The writing conference afterglow...

Writing is a very lonely job.  Writers spend hours, alone, locked up in their "caves" talking to their imaginary friends.  Writers live in a world where the only sound that matters is the chatter that goes on inside their head.  The only thing they see is the story that is being played out in their minds.

Ever spend anytime with a writer?  They tend to get this glossed over look, a blank look, like not much is going on inside, except they are in reality creating an entire cast of characters, a new world, a place for the rest of us to escape for a few hours. So how does a writer escape?  A writers conference of course.  Well, it's more than that.  Conferences are great places to network and get interest in your work.  But what happens when it's over?

This past weekend the Rochester writer could have gone to the Southern Tier Authors of Romance Conference featuring Kathryn Shay, a local romance writer.  This conference offered many wonderful workshops, as well as pitch sessions with editors and agents.  For more on Kathryn Shay please visit her website.

It's wonderful that the writers don't have to travel all that far to get a great conference.  However, when attending a conference one must consider not only how far away it is, but who is going to be at the conference.  What publishing houses are represented?  Which editors from those houses are going to be in attendance.  Who are the agents going?  Who is the Keynote?  What other authors will be there?  What will I get out of it?

All of these questions a writer should consider when deciding if flying across the country is worth it.  This past weekend, there was another great conference; The Rocky Mountain Fictions Writer's Colorado Gold Conference.  There were many great authors in attendance such as Joe Finder, James Born, and Eldon Thompson, as well as many wonderful agents and editors.  

As an attendee of this particular conference, I can tell you I flew home with renewed energy to dive right into my work-in-progress.  Eldon Thompson gave a great opening speech, igniting the attendees.  Joe Finder gave a great keynote and the man with great one liners (Boss, you seriously underestimated us) James O. Born gave a great closing speech sending writers off with renewed strength to continue to write... and well, write.... and then submit.  That is the what happens when a writer goes home, they submit their work to those editors and agents in hopes of fulfilling their dreams of becoming published.

This is the afterglow.  Writing is lonely.  It's hard work.  Getting published sometimes feels like a fantasy more than a dream, and barely a possibility.  But after hearing the stories of these great writers, and knowing they have a stack of rejections letters, unfinished manuscripts collecting dust, and that feeling of "oh crap, this is crap", writers go home with this glow.  This strength.  This thought they can achieve greatness if they simply continue to follow their heart.

I can do this!

Go.  Write.  Do it.

My writing tip of the day: Writing a synopsis can cause a great amount of stress for a writer.  If you follow narrative structure (inciting incident, escalating conflict, dark moment, climax, resolution) then you can't miss.  Here is a short video clip of Bob Mayer talking about Synopsis writing.