Conferences

Today is the SCBWI Spring Spirit Conference for people who write for kids. I've gone to dozens of writers' conferences and spoken at quite a few but I never get tired of them.

Writing is a solitary business, but writers are communicators, so when we get together we make friends easily. Both critique groups and conferences allow for that to happen as well as helping us develop our skills and get our work published. Many of my closest friends are people I originally met at gatherings like that.

But writers' conferences aren't the only kind.

Many professions have them for people in the same field. Churches, denominations, and other religious groups have conferences, and so do organizations like Scouts and athletic groups. And there are probably other kinds of conferences I haven't thought of.

Have you ever attended a conference? If you did, what did you like about it? Did it help you?

I'd love to hear about your experiences.