First Conference Adventures

This past weekend, I went to my first-ever writers conference--Write Stuff in Allentown, PA. It was basically amazing and I got to know some pretty awesome people. After a long, headache-inducing flight debacle (which I've detailed on my personal blog here), I had such a wonderful weekend that I'm not even entirely sure I can put it all into words.

But, for you, I'll try.

Friday night consisted of two sessions (neither of which I could attend, because of the flight debacle) and then a reception. I was thrilled I was able to make it to the reception, at least, and after a couple minutes of awkwardly standing around, I got to talking to another girl who was ALSO a first-time conference goer. We ended up sitting at a table with a mix of other writers and had a great time chatting to everyone. (It was during this that I learned that the most common general icebreaker question asked at a writers conference is, "So...what do you write?")

Saturday started early with a breakfast and welcome and then we dived right in. I went to the agent panel, which was very interesting. I then went to a session by James Scott Bell about revisions...in which I took a lot of notes and laughed quite a bit more than I ever thought I'd laugh in a session about revisions.

Then it was time for the session I was really intrigued about--Fictional Characters Anonymous. The 15 of us all gathered in a conference room and it started off interestingly enough, with everyone going around the table and introducing themselves as their character, telling a bit of their character's story. There was such a hilarious mix--from high fantasy characters to middle grade characters fascinated by zombies and everything in between. At first, the moderator had to pick out people to ask questions, but after a handful of minutes, people just started asking each other questions. And some hilarious answers happened. I know I definitely loved getting a little deeper into my character's head...and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

After lunch was the keynote presentation by James Scott Bell about how storytellers will save the world. But before this, the writers group that hosts the conference decided to recognize all the participants who had come from the furthest away. Color me surprised when I find out that I'm one of these participants...and I got a pretty cool little toy airplane out of it!

It was then time for my agent pitch session. It went better than I could have hoped for and I really enjoyed talking to Lauren Ruth. I was pleasantly surprised when she asked me to send her my first three chapters. And it was amazing how the anxious knot in my stomach went away after.

The last session I went to was another James Scott Bell one, this time about suspense. Again, I took away some great tips!

All in all, it was a GREAT experience. I met some absolutely amazing people and had a blast. If I'm able to go back again next year, I definitely will.

T minus 10 Days

A couple of weeks ago, you heard from Michele B about her preparing-to-go-to-conference adventures. I, too, am preparing to attend my first writers conference in a couple of weeks and it feels like it's the only thing I can think about lately.

Quick story: A little over a year ago, I was perusing writing websites for conferences and somehow stumbled upon this one. The GLVWG Write Stuff Conference in Allentown, PA. When I first heard about it, the 2011 conference was about two months from happening. I read through the information and the schedule and I thought it sounded perfect for a first conference--manageable size, not too terribly far away, and several interesting panels. The only problem was...I didn't want to go alone. I tried to talk a couple of my writing friends into going with me, but neither of them had the financial means to do something like that on such short notice. I lamented the missed opportunity--and my lack of courage to take the dive by myself (to be fair, part of the reason was because I thought I had to drive and 7 hours is a long way to go by yourself)--and declared that I'd keep my eye on the conference for 2012.

So, here we are. I registered for the Write Stuff about a week after public registration opened. Booked my hotel room. Booked a flight--I was overjoyed to find out that Allentown has an airport. The flight booking in particular was a stressful situation for me, because I've never flown by myself before, never had to book a flight on my own. I was so sure I was doing something wrong...so sure that I didn't have the right flights or the right price or that I'd somehow manage to screw up Expedia.com's process.

I'm very good at throwing myself into panics for small things, in other words.

Now we're T minus 10 days until I fly to Allentown for the conference. What this means is that now I've started obsessing over the smaller things--like what I'll pack, and if my small suitcase is within the carry-on dimensions, and printing off every possible confirmation that I can think of. Write Stuff starts the evening of March 16 and then goes all day on the 17th. I'm signed up for a couple of awesome things. The first is an agent pitch session, which is the current source of my general anxiety about attending my first conference. The second is a very interesting workshop that they only limited to fifteen people--Fiction Characters Anonymous. This in particular intrigues me, because during the whole workshop, everyone will be acting, speaking, responding, etc. as one of the characters from their novel. It's supposed to help you get more into your character's head. And while my lovely fellow Flurriers pointed out at our last meeting that they see a lot of me in my current protagonist (and vice-versa), in fact there are a lot of parts of her that surprise even me. So I'm excited to see what I learn about her during that workshop.

