I did not know who Maureen Sherry was until she introduced herself to the group. I think hearing her speak about writing was the best way to get familiar with her as a writer and as a person.
- Even if you do not start out living your dream job that does not mean that you will not end up with that job. Be proactive in trying to get that job and never lose sight of what you want out of life.
- Find your own voice— similar to what Hardy Griffin said in his chapter of the Gotham Writers Workshop: Writing Fiction , "do not follow the style of other writers, try and have an authentic voice". She talked about how younger writers follow other writers who came before them instead of spending time alone to find themselves.
- She, also, said to write without distractions— which is hard for most people. To find a room throw their phone out and just write, write, and write.
- If you are trying to reach an audience that would never read a book of your genre try to use humor. Sherry made it a point to say that humor does help and who does not want people to laugh at their jokes. Her humor was evident in an excerpt she randomly read to the audience. I saw the humor laced with the busy business life and overall trying to call awareness to the reality of the business world for women.
- Everyone has a story to tell and even when that story is told there are other stories waiting to be told.
It was amazing to meet such a wise woman who wants to change the business world for women by shining a light on the story that was never told about what women face in the workplace. We got to talk about how society expects women to deal with catcalling and objectification by men. We, as women, are expected to take in and men do not see a problem with it. Most men, see catcalling as a form of a compliment.
I won a copy of her novel!
Her novel is the story that she wants to tell about women's lives in the business workplace. A fact that I never thought about when we see movies about Wall Street they are mostly men. No one really thought about why and how this was happening until Maureen Sherry.
What inspired me most was the fact that she wrote this although her previous book about her experience working in the business world got denied. She made it a point to say that as writers we do get rejected, but not to let it get you down. Within a thousand no's, it just takes one yes.
It was an overall amazing experience - meeting and hearing her talk about her work, life and experiences as a woman in the business world.
