Seven People You Meet at Writers Conferences (II)

Welcome back to the continuing saga of Seven People You Meet at Writers Conferences.

Characters

Writers are always looking for characters to populate their novels and the best places to find these creatures are where people congregate. Some good places to do people watching are coffee shops, airports, cafes, and Writers Conferences. For some reason, writers are some of the most interesting characters you'll ever meet, and if you do your people watching at these get togethers, nobody is going to even notice you're observing and recording, because everyone is walking around with notepads and pens and laptops. It's a golden opportunity. To illustrate, here are just two characters from the last conference I attended.

The Woman in the Parrot Hat

Writers go to conferences for a variety of reasons - networking and agent catching are the two principal ones. I believe this lady fell into the second category.She was determined to be noticed, and noticed she was. She was the only person wearing an oversized yellow straw hat adorned with a multi-colored stuffed parrot glomped onto one side and a smattering of gaudy feathers artfully cascading off the rim and tickling her shoulder. To say she was a conversation piece doesn't do this trooper justice.

For four days she wore this hat, accessorized with a pastel rainbow broomstick skirt. She was a credit to her genre. The headache she nurtured must have been of gargantuan proportions and yet she plowed ahead, a Carmen Miranda d'une certain age.

Was she noticed? You betcha. Was she a character? You bet your pinfeathers. I spent some time thinking about her and speculating. There's a character there, for sure.

The Balding Man in the Green Sateen Cape, Tennis Shoes, and Long, Gray Beard

In the interest of gender equity, this gentleman did himself proud. He was a tad scary, and if I were an agent, I might have been a bit reluctant to listen to his pitch. However, he soldiered on, cape and all, like a Green Hornet closing in for the sting. I don't know if he was successful in snagging an agent, but he definitely got their attention.  I believe his genre was fantasy and it was clear he was living the dream.

A character? Most certainly and one that had the potential for going in a variety of directions.

Me

I was the only completely normal person there, with my 1940s cloche hat, rhinestone brooch and earrings, and evening dress. I don't understand the reason for the second looks. Must have been an inner beauty thing. 

Seven People You Meet at Writers Conferences (I)

For any writer, but especially for writers who want to break into the market, a writers conference can be the best investment. There are about a gazillion of these affairs held at various times during the year, so finding one that fits your wallet and your schedule isn't all that difficult.

The Pacific Northwest Writers Association (PNWA) holds their annual conference in Seattle in July and I highly recommend it. I've been attending for about three years now and each time I connect with more fascinating people (writers are a neat bunch of folks) and learn more about the craft of writing. So, what can you find at one of these shindigs? Plenty!

Writers

Writers are nice people, and by and large they're willing to share everything they've learned along the path to publication. It's easy to strike up a conversation while you're standing in line (and there are lines beaucoup), having your morning cuppa, in the elevator, parking garage, the hotel lounge, corridors, and so forth. Every place your set your feet, you will find writers. They're easily identified by the name badge hanging around their necks.

PNWA conveniently lists the genre (category of writing) each person works in, so don't limit yourself to talking with people just in your area. Branch out! You'll learn much more about the craft and the process of getting published if you cast a wide net early on in your career.

Business Cards

Have a bunch of these to hand out to everybody who is breathing. If you don't have any yet, start collecting what other writers share with you and see what kind of information you need to have on these cards.

Here's my card for Headwind and I handed out over 200 of the creatures at the conference.
It's got the cover, my name, the ISBN, and contact info for me, along with the first line of the book trailer. A great source for business cards is Vista Print (www.vistaprint.com). Check them out!

Doing Everything at Once

When I first began writing, I expected the process to be a linear one. I'd get an idea, make some notes, mull them over, write a first draft, do a few edits, and be on my way to fame and fortune. Reality intruded early on in this process and so I'll share the actual journey with you. It's turning out to be much more complex and interesting than I'd thought when I started.

Today's Activities

I returned last night from Seattle and the Pacific Northwest Writers Association Conference - my head full of ideas, possibilities, and potential plots. Today, I'm sitting at the computer, researching and writing on the work in progress (wip), answering mail, and exploring publicity venues for the completed novel, Headwind: The Intrepid Adventures of OSS Agent Katrin Nissen, that's scheduled for release this coming September.

All those neat and tidy ideas have been scrawled on three separate legal pads and the scraps and pieces of my mind have begun to litter my sewing room that doubles as my office when I'm writing. The room is getting messy, and that, I've discovered, is when my ideas take off. I can't write when stuff around me is neat and orderly. A clutterbug by nature, I'm at my best in a landfill.

Going back to work now. More shortly on the Conference and the process of writing.