After the Writer's Conference

Sunday, May 11, 2014
A month ago, I attended the Nebraska Writer's Guild spring conference. I'd been planning to go for months, but the week of the conference was hectic and I almost skipped the three hour drive (and a chance to spend my daughter's birthday with her) to get caught up on work.

Glad I didn't.

For at least ten years - and probably more like 12 - I've read Funds For Writers, and now I had a chance to meet the woman responsible for that website, Hope Clark. So, I awoke at 4 a.m. and drove to Mahoney State Park, near Omaha, for the event.

Throughout the day, editors, writers and screenwriters presented a lot of valuable information, but information is only valuable if you put it to use AFTER you get it. How can I take the tidbits of insider info and put it to use for my writing career?

That's the point, isn't it? 

In this past month, I've read and reread handouts and notes from that day, but I still have not taken any steps to apply the info to my writing. I need to, and I know I need to, but now I'm wondering what's holding me back. Is it a too-busy schedule? Possibly. Is it too many projects in the fire? Maybe. Is it fear of failure? I have a sneaking suspicion, this is the culprit.

So, even though it's Mother's Day, and I should be spending time with family, I've made an appointment for writing time today - just time for me to take a work in progress and apply what I learned. My family will understand because they know writing is important to me.

Advice is welcome and good, but only if you put into practice what you've learned. If we, as writers, are willing to invest in our craft by attending a conference, we need to be willing to take a hard look at our work and how to improve it.

1 comments:

Margo Dill said...

So true, LuAnn. It is so easy to be so motivated after a conference and then get right back to life and do nothing. I hope your session today was productive and that you had a good Mother's Day too!

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