Today I’m attending The Ozarks Writers League writers conference. I love being among my fellow wordsmiths. No one truly understands a writer like other writers. I’ve mentioned before that writing is my passion. I was a lone wolf writer for many years, but I didn’t start to grow as a writer until I found others who shared my passion.
I’ve only belonged to OWL for about a year. This is my second conference with them. They welcomed me warmly and shared their wisdom and insights with me freely. I placed in one of the group’s competitions last year, and several people stopped me after the conference to introduce themselves and welcome me.
This is the type of group in which I thrive. Mutual encouragement without any sugar coating is necessary for me to see my work clearly. I like to think I’m good, but I’m certainly no Tolkien. I have a plethora of room for improvement.
I’m blessed to be a member of two writers groups, The Joplin Writers’ Guild and The Ozarks Writers League. I’ve been a member of JWG for eight years. I’m seriously contemplating joining the Missouri Writers’ Guild, but haven’t done so yet. I will most likely throw my hat into that particular ring soon. I’ve heard wonderful things about their conferences.
Writers conferences help people like me improve our craft, stay abreast of publishing trends, discover new opportunities, and learn what to avoid. We also occasionally have the opportunity to pitch our work to editors, agents, and publishers.
I had a crash course in pitching during my last conference. I wasn’t planning on pitching, so I wasn’t prepared. A publisher approached me and asked to hear to my pitch. I did my best, which wasn’t very good at all. He was kind enough to coach me. Next time, I will be better prepared.
Many of my coworkers belong to professional alliances for the betterment of our communities. I support that mission. My professional alliances are for the enrichment of readers everywhere.
The world would be a very boring place without my fellow writers. While some are accurately reporting the facts, others are spinning tales of make believe for all to enjoy. I do both, but prefer a colorful tale to cold hard facts. I’ve always had a very active imagination. My grandma always encouraged that trait in me. I like to think she saw the writer within me before I could even write my name.
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