Last time I
wrote about my delight at attending two writing conferences in October: the
James River Writers conference in Richmond, VA, and the MidAtlantic Society of
Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators conference, at the Dulles Holiday Inn,
in northern VA.
Did I mention
there was homework?
The antecedent
to this idea was actually visited upon me at the MidAtlantic SCBWI novel
revision retreat held in Richmond, VA, last June. One of the editors at the
retreat invited us all to submit queries BUT we were instructed to wait a
specified number of weeks after the retreat before submitting. Why? To make use
of the information/advice we’d received over the three days in order to
improve/revise/complete our novels before
submitting.
In other words,
make the three days count. It was a revision
retreat, after all. And the teaching staff gave us extensive advice on how to
do just that.
This rubric, I
realized, applies to any conference I attend. There is bound to be lots of advice
given out at any conference, no matter how many revisions you have already done
on any given piece, on how to improve your writing. You can imagine the list of
advice/improvements/ideas for rewriting I had coming off two conferences in one
month!
But I did not
shrink from the challenge. I have spent the last month rewriting/revising and
otherwise improving, checking and polishing the submission I thought I was
ready to send off promptly, when the conferences closed. Good thing, too.
My submission is
so much better than I thought it could be!
So, how do you continue to profit from writing
conferences you attend, long after they are over? Be sure to include new ideas
for revision and polishing your work in what you take-away.
It’s the gift
that keeps on giving!
