No Burglars Wanted

I usually don't post anything that lets people know I am or won't be at home at a specific date or time because some of the evil people who read it might decide to break into my house while I'm gone. But this is an exception to let you know as you read this I'm at an SCBWI writers' conference.

SCBWI stands for Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.

Writers' conferences are great!

I didn't submit anything to agents or editors and don't expect to sell anything as a direct result of attending this one, although I expect to learn information that will help me become a better writer and sell things in the future.

But the main reason to go to events like this is to interact with other writers. I'll be carpooling with some members of my critique group and expect to see some online friends and people I've met at other conferences.

Writers are communicators, but writing is a solitary business, so when a group of us get together we connect in ways "normal" people wouldn't understand.

And, in case any "normal" people reading this happen to be burglars, my dog is taking care of things at home.

Writers Conferences

In case you wonder why there's no apostrophe in that title it's because the word is both plural and possessive. There are lots of writers at the conferences, which belong to the writers.

I love writers conferences!

Writing is a solitary job, but writers are communicators so when we get together we communicate with each other - a lot.

I've gone to lots of those conferences and spoken at some of them, but I must say my favorite is the one I just attended. It was the Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference in the Santa Cruz Mountains of California. I could go on for pages listing all the great things about it including the beauty of the location, professional information and contacts, new and old friendships, inspiration, and publishing possibilities.

But there's one downside: I'm exhausted!

After the intensive information overload, steep paths between buildings, long days and a long drive home I slept for ten hours last night! But this is a bit personal for a blog post and you don't need to know about that.

However, if you're a writer you do need to know that writers conferences are certainly worth attending.

Public Speaking

Last weekend I spoke at a writer's conference and enjoyed it a lot.

I've heard that many people fear public speaking more than death, but I can't understand why they feel that way. To me, public speaking is fun. It's an opportunity to meet lots of nice people and possibly help them by sharing ideas and information they can use. What's scary about that?

Of course it probably helps that I've been a teacher and even a substitute teacher. You can't find a more difficult audience than some of the classes I subbed in.

Years ago I was appearing in a play (yes, I think that's fun, too) and learned about the Stanislovski Method of acting. Basically that concept is that the audience will see what the actor is thinking through facial expressions, vocal patterns, and body language so players need to think what their characters would think in each situation. While public speakers aren't pretending to be someone else (well, at least the honest ones aren't) it's still true that what we think is what the audience will see.

If someone stands in front of a group wondering if they'll mess up or if the listeners will hate them the audience will know it. But if someone stands before the same group thinking about how they can help and appreciating the audience, that will show in their demeanor. Thinking such things gives speakers confidence, and the audience can sense that. Even if those two speakers share the same information, the second one will be appreciated a lot more.

I'm eager to do more public speaking and hope some of the people who read this will take my advice and enjoy appearing in front of audiences too.

Writers Conferences

I haven't posted for a while because I was out of town and couldn't get internet access. The purpose of the trip was a writers conference. If you want to be a published writer, or are already published and want to move up in the profession, conferences like that are essential. 

There are lots of them, of various kinds. Many specialize in certain genres or types of writing such as the SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) conferences and those for people who write - or want to write - for the Christian market. There are lots of other categories, too. Some conferences are relatively inexpensive and may only last a few hours or a weekend while others cost more and last for days. Some have editors and agents available to consider your work, which may or may not cost an additional fee, and others just help you learn more about the craft and business of writing.

If you're a beginner, I suggest you start with a small, inexpensive conference and learn all you can there before moving up to the bigger ones. If you've been published frequently you may even get to be a conference speaker. I've led workshops at quite a few small conferences. That's a good way to become better known.

If you are planning to attend a writers conference of any sort for the first time I suggest you go to the website of my friend, John Vonhof at www.WritersConferenceGuidelines.com for some helpful information.