By Brent Olson
You shoulda been there.
Seriously. A writer only needs two things. Something to say and the ability to say it. Lock down those two and everything else falls into place.
At the Midwest Regional Workshop on September 21st you had a chance to work on both those essential tools.
I’ve heard Stephen Wilbers speak before, but sitting through one of his seminars is like a sturdy bout of exercise to start the day. Fifteen minutes a day following his exercises will develop your skills and help banish bad habits.
After a morning spent learning how to write, we spent the afternoon finding things to write about. My personal favorite was the Hatch Colle McVoy presentation on virtual reality, 3D printers, and other wonders of modern technology. Agriculture has been around for about 10,000 years. For the first few millennia progress was slow but the pace has picked up. For instance, my father is 92 years old. The first two years he farmed he used horses. The last decade, he drove a tractor with a computer and radar. I find that remarkable, but the pace of change is accelerating. There are good ideas out there and bad ones. The leading edge is sometimes the bleeding edge. As a journalist your readers are relying on you to help sort through the noise and the only way you can do that is through constant, persistent self-education.
I’m telling you, you shoulda been there.