Post-Conference Redux: LDStorymakers
Wow.
So, I attended my fourth LDStorymakers conference here in Provo, Utah last week.
Whoa.
One reason I love conferences is that you get a mass of great information from the people you love reading. You can pick out the sessions you want and go learn from the people who do it best. Then your brain is fried.
The highlight of this conference for me was meeting with Sharon Pelletier, the first literary agent I've ever even talked to. In so many ways, it was an amazing experience. Not only was she completely approachable and fun to talk to, she was willing to help me refine my query letter and gave me the confidence boost I needed at just the right time. I'm so glad I met with her.
The other reasons I love going to conferences is that you have something in common with every person there: you're a writer. It doesn't matter if you're unpublished like me or a literary superstar like this year's keynote speaker, Shannon Hale. It's not that you're exactly rubbing shoulders—there were about 800 people at the event. But you get to be out and around people that are the same kind of weird as you. People who have imaginary friends and talk to them sometimes. People who get emotional when they torture those imaginary friends, even though they do it over and over and over.
Authors are sadistic. We try to get emotional response out of readers by doing horrible things to characters. In a way, it's funny.
Complete tangent. Sorry.
Anyway, I just wanted to say one thing: find a conference near you. Go to it. Enjoy it. Talk to people and have fun learning all you can about the craft you're pursuing.
One thing I heard at this year's conference was this: "Writing a book isn't hard. Any idiot can write a book. But writing a good book is a challenge." Although I don't exactly agree that anybody can write a book, I do agree with the sentiment. It's a lot harder to write a good book. In order to make writing better, we have to work our ass off by drafting, editing, attending conferences, editing, revising, crying, editing, eating chocolate and/or drinking copious amounts of a preferred beverage. Mine is Pepsi, but I know a lot of people prefer coffee. Or tequila. Whatever works for you.
I don't know where I was going with this. I've got to get to bed.
Thanks for wreading!
Jeff
So, I attended my fourth LDStorymakers conference here in Provo, Utah last week.
Whoa.
One reason I love conferences is that you get a mass of great information from the people you love reading. You can pick out the sessions you want and go learn from the people who do it best. Then your brain is fried.
The highlight of this conference for me was meeting with Sharon Pelletier, the first literary agent I've ever even talked to. In so many ways, it was an amazing experience. Not only was she completely approachable and fun to talk to, she was willing to help me refine my query letter and gave me the confidence boost I needed at just the right time. I'm so glad I met with her.
The other reasons I love going to conferences is that you have something in common with every person there: you're a writer. It doesn't matter if you're unpublished like me or a literary superstar like this year's keynote speaker, Shannon Hale. It's not that you're exactly rubbing shoulders—there were about 800 people at the event. But you get to be out and around people that are the same kind of weird as you. People who have imaginary friends and talk to them sometimes. People who get emotional when they torture those imaginary friends, even though they do it over and over and over.
Authors are sadistic. We try to get emotional response out of readers by doing horrible things to characters. In a way, it's funny.
Complete tangent. Sorry.
Anyway, I just wanted to say one thing: find a conference near you. Go to it. Enjoy it. Talk to people and have fun learning all you can about the craft you're pursuing.
One thing I heard at this year's conference was this: "Writing a book isn't hard. Any idiot can write a book. But writing a good book is a challenge." Although I don't exactly agree that anybody can write a book, I do agree with the sentiment. It's a lot harder to write a good book. In order to make writing better, we have to work our ass off by drafting, editing, attending conferences, editing, revising, crying, editing, eating chocolate and/or drinking copious amounts of a preferred beverage. Mine is Pepsi, but I know a lot of people prefer coffee. Or tequila. Whatever works for you.
I don't know where I was going with this. I've got to get to bed.
Thanks for wreading!
Jeff
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