Moonlight and Magnolias--the highlights.
I'm back from Moonlight and Magnolias, and wow, I had a spectacular time. I'm definitely going back next year.
What made it absolutely amazing? Well, there was the fact I learned a lot, at times, a whole lot. Margie Lawson's workshop on the deep EDITS system was a mind blower. I purchased the class packet several months ago, but I learned even more during the workshop. I also attended classes on setting, back story, and the hero’s journey which were highly valuable. I'm currently trying to apply what I learned in the hero’s journey class to my current WIP.
The value of this conference was more than just what I learned (also more than the bag of signed/free books I totted home, though you know, I’d never look down on that.) What made last weekend memorable was hanging out with so many other writers. At Dragon*con there were 40k people, but only a handful were writers, and me being the social wallflower I am, I didn't talk to too many of them. At M&M, there were probably 300 or so people, but writing tied everyone together. I also didn’t get the chance to hide in a seat and blend into the anonymous crowd like at Dragon, at least, not all the time. There were lots of social events, so I ended up meeting people at meals, sitting at round tables talking before workshops, discussing pitches with other writers, and then there was the dance. I saw writers from my home chapter, met several people in person for the first time from online chapters, and met new people I hope I’ll manage to keep contact with.
I wish I could list everyone I hung out with, but I’m horrid with names so I’m still working on tracking people down. To highlight just a few (but by far not all) I spent a lot of time with the talented Dana Lyons. Dana is a CRW chapter-mate I don’t see too often, so it was great seeing her at several events! I also ran into (read ‘was jumped by’ ^_~) the lovely Marcia Colette from my online elements chapter. It was tons of fun hanging out with Marcia, and I found out we have a lot in common. We belong to sister chapters that are not to far apart, so I foresee a daytrip in my future. Chudney, I met at M&M for the first time and I’m trying to find on facebook or myspace because I don’t think we share any chapters. Another elements member I ran into was Petrina. She was in my group at the pitch workshop, and her pitch was stellar. I except we’ll see her book in print soon. There were so many others, and everyone was friendly and great. I wish I could write a shout out to everyone, but I’m going to cut the list here.
Oh, before I wrap this up, one other big thing. Another highlight from the conference: I pitched (and garnered a request) from one of my dream agents! This was the first one on one pitch I’ve ever had and nervous is a major understatement of what I felt walking in there. I can only hope I didn’t make a total fool of myself, but she was super nice. I