Conversations and Connections 2009: Writing Conference Wrap Up

Serena and I attended the Conversations and Connections: Practical Advice on Getting Published conference on Saturday, April 11, in Washington, D.C. As she's already posted a pretty comprehensive account of our day complete with pictures (I can't believe I let her post a picture of me), I won't bore all of you by repeating the details. I'll just talk about my thoughts and feelings about the day and what I got out of the conference.

I don't like crowds or walking all over the city in cold rain, and I tend to avoid D.C. unless I'm traveling through on my way to work or taking friends and family on a tour. But I braved the rain and the flood of tourists eager to see the cherry blossoms to attend the conference because I'd like to finish my novel before I die. I've been a writer for as long as I can remember, and it seems like I've been working on this book and living with the characters inside my head for as long as I can remember. I've managed to put a little bit of their stories on paper, but they're not content to sit in my head any longer and need to get out. I was thrilled that the conference organizers replaced some of the panel discussions with craft lectures, and I jumped at the chance to get out of my writing rut.

We attended session on point of view, writer's block, and writing sex scenes, and I was glad to learn some things I can actually put to use in my writing. (Last year it seemed as though the whole conference was published writers simply discussing their individual experiences, which didn't help me much considering that I didn't have a finished novel to market. I needed help with the writing so I could have a finished novel.)

Anyway, I've already started writing more in the little time I have after work, family obligations, household stuff, blogging, and reading. (And my husband wonders why I don't sleep much!) I don't want to impose a deadline on myself to complete the book because that would be disastrous, but I needed some motivation and now I know how to get something on the paper even if it's not something I can use in my book.

I opted not to do speed dating with the editors this year because I didn't have any snippets from my novel that I wanted to share (but I made Serena show part of hers just to prove to her that it's a good start...I was right, of course...hee hee), I haven't worked at all on the short story I brought last year, and I don't write poetry anymore. The only thing I would change about the conference is to get rid of the featured speaker slot and add another craft lecture.

All-in-all, I had a wonderful, inspirational, motivational day (complete with tortellini and chicken from Bertucci's because it's mostly about writing but also a lot about the food LOL). Now I just have to work on creating some non-negotiable writing time when the hubby and The Girl know not to bother me. That'll be a challenge, but I know it has to be done if I'm ever going to finish writing this book. Wish me luck!