Sunday, August 1, 2010

Should you attend a writing conference?

Um... the short answer is yes. The long answer, well that's yes as well. I spent three days at the Midwest Writers Workshop held at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. To say that I have been exposed to the craft is an understatement. I have been overwhelmed not only with information on writing and publishing, but I have been blown away by the people I have met! For a musician, one of the coolest things is to sit around with other musicians and riff... did I get that right? Well, for a writer, there is nothing better than to sit around with out writers and talk about books. Do you have a story, but not sure where you want your plot to go? Sit down with a couple writers and before you know it, you will have a ton of idea from speculative fiction to a steamy romance to an action filled thriller! You'd be surprised the kind of story people can come up with a duck, and court case and a muck farm... trust me!

Plus, there is the extra bonus of getting to hear from agents and publishers first hand. You get to know what they like and if you are lucky, you might even get a request for a partial manuscript if your book is done. If you love to write and think you might want to be writer, save up the money, take a couple days off and go.

Did I forget to mention you can actually hang out with best selling authors. Seriously, I got to hang out with Marcus Sakey and John Gilstrap this weekend and shoot the breeze. (What? You haven't heard of them? Well, head to the bookstore and pick up one of their books.)

Finally, more than anything, it's a chance to go outside of your comfort zone and improve your storytelling ability! Trust me, you won't regret it!

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