I’ve been “attending” the SC Writer’s Association’s virtual conference this weekend. The keynote speaker was Patti Callihan Henry, who spoke about “The Soul of Story” and said we are hard-wired for the art of storytelling. We also had a writing workshop with her where we looked at telling a story based on your character’s wants. She asked us to think about the following questions:

• What does your character want?
• Why does your character want it?
• What is the misbelief or unconscious belief that keeps your character from getting it?
• What will your character learn or who will they become?

We also had a sessions on finding humor in tense situations and a panel of literary agents explaining exactly what it is that they do. Patti and her agent, Amanda Bostic, talked about how a manuscript goes from draft to marketplace. The afternoon workshop was on putting emotion into your writing, then we had a query-fest and a prompt party before the open mike night. I read the opening pages of Outlaw Security and it went over pretty well, so I’m happy.

Today, we’re going to start with “The Shy Writer’s Guide to Presenting Yourself” and “A User’s Guide to Novel Structure.” We’ll end the conference with a slush-fest. I didn’t send anything in to that because I already know Outlaw Security starts off strong. I just need to throw in a little tweak I thought up the other day …

It’s been a good conference and a nice weekend. I’ve enjoyed “talking” with my fellow writers and hearing their work.

Next week is another writing conference — Women Writing the West’s Climbing Higher: Endless Vistas, Unlimited Vision.

This looks like a very useful conference — not quite as much to do as Jericho Writers’ Summer Festival of Writing or League of Utah Writers’ Quills Conference, but plenty to choose from. I’ll be hitting the “Query Letter Boot Camp,” “Pitch Perfect,” “Make Your Writing Soar (Advanced Craft Tips),” “Writing Emotion,” “Peak Your Publicity,” “How to Get Book Reviews That Count,” and “Turning Premise Into Plot.” They’ve also got a keynote speech by the editor of True West Magazine, a movie night, and musical entertainment from White Man, Red Road by Wes & Victoria Hamil.

This will be my fourth or fifth virtual conference this year — I confess I’m liking the virtual format greatly. Many of them are free or greatly reduced in price, and the ones that have been “full price” didn’t include meals or hotels or travel so they’re actually half off or more. I’ll just have to remember to put on my cowboy hat for this persona instead of the space helmet I’ve been wearing with the science fiction conferences!

The Colorado Writers’ Collective is hosting a free virtual conference over on YouTube – head on over and look them up!

I’ve enjoyed all of the virtual conferences I’ve attended this summer! Jericho Writers’ Summer Festival of Writing was excellent (and we had Neil Gaiman read his newest children’s book to us). The Utah League of Writers put on a great event with a “bar” and pitch sessions. DragonCon did their usual bang-up job without the 85,000 people jostling for position in line. And the Colorado Writing Collective looks like it’s going to be just as educational as the rest.

If you’ve never attended a writing conference, you should seriously consider finding a good one and joining in on the fun. You’ll get informational sessions on writing and publishing, fun panels with the guest authors, usually a chance to pitch your book to an agent or editor, and plenty of time and opportunity to network with your fellow writers (and those agents and editors, too). They’re usually not free, of course, but I think most of them are well worth the cost of attendance.

Our SC Writers’ Association will be hosting our yearly conference in April 2021 in Columbia. We’ve got Patti Callahan Henry and Jeffrey Blount as guest speakers. There are workshops from submission tips to the heart of the story to the perfect pitch to memoir tips. There are slushfests where you can have agents and editors respond to your query letter and/or writing sample. We’ve even got an open mic night. Hop on over and check it out.

Does your local writing group have a conference? Where’s the best conference you’ve attended?

Here are some tidbits I picked up from the conference in Portland this week.

“If you have good pacing, you can write about paint drying and make it interesting. It’s all in the timing.”

~Irene Goodman, literary agent

“Here’s a cheap trick: if you want to make a point, start a new paragraph.”

~Selden Edwards, author of The Little Book

“It’s not my job to find that literary kernel and nourish it. It’s my job to find something that’s pretty much ready to publish now.”

~Lucia Macro, editor

“You can’t just get a great opening sentence and then relax.”

~Irene Goodman

“If there are three things you want to tell, leave two of them out at first.”

~Selden Edwards

“Everything’s been done – what matters is the twist, the spin you give it.”

~Irene Goodman

Next: Creating a Big Book Campaign on a Not-So-Big Budget, by Kristina McMorris

I’ll be attending the Historical Novel Society’s North American Conference next month in Portland, Oregon. This is a three-day event starting June 22 and I’d be happy to meet any of my followers if you happen to be in Portland that weekend. I’m looking forward to this event – mostly because there’s a class on handling period firearms (and one called “Hooch Through History” with a hands-on workshop).

Here are a few pointers if you’re considering attending a conference.

• Wear business-casual. You’ll be meeting editors, publishers, and agents, so it’s not a good idea to wear that ratty t-shirt or that Elizabethan costume (except during the costume contest, of course)
• Be friendly. You will be meeting all those people, so be approachable and personable.
• Practice your pitch. Folks will be asking you “what do you write?” and you should have a short blurb memorized that will explain exactly what your book is about in one or two sentences.