Anyway, my to-do list for Write Stuff is getting progressively longer. I'm hoping to be able to get everything accomplished in the next 11 days that I need to get accomplished. And I'll tell you ALL about it when I return!

Evolution of a Sedentary Writer

Welcome to the New Year! How many of you have committed the annual faux pas of a resolution?  Hum?  Well, I did. Again.  Although this year I feel I may have gotten it right.  I did not write on my bathroom mirror my goal weight or inches.  I did not post on Facebook an unattainable fitness achievement of a triathlon.

What I DID do was join a very friendly fitness website that is FREE!  My Fitness Pal.com As an aspiring writer I tend to spend a lot of time sitting.  You would think this wouldn't be a big deal since I'm also the mother of  two little boys, 5 and 3, with enough stamina to put the energizer bunny to shame.

My resolution for 2012 is simply this: I want to become fit and active enough to keep up with my children.

I'm thinking this should be simple enough.  I already chase, fetch, climb, & crawl after them as necessary.  I should get faster as they do, right?  Wrong.  The more they can do for themselves the LESS I have to therefore the slower I seem to be getting.  This point was driven home the day my oldest rode his bike without his training wheels.  He got faster, a lot faster, in a matter of seconds.  A curve loomed up ahead on the sidewalk, I saw disaster fast approaching and ran to grab his bike seat.  I wasn't fast enough.

Thankfully, he didn't get hurt or scared but hoped right back on and took off again screaming "Let go Mommy!"  But, the fear was already instilled in my heart.  I hadn't been able to catch him. And as all good paranoid mommies do, I thought about bigger fears.  What if a car stopped and a man jumped out to nab my small child?  I would lose him because I had become to sedentary.  Guilt swamped me.

Now, I realize my thought was a bit far fetched and reason has returned but I still want to be able to keep up with my boys.  So, my husband and I have implemented a few small ways to tone and strengthen our fluffy frames.  My Fitness Pal has wonderful and very easy tools that help you track your weight, measurements, food and exercise.  You can put in as much or as little info as you want.  My favorite function is the Track Food option.  You can enter ANYTHING.  I mean that.  I typed in Knorr Pasta Sides and up popped every flavor they make.  Easy peasy.

Another great site I use is Livestrong.com. I only use the mapping function because it is awesome.  You input your starting location and up pops Google Maps.  You trace your route and the system calculates the distance and calories burned.  Amazing! We go on lots of walks and bike rides and something about tracking my progress keeps me accountable.

And lastly, we bought an Xbox Kinect.  I have long sworn off video games for a myriad of reasons but we fell in love with this system.  The games are entertaining and exhausting.  My boys take naps again for crying out loud!  How could I not love a product that resulted in wearing them out?  Last night we played Just Dance 3.  My husband showed off his stellar lack of rhythm.  My boys, well, the oldest gave me a run for the lead score and the youngest he hopped until he collapsed onto the couch for a nap.  Success all around!

I think I'm going to achieve my goal this year. How about you?

Recovering From A Conference

I just returned from a five day conference in St. Louis, MO. This is the third ACFW conference I have attended, and each year I meet more people, sharpen my writing skills, and have a great get away talking for hours with people who love writing.

Traveling to the conference was a little stressful. On the way to the airport we encountered a little traffic. A truck over-turned, leaving a load of cabbage and some diesel fuel on the highway. Thankfully, I made it to the airport with fifteen minutes to spare....thank you Southwest for allowing me to board!

My classes were all very interesting, and I was able to plot out a sequel to the book I was pitching. I had four meetings with agents and editors, and I was very encouraged by the response to my latest book. The picture included with this post was taken on the last night of the conference.(I'm the one on the right.) There is an awards banquet, the food is always excellent, but the highpoint of it all is hearing who won the awards.

If you haven't attended a conference, I highly recommend them. Which writer's conferences are you considering attending?

Contests and Conferences

It's that time of year again. Writer's conferences are starting to advertise their dates, classes they offer and what publishers and agents will be available. Many of these conferences also offer a writing contest. Question is, are conferences and contests worth it?

In my opinion I think the answer is a definite yes!

When researching a conference a writer should consider the following: Cost of conference, classes offered, contacts you can make...both agents, publishers and fellow writers. Do your research, it will pay off. Big conferences offer great classes, but don't ignore the smaller conferences, they also have a lot of excellent classes and the smaller size increases your chances of speaking directly with industry professionals.

Writing contests are another way to gain exposure for your writing. If you are already published consider what added exposure this will give your book. If you are still-to-be-published, try to enter the contests that have agents and editors as the final judges. It's a great way to get your work in front of professionals.