to mean more than that.  If you're not liking writing, then why are you doing it?  I know I have struggles with my writing and realize that it's just not fun to be writing the novel I'm working on at the moment.  Yet it took hearing it from someone else and applying it to life outside of the bubble.

That's the best thing about workshops.  They bring you out of your bubble into the real world.  The real world here being the real world where writers exist and we have to make the best with knowledge at our fingertips.

So, that was my Saturday, dear readers.  I'm more than happy to go into more detail if you want so feel free to comment below or hit me up via email at eszubert@gmail.com.  Have you gone to a workshop and come out the other end feeling better than how you went in?  Ever gone to a workshop and wished you hadn't?  I want to hear about it, so feel free to comment below.

Until next time - happy writing.