Only a seat at Table #7
Posted on Wednesday, October 27th, 2010My first conference ever and it turned out to be incredible. I arrived a few days early and got to visit my Mom for a day and then I ran out to visit with a writerly friend of mine. We sat in and chatted all night and even watched the craft. She gave me a brilliant little rock light (I’ll see about including a picture in my next blog) and then the next day we headed out and went shopping. Now, me and her are probably the only girls in the world who can go out shopping, and come home with the oddest things. I came back with flavoured honeys, a mini cast-iron cauldron (I’ve always wanted some), a gorgeous card and an oracle deck. Wonderful stuff, but definitely not your usual run of the mill shopping.
After I got to the conference the first thing I did was get my info for the weekend and then register for my hotel. While waiting to register, I struck up a conversation with the woman in front of me. She was attending the conference as well. Nervous, I asked her if it was her first year. I should have known better… she was a publisher of children’s books and a presenter. It was all right though. I made up for it by remembering to ask her what she was working on that excited her. Really the weekend only went up from there.
The class on Thursday was next to useless though. It was touted as a revision course, but it was actually just rewriting scenes. Had I not paid extra for it, I would have left the class and taken a different one. On the other hand, I met Samantha Herne, a great writer who also podcasts. She was a really great gal and I loved talking with her. Friday was great. The courses were always good and Patrick Taylors course on “How not to write a successful series” was incredible. Saturday was awesome as well, and I started getting my name out there. The big incredible thing for me on Saturday was my “Blue Pencil” meeting… a chance to meet with CC Humpreys. He took a look at my work, we chatted and he complimented my writing. He said, “No, your work is quite good. You’ve managed to make it all really creepy without actually saying anything creepy. That’s how to do it if you’re going to.” Let me tell you, I was so excited, I was practically bouncing.
At least until Saturday Dinner. I found Samantha Herne at dinner that night and sat down at her table… only to realize that she also had two authors, an editor and an agent sharing the table. The other girls at the table were more like me, in various stages of unpublishment (I think I’ve created a new word). Regardless, they were all awesome, and great to talk to. Table 7 rocks, does it not ladies? I was going to go and see the forensics stuff after dinner, but I was invited up for cocktails by the girls… and when an agent and author ask you if you want to join them for cocktails, the universal answer is “Yes”.
Great evening, absolutely incredible. The keynote speakers for Saturday were amazing (especially since I was sitting with both of them that evening as well)! Sunday was great as well. Ivan Coyote asked about “ways to motivate yourself to write” in her class and I suggested my favourite motivator, Nanowrimo. The last 20 minutes of the class were taken up with talk about Nanowrimo (she takes part) and sharing awesome Nano-related stories.
At the final lunch, it was fun, but sorta sad. We knew the fun was coming to an end soon. Robert Dugoni sent us away on the right note though “Today, we WRITE!” Should I ever get a copy of his speech, I will ask him if I can repost it here. The best speech ever! I wish I’d gotten a copy of it. Also, I even won a prize! A set of four books from Mira publishing and a reusable book bag followed me home in addition to the books I got there (Eeeek! I got Vlad the Impaler signed by CC Humpreys, who wished me luck on my book and the Skystone signed by Jack Whyte). Definitely an incredible weekend. I even got a potted plant from my Mom. Gorgeous Red and Yellow flowers… I only hope I can keep it alive.
The trip was more than worth it and I really hope that I can make it out for next year.
Also, very quickly, I bought Geist today (a picture will go up next time), The High King of Montival, and a copy of Warbreaker. My husband bought me a Nano gift as well… an awesome 15 minute hourglass timer with black sand! I got myself an awesome Moleskin journal as well… Dark blue with map lines on it. Just the thing to get my mind thinking and ready to write!
Tags: Blog, Brandon Sanderson, Geist, Ivan Coyote, Nanowrimo, Novels, Philippa Ballantine, Robert Dugoni, S.M. Stirling, SIWC, SiWC 2010, SiWC2010, SM Stirling, The High King of Montival, Warbreaker, Writing
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