Kurt Vonnegut once said that "strange travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God." As we navigate our writing projects, it's normal to hit potholes and find ourselves facing detours and misdirections that can lead us into frustrating creative cul-de-sacs. We tend to think of these changes in directions as mistakes, but what if, instead, we see them as dancing lessons? In this session, we'll discuss some of the ways our writing can go wrong between inspiration and completion, develop strategies for knowing when to change course, and recognize the kinds of mistakes you want to avoid. We'll also look at the mistakes characters make and how they inform who they are and the struggles they face and (sometimes) overcome.
Christina Clancy is the author of The Second Home, Shoulder Season, and The Snowbirds (out Feb. 4, 2025). Her stories and essays have appeared in The Sun Magazine, The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, Lit Hub, The Minnesota Review, Hobart, and elsewhere. She has a PhD in English from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She lives in Madison.
