The 1 Thing Authors Should Be Doing to Improve Their Writing

So many authors read blog post after blog post or book after book about writing, but too few authors put the time and money necessary into conferences.

I attended my first conference back in 2013, and even then, I had to be prodded into it by some writing friends. I didn’t see the point in spending money to learn about writing when I’d already paid to get a Masters degree in Creative Writing.

Boy, was I wrong! The conference I went to was called the Midwest Writers Workshop in Muncie, Indiana. To be honest, I went because I wanted a literary agent, and the conference offered me multiple opportunities to interact with and pitch agents. (Spoiler alert: what I learned at the conference and the feedback I got eventually helped me land my agent.) But the conference did so much more for me than just help me connect with agents.

The conference:

• Offered great advice on perfecting my query letter.
• Helped me learn new skills for revising, plotting, world building, character building, and other craft lessons.
• Inspired me to get on Twitter where I connected with countless writers and publishing professionals.
• Connected me with multiple critique partners.
• Allowed me to talk with editors about what they were looking for.
• Helped me establish relationships with big name authors.
• Offered free help setting up my blog.

When you look at all the things you can gain by going to a conference, it’s worth the cost because you can’t get some of those things just from reading books about writing.

In that vein, I recognize conferences can be expensive once you add in travel and lodging. So if you can’t swing attending one in person, look for online ones. For example, WriteOnCon is a good one that’s very inexpensive. Another one you should check out that’s coming up soon is offered by the same Midwest Writers Workshop that I went to. It’s called Build a Better Plot with Shirley Jump.

Find out more about it here:

http://www.midwestwriters.org/2017/03/build-better-plot-shirley-jump-mww-ongoing-starts-march-27/

There could also be conferences offered in your state or through your local writing center.

The other conferences I’ll be attending this year as either a participant or panelist/speaker are:

Seven Sentences (presented by Maggie Stiefvater)

Nashville, Tennessee

April 2^nd, 2017

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/seven-sentences-nashville-tickets-32341738009

(Note: Other dates and locations available)

 

Midwest Writers Workshop

Muncie, Indiana

July 20-22, 2017

http://www.midwestwriters.org/

 

Ch1Con

Chicago, Illinois

August 5^th, 2017

https://chapteroneconference.com/

 

Will you be at any of these conferences or have a conference you want others to know about? Let me know in the comments.