Going to RWA Nationals each year is amazing in every sense of the word. It enhances my world with a new city, provides the opportunity to meet a lot of talented writers, and takes me out of my comfort zone which is small-town America. I’m not exactly from Mayberry RFD but close. Surrounded by corn fields and the croak of bull frogs, my view of the world is limited.
This year RWA held their national conference in New York City. According to the announcer on David Letterman’s nightly show, it’s the ‘greatest city in the world’. I used to silently scoff at the idea. Now that I’ve had the pleasure to visit there, I wouldn’t exactly say the announcer is right – but he isn’t wrong either. I found NYC rich in chaos and ethnicity. It was scary. Intriguing. A writer’s paradise. The nonstop flow of traffic and crowded sidewalks took some getting used to. After a few days, I felt like I fit in.
The conference itself is one of those gifts I appreciate afterwards. It’s a frenzy of activity that starts with registration, is filled with incredible workshops and speakers, and ends with an awards program that highlights the hard work of many writers. Once the conference draws to a close, my mind begins to organize all the great information. It sorts out the details of the city where it was held, stores the data from the workshops for me to draw on at a later date, and inspires me to write.
Something to share from this years conference -- the speakers at the luncheons and awards ceremony evoked so much emotion. They made us laugh. They made us cry. Their stories of endurance, survival and love were powerful.
Now it's time to get down to the bones of writing!
My eBook, One Small Fib – a contemporary romance laced with humor (being published by The Wild Rose Press) will be available starting September 7, 2011.
www.authorjanromes.com
