It does – “It takes a lot of courage to share your dreams with someone else.” Erma Bombeck

For the past two days I’ve had the honor of attending (and speaking at) the Erma Bombeck Writer’s Workshop, a bi-annual conference for humor writers in Dayton OH. Attended largely by funny females, this gathering of creative, talented and generous writers proved to be a sisterhood brought together by a wonderful woman who unfortunately is no longer with us. (With us though, among the illustrious and successful authors/writers, was her dear family – the Bombecks each expressing their appreciation for keeping her memory and humor alive.)

There something about being around writers that makes me want to be one. (Yes, I blog but its not the art form that flows from the lips and finger tips of these amazing authors and writers, like …)

Ilene Beckerman got her first book deal when she was almost 60. She shared that as long as you have your health, growing old is a wonderful experience. You don’t care what others think so much and you value what’s important. She talked about the amazing sisterhood of women – something she apologizes to the few men in attendance that they couldn’t experience. She noted that we women go through stages of M’s – menstruation, marriage, becoming a m0m, a mother-in-law, and menopause. That we have each other through these transitions – and again how fortunate we are to be women and writers. And she shared: “We have much in common, just because we are women.”

Connie Schultz is a Pulitzer Prize Winning writer who told funny stories of her mother – who, at 4’11″ thought her bee-hive hair-do made her look taller and who lovingly cared for families in hospice (and was credited with people living longer/better when in her care). She encouraged writers to enjoy the writing experience (“Strong writing always rises to the top”), to find their own way toward their dreams, and that they can never give back enough.

And the wonderful women writers (and a few great guys too) who I met and who were kind enough to befriend the unfunny geek at the conference (and give me kind feedback on my two social media sessions). THANKS for inspiring me, making me laugh and welcoming me into this funny family of writers.

And THANKS to ERMA,the Bombeck Family and the organizers of the Erma Bombeck Writer’s Workshop for making this special event happen (and for inviting me to participate as a speaker – so honored!). Thanks for giving us the opportunity to safely and with laughter and support, to share our dreams with each other. Erma would be proud.

p.s. We LOVE guest blogs by wonderful women writers here at Girlfriendology! Would love to promote/publish some of our new #EBWW girlfriends!

Girlfriend Advice by Erma

By the way, we LOVE guest blogs here at Girlfriendology. Have a great girlfriend story to tell? Want to celebrate your fabulous female friends? SHARE! (And, we also have Girlfriend Gurus – check that out to be featured on Girlfriendology!)

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