Get thee to a writers’ conference
I’m a night person. I hate getting up in the morning. In fact, it’s usually early in the morning when I’m finally crawling into bed. However, there is one long weekend a year where you’ll find me up early and eager to go. That’s when I’m at my annual writers’ conference. It doesn’t matter how late I’m up each night, I’m downstairs and having breakfast with the early birds for three days.
This, of course means that after I get home I crash land and sleep for about sixteen hours straight. It’s worth it. If you are a writer and you’ve never attended a conference, you have to go to one at least once. Spending two or three days with other writers is something you shouldn’t pass by. There are all sorts of writers’ conferences out there. Some are genre specific and others, like the one I go to, are for all writers.
Over the years, I’ve made wonderful friends. Found some great contacts. Moreover, I found my agent at a conference, or should I say, she found me?
This year’s conference date is approaching fast and I can’t wait to see all my old friends and meet new ones.
Posted on April 20, 2009, in Writer, Writing and tagged Author, Beads, Bones, books, Books on writing, Bull Terriers, Care giving, Caregiver, Coffee, comedy, Craft of writing, Crafts, Dead, Disability, Dog humor, Doggoned, Dogs, Family, Fiction, Home, Humor, Life, Love, MS, Multiple Sclerosis, Murder, Mysteries, Mystery, Novel writing, Pet humor, Pets, Rescue Dogs, Writer, Writing. Bookmark the permalink. 11 Comments.
Doggonedmysteries 
I’m with you on that – who goes to a mystery writer’s conference to sleep? The last one I went to was overlapped by a Romance Writers conference. They finished the day before us, so a number of really fun gals joined us for our last night and day.
The desk gave up trying to register people knowing that matching people to beds was a useless activity.
The spirit of joy prevailed and the bar transmogrified into a private club allowing it stay open all night.
Fun events followed – such as “Top This” where teams made of up a mystery writer and a romance writer competed for the best in a number of categories, including “The Worst”.
Sleep at a mystery writer’s conference? Forget it!
At the conference my roommate goes to bed early and is usually sound asleep when I creep in at some ungodly hour. 😉
I’m not a morning person either, I do better at night, but dog show weekends are another thing, I can get up early, ready to go with no problem, good thing since Bull Terriers almost always go on at 8 am
Yes! We did dog show weekends for 25+ years, I was up at 5 a.m. or earlier because the BTs have always had that 8 a.m. ring time. I miss showing, but when Gavin decided at his 4th show he did NOT like the whole business of dog shows that ended that. He is content with being a couch potato.
Yet another similarity! I am a night person too! I put it down to too much night duty when I was a midwife followed by having a daughter who was both day and night person for her first two years! (This did not last into her teenage years when she slept whenever she had nothing better to do :))
We night owls are a special breed. 😉
Sounds great! Brings back memories of music college with all that black coffee and the hills and fields in the distance. I wish I could find a three-day writer’s course somewhere in the UK where I’m based. Novel stuff going well at the moment, I’m hoping to set up some concerts to pay for the editing.
Lawrence, here’s two conference links for across the pond. Hope they help you.
http://writing.shawguides.com/index.cfm?action=Search&fSearch=England&fSearchPointer=1
http://www.writersservices.com/mag/04/AWC_report.htm
Thanks for the links. Just looking at them now.
I am a little late here, but do you attend the Pennwriters conference? I see it listed in your Community. If so, maybe we can meet!
Yes, Ramona I am. We’ve probably met already. I look forward to seeing you at this year’s conference.