Get to the Con: It Might Charge You

The title is a bit misleading. I'm not going to teach you how to con people. There are plenty of movies and books out there if you wanted to learn this. Instead, I'm encouraging you to go to a writer's con (conference). I recently returned from one and it’s a writer’s life altering experience.

Going to a writer's conference was at the top of my list wish for the last ten years. Something always seemed to come up; I didn't have the money, the time or distracted with falling in love. In July 2015 I decided I was going to go to one. I picked a conference, paid to register and booked my hotel room.

I picked the Golden Crown Literary Society (GCLS) in Washington DC. I learned about the GCLS through a fellow author's blog. GCLS is a 501(c)3 non-profit, volunteer organization whose mission is education and the promotion and recognition of lesbian literature.

I wasn't sure what to expect. All I knew was there'd be other LBGT writer's, it ran from a Wednesday to Saturday night and consisted of workshops, panels and author readings. I arrived to the hotel where the conference was being held and witnessed other conference goers greeting each other with hugs, screeches and laughter.

I thought, "Okay, I'm going to be an outsider here, keep to myself, learn and hop back on the plane."

That was further from the truth. The Board and conference goers were very welcoming. (I mean stumbling over each other to ask you to eat lunch with them, inquiring daily how things were going, etc) The workshops and panels were full of useful information and quaint and family atmosphere, despite the 350 participants.

The second day of the conference I woke excited to face the day. I can't remember the last time I woke up that energized for a day that wasn’t a weekend or vacation day. That's when I knew that I was doing something consequential for myself.

It wasn't only the teachings and witty banter of the presenters. It was amazing being in an LGBT friendly environment and being surrounded by fellow writers and authors.These two factors together made the whole experience surreal.

The people there were living in a world similar to me, a writers world. I found myself nodding along and smiling at them talk about where they write, how they find inspiration in the smallest detail and how they deal with family members, friends and spouses who don't seem to understand their writing process.

List of Some Things I Gained from the Conference:
1. Sense of Belonging.
2. Validation.
3. Meeting two author/ idols of mine- Rita Mae Brown and Katherine V. Forrest.
4. Networking.
5. Learning writing, marketing, editing, and research skills.
6. Ideas for new books.
7. Energy and motivation to write more.
8. Courage to write what I don't know. (Using research to expand my writing.)
9. The knowledge that writing lesbian literature is important LGBT youth and adults.
10. Stronger appreciation for my fiancée's support in my writing journey.

Being at the conference to me was like Harry Potter going to Hogwarts... okay not as dramatic as that but pretty darn close.
Look for more posts from me about conferences. Have you thought about going to a conference? What's your favorite writer's conference? What did  you get out of it?