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Thursday, April 26, 2012

W: Writer's Conferences


Next month is an awesome writer’s conference. I’ve been going to this particular conference since I was nineteen. Almost every good thing I’ve ever learned in writing connects back to this conference and the people I’ve met there. It changed my writing life.
Ironically, I almost didn’t go that first year. I saw the website for the conference and thought it sounded awesome, but I was scared. I didn’t know enough about writing. I was too young. I was a science major and science majors attending a writer’s conference would be like an author attending a conference on genetics.
Wrong wrong wrong!
Writer’s conferences are awesome and very helpful.
First, they help you on whatever level you are at. If you are completely new, they have classes to help you grow. If you have been writing for years and are in the queries and pitches phase of your novel’s life, they have classes to help you grow.
Second, you can establish connections. It is awesome to just talk to other people who know about rebellious characters and ideas that happen at two am. The people you meet at writer’s conferences adore the written word as much as you do. Plus, having connections and friends, whether they are fellow writers or agents, is important in this business. All of my current critiquers are people I’ve met through conferences.
Writer’s conferences are great experiences. If you have the chance to attend one, don’t hesitate.
Happy writing.

8 comments:

  1. Have fun at the conference and let us know how it turns out! Julie

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  2. Some conferences are excellent. We have one here (CT) that truly is about the woman who puts it on, not about writers. It takes awhile to sort through to figure out which ones are worth the money!

    http://bethlapinsatozblog.wordpress.com/

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  3. Oh, have a fabulous time! I've never been to one--I wish I lived somewhere with more opportunities, but between finances and family obligations, I probably still couldn't manage. I love the idea, though!

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  4. I've loved all the writers conferences I've been to. I still haven't been brave enough to attend one of the big SCBWI ones in LA or NY, but the smaller ones I have been to have been so helpful.

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  5. I am desperate to get to a writer's conference!
    Hope it's the best one ever!

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  6. I went to a writer's conference very early in my career and something one of the panelists said always stuck with me: "If you write a page a day, by the end of the year you'll have a book."
    I wish I could remember who the writer was, because I'd like to send her an email and thank her. That philosophy has seen me through more than a dozen books.

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