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Viewpoint

Glenda Ferguson, co- Keynote Speaker Quote: “Every word I’ve ever written came from that
president of Omicron
Chapter in Indiana sweet spot of my reality…between my heart and my brain” (C. Guisewite
State Organization keynote and welcome dinner comments, personal communication, Oct. 20,
(2022–2024), was a 2022). Cathy Guisewite is author and creator of the “Cathy” comic strip.
presenter and member
of the 2023 Indiana Tip #2. Remember to play.
State Convention Schedule something fun. Much of my writing requires meeting deadlines and
Planning Committee.
tgferguson@frontier.com developing stories based on my emotional memories, which can be exhausting on
an everyday basis. One of my most enjoyable sessions was “How to Uncover Your
Own Voice and Get It Down on Paper” by Kathy Kinney (comedian and Mimi
from The Drew Carey Show) and Cindy Ratzlaff (book publisher). They guided
us in improv writing for 7 minutes using a picture prompt. I volunteered to read
aloud my humorous short story, and Kathy and an audience of more than 80 people
laughed!
Bond with others through laughter. On the last night, stand-up comic Wendy
Liebman hosted Stand-up Comedy Night with 18 attendees who had auditioned
several months before. My stomach hurt from laughing for almost 2 hours. The
audience was supportive of everyone who performed. In 2024, I’m going to
audition. I have plenty of humorous material from supervising Grade 4 recess for
20 years.
Standup Comic Quote: “My mother thinks, since I have a smartphone, that
I have the same security clearance as the president” (K. Reynolds, virtual
audition for Erma’s Got Talent, personal communication, May 3, 2022). Kim
Reynolds, from Fort Wayne, Indiana, was winner of Erma’s Got Talent, a
stand-up comedy competition with contestants performing original material
in front of three judges.

Tip #3. Make time to talk to the presenters, organizers, and the
person sitting next to you.

Become an extrovert—if you’re not one already. More than 350 participants
(plus another 300 virtual) from 37 states, Canada, and Spain can be intimidating.
But when Teri Rizvi, founder and director of EBWW, announced that 60% of us
were first-timers, I forced my introvert-self into the middle of the crowd. I dined
with the author from Spain, stood in line with a blogger from Alaska, and rode the
shuttle bus with a standup comic from Georgia. During a session, I was introduced
to 93-year-old author Lori “Dancing Grammie” Mansell and, at lunch, visited with
a 17-year-old daughter and her mother.
Be curious about everyone—because you never know that person’s story.
I watched Bob Eckstein, author and cartoonist, as he drew each keynoter and
illustrated their quotes. He and I talked about our cats and his latest book,
The Complete Book of Cat Names (That Your Cat Won’t Answer to Anyway)
(Countryman Press, 2022). Amber Shaw told me she was writing a book about
how she donated a kidney to a friend who had the same disease as Erma. When I
found out Lindsey Roth, a veterinarian/writer/mother, won first place in the Erma
Bombeck Writing Competition, I asked for her autograph. Mary Oves, one of three
winners of A Hotel Room of One’s Own: Humorist-in-Residence prize that included
two glorious weeks at the Marriott to work on a funny writing project, described to

14 · Volume 89-4