Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Two Writers Burst Through Cyberspace and Meet In-person for the First Time


Thanks to the Muse Online Writers Conference writers from all walks of like have the opportunity to meet without leaving home. Many times the friendships developed have no barrier of distance. And other times a pleasant surprise may drop in your lap of connecting with a writer from your own neck of the woods. This happened to me at the 2009 conference. Even though Barbara Ehrentreu and I had met before through cyberspace, neither of us ever asked the other "where do you live" until in a chat room at the 2009 Muse Online Writers Conference. We were both pleasantly surprised and delighted to learn we lived about 30 minutes from each other. It took us to overcome a few scheduling conflicts, illnesses, the holidays, and Barbara's displacement from an apartment fire next to hers. Don't worry she and her family made it out safely. To read about her very personal account visit her blog http://barbaraehrentreu.blogspot.com/.

Now on to our wonderful in-person meeting at where else a Starbuck's (located in Briarcliff Manor, NY). As we easily hit it off in cyberspace we did so in-person. Hugging each other like long time friends. We chatted about everything under the sun. Our families, our experiences in writing, what we did prior to our writing, etc. Our time together flew by with our easy conversation and our wishes to meet again soon rather than later.

A heartfelt THANK YOU to the creators of the Muse Online Writers Conference, Lea Schizas and Carolyn Howard-Johnson. For without such a wonderful forum we may have never met in-person.

Be bold, when you connect with a fellow writer on-line ask them where they live. Even though you may think you are chatting it up with someone far away, you may be as surprised as we were actually be from the sane area.

I'd love to hear how you have made connections with fellow writers and what you do to keep the friendship going.

Till then...wishing you all a blessed day!

20 comments:

  1. Oh, how wonderful! The internet can be such a great thing sometimes!

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  2. This is great. Thanks for sharing your story.

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  3. Mayra and Kristi:

    Thanks for stopping by and for your lovely comments.

    Best wishes,
    Donna

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  4. It's nice to see two of my own friends connecting. Wish I could have been there, too!

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  5. How exciting. The Internet certainly does make the world smaller. Here's to a great new friendship for you both.

    Bev

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  6. How wonderful! I, too, have met a lot of people in person after I got to know them online and it is like meeting an old friend. Fun! Thanks for sharing.

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  7. Lori and Bev...thanks for your interest and wonderful comments.

    Lori...next time I'll have to check-in with you before I meet a fellow local writer. Looking forward to seeing you next week at SCBWI.

    Bev....hope you are well. Great writeup in L. Diane Wolfe's newsletter. Don't forget to blog about it.

    Warmly,
    Donna

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  8. Hi Donna! Your quick...I was just adding a note to Lori and Bev.

    Thanks for stopping by. Our writing friendships are just terrific!

    Warmly,
    Donna

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  9. It is exciting isn't it. You never know what you might be missing unless you ask. I bet your visit was the first of many. Thanks for letting us in on it.

    Shari
    http://sharilyle-soffe.com

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  10. Donna,
    Regrettably,I have met none of my online friends in person. I value them more than my "real world friends". They are the BEST friends I've ever had.
    Happy New Year,
    J. Aday Kennedy
    The Differently-Abled Children's Author
    www.jadaykennedy.com

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  11. I hope one day to meet all my online friends...especially the "angels"!

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  12. Thank you Donna for a wonderful account of our great experience:) When you meet someone online it is always fun to meet them in person. You have broken the ice and there are few surprises - only happy ones usually. Most people represent themselves accurately. So if you like someone online you will probably like them in person:)

    Donna is right! People need to take a chance and meet:) You know the old fashioned way:) I will be linking all my readers to your wonderful blog about us!

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  13. Very nice. I really enjoyed the Muse, but I didn't get brave enough to ask where people lived. Maybe next year.

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  14. That's so wonderful Donna! Good for you. Now you could meet at Starbucks often.

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  15. I'm soooo jealous!!! I live all the way in Montreal, far from most of my cyber pals but I'm thinking of way in late spring how to connect with everyone. Stay tuned for that! GRIn. You know my brain's always laying eggs...Mother Hen and all.

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  16. Donna, this is a beautiful story. I feel close to many of the authors that I've met on line. It would be great to meet everyone someday.

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  17. Hello Lea, Kathy, Shari, Jessica, Nancy, Sheila and Irene...

    Thanks for taking the time out to read about mine and Barbara's get together. It was a wonderful time.

    Lea...hmmm...you have my interest....PLEASE tell us what you have in mind!!!

    Warmly,
    Donna

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  18. How nice. I've met up with a couple of my online buddies and still have hopes to travel to the midwest to meet more at some point.

    Thanks for sharing. I'm glad you had fun.

    Cheryl

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  19. Donna,
    How wonderful! I am so very happy you made that connection in person with someone you have so much in common with. Thanks for sharing this great story.
    Blessings.
    Nicole

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  20. That's so nice. You two are lucky to have formed a friendship and lucky to live near each other.

    Peggy
    http://www.margaretfieland.com/

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Thank for you taking the time out to visit with me and to learn about my writing career.

Please be sure to leave your blog address so I can reciprocate.

I look forward to visiting you too.