Thursday started with Plot Chat. Annette Lyon gave me some great pointers and insight. I can’t wait to start revising! Next up came the First Pages Clinic. I was a little bummed because it seemed like I had been put in the wrong group. There were some really off-the-wall comments, BUT I did receive some feedback I can implement and use to make my work better. I guess I should put on my alligator skin jacket for these because this isn’t the first time I’ve come away feeling like the proverbial whipping boy. Ironically, I took the same book to these… Go figure!
Friday was nothing less than amazing! I met with Sara Crowe for a manuscript consult. She made very few changes to the 10 pages she read from Wish Upon A Warrior. I was so excited! She suggested I flesh it out a bit to add about 15k words, making it a full-length novel instead of a novella. My favorite classes were by Marc Cameron and Mike Perry. And then the keynote speaker! Oh the keynote!
Ally Condie knocked it out of the ballpark! It was such a good speech.
My most awesome roomies took me out for desserts at a French bakery. Oh, such wonderful goodness! Wowie!
Saturday came early, much too early. It took quite a bit to pull myself out of bed & to get dressed. I braided my hair and went to classes. My all time favorite class was Ally Condie’s intensive. She got us writing - actually writing in class. It was wonderful. I wished I’d have brought my laptop. It was so fun!
Then Jennifer Nielsen’s keynote address during lunch was spectacular! Oh. My. Gosh! WOWIE!!! It was hard to top.
Eschler Editing managed to squeeze me in for an editing spot. They were so sweet! I got so much good feedback! I have so much to fix. Again… Sara Crowe and Eschler Editing looked at the same piece.
And then… the Whitney Awards! My good friend, Jenni James, and her daughters came to help me get ready. They did my hair and makeup.
It was magical - such a transformation! I literally felt like a princess once I stepped into my dress. I got so many compliments. It was great!
I have so many things rushing through my head as I returned to my normal life. I have so many new story ideas, so many thoughts on how to improve my writing, so many THINGS!
It’s been said the main reason we go to conference isn’t the classes (although they help), it’s the PEOPLE! The networking! The feeling of family! The wonderfulness of it all! It’s like entering a magical universe that not everyone “gets.” This writer family that I’ve chosen is so much fun. We’re all living this solitary lifestyle and then, once a year, we’re thrown together in this big building to learn, laugh, chat, and hone our craft. I’m so glad I have these writer friends of mine. They are so supportive, so wonderful, so unique. I’m honored that I can mingle with them, if only for brief snippets of time. These fellow Storymakers, they are my friends!
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