This past weekend, I attended (for the first time) Surrey International Writers Conference in
It was without a doubt one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Excellent workshops, wonderful presenters, friendly agents (Rachel Vater from Folio was awesome!), and I finally got to meet some of the CompuServe Books and Writers Forum members.
Vicki Pettersson’s class was just incredible. Some of my notes include:
- The work doesn’t stop
- Writing should be intertwined in the fabric of your life
- Putting words on the page changes you
- Pressures are excuses – they have nothing to do with writing
She really inspired me. My goal post-conference is to write at least 1,000 words a day on SOMETHING. Even if it’s just in my working journal (another good idea from Vicki).
Meeting Jack Whyte was an experience I’ll never forget. What a character. He is an extremely down-to-earth, genuinely nice man that never came across as the world-famous author that he is. And his singing voice? Well, let’s just say that I’ve never heard a song involving "MUD" sound quite as good as Jack’s version.
I also enjoyed chatting with Diana Gabaldon (brilliant and a very, very nice lady), Jay Clarke (of Michael Slade fame), and C.C. Humphrey’s (whose poem from “The Blooding of Jack Absolute” was more lyrical than something about oral sex ought to be).
Some of the women I met this weekend will no doubt be friends for life. I consider myself very lucky to have had the chance to hang out with them. Without them, I would have been lost.
Donna, Beth and I took a wonderful walk to the
(This picture was taken from my phone – which SUCKS at best.)
I also hope that we can get a Writers retreat going (thanks to Beth!) this summer.
I will beg, borrow, or steal to be able to go to
No question.
