Hey everyone! I’m so glad we are finally back to another post after out short break for the Thanksgiving weekend. And now November is over and Nanowrimo is complete and we have moved onto the stressful continual march of the Christmas holiday season. I hope that between all the socializing, working, and shopping everyone finds a chance to write a little more. Today we have a cute short post about something that I absolutely loved to do. So without further ado…
Writer Resources and Tools: Writing Conferences
So I like I mentioned in my last post I have only been to writing conferences provided by one group in all the times I have gone. But these writer conferences were some of the best experiences I had as a writer and were one of my biggest growth experiences. So any information that I might have or share about writing conferences might be particular to this specific writing conference group.
I love writing conferences. I am so excited to share my excitement about these with everyone in this short explanation post. I attended the Teen Writers Conference for several years. The Teen Writers Conference was a writing conference for young writers from the age of 13 to 19. I attended from the time I was 14 until the year I turned 20. It was a great experience. At the Teen Writers Conference we had a chance to attend workshops by published authors and learn from their experiences. Before the conference started you received a short agenda. There was opening ceremonies and announcements where everyone was together and then there were several blocks of workshops. During each of these blocks there were 3 optional classes to attend. You chose one and participated in the workshop before going to the next one.
There was always a lunch break, followed by several more blocks of workshops. There was also a writing contest that you entered before the conference started. During the closing ceremony they announced the winners of the writing contest. I loved the writing contest. I never got first place but it was my favorite part because every single piece that was entered into the contest was judged by three separate judges who wrote notes to you on how to improve your writing. They were fantastic! It gave me the chance to know what I needed to improve on, and to incorporate those things into my contest entry for the next year!
All of the author at the conference also had a small table where they were selling copies of their books for slightly discounted prices and were totally willing to sign them. Several local authors that I’ve looked up to, I was able to get their books for a price I could afford and get it signed. And all of the writers there were fantastic and friendly and willing to talk to you about their writing, your writing, or writing in general.
There was also a different keynote speaker every year. This speaker was always a writer who wasn’t part of the general writers who attended every year. A few of the keynote speakers that I really remember their talks was Jennifer Nielson and Jessica Day George. The keynote speakers always have something interesting to say and to add to all of the other things I learned during the conference. And the writers there write for all different genres. As a reader who appreciates all genres this was always a good thing to learn.
I really encourage people to go to writer conferences. They are a really good way to learn and also a really good way to network. Several of the writers and authors that I met at the conferences I am still in contact with and receive help from them sometimes. It’s a great way to also learn that we are not along in writing, which for a people who spend a lot of time by themselves writing, this was a good thing.
That’s all I have to say about writing conferences! Next week I’ve got another post. Next week I’ll be writing a post about character sheets. The kinds and their uses. It should be helpful. I can’t wait to get to share it with all of you next week! And remember,
Get Up, Get Writing, and Get Published. See you next week!
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