Hey everyone. I am here with the first stand-alone post for this month. It’s a very specific type of post so if you aren’t interested in this specific type of writing conference then you might not actually be interested in this post, but I want to kind of discuss my own reflections on the conference for those who do attend. So, without further ado…
LTUE Conference Reflections
For this week’s stand-alone post, I want to discuss my experiences at LTUE (Life the Universe and Everything) a writing conference located in Utah state in the US. I had to travel quite a distance to reach the conference and personally found the discounted price of the hotel for the conference still too expensive for me and I ended up renting a small house for cheaper. But that ended up being better for me because it gave me a place to retreat to when my introverted brain made it too difficult to stick around the conference.
The conference was a bit louder than I expected it to be and I generally have a hard time with sensory overload at loud and crowded events like LTUE was. I get the feeling that if LTUE gets any more crowded in the coming years they will have to use a bigger venue. I say this as well because often panels would get very full very quickly. I had to get to the next panel I wanted as soon as possible because often time it would fill almost instantly, and they would be turning people away at the door because there were no more chairs. But those were the only real negatives I personally felt at the conference was its overcrowded and loud nature.
Overall, it was a very thrilling experience. This was the first writing conference I had been to for all ages of writers. When I was younger, I would go to the teen writing conferences and I feel that, that experience as a teenager did prepare me a bit for these types of conferences. I was prepared to attend long panels, sit and take notes, and also reflect on the things that I was learning properly.
I was also able to join a writing group. In the area that I live, there is a writing group, but we are more of a moral support writing group and less of a writing critique and assistance group. I was able to join one online that was more of both and was even able to meet quite a few of them in person over lunch during one of the conference days. I am very excited to finally be in a strong writing group that I can get writing critiques from.
I also was very happy with the diversity of panels and panel topics at the conference. They had panels for all stages of writers – those who have already been published, those looking to be published, those who needed to do marketing, those who are editing, those who are revising, those who are still writing the story, those who are world building still. It was amazing to be able to see the wide variety of panels offered over the whole three days of the conference.
I think that personally the conference was a little loud and crowded for me. I did not expect it and so for the first day of the conference I struggled a bit and ended up not enjoying the second half of the first day. I got a sensory overload migraine and had to return to my rental house early. However, when I was able to regulate how much time I spent at the conference, how many panels I actually attended, and made sure to take some time in the quiet space (they provided a rather nice quiet space for sitting in silence and sometimes the dark which was nice) I fully enjoyed the conference.
I really want to go next year and hope that it is just as fun and interesting as it was this year. I learned a lot and took a lot of notes. I met other writers and began to expand my personal network of writing related contacts. I was able to come up with some great inspiration and ideas for my current novel. In the end it was just a fantastic experience. I fully encourage other writers to attend.
That’s all for this week’s post. I hope that you were able to take some time and enjoy this reflection of my experience at LTUE. Next week we’ll be having another stand-alone post on another interesting side topic about writing. Don’t forget to like, subscribe, become a blog page member, share, and follow me on social media at the links below. And remember,
Get Up, Get Writing, and Get Published. See you next week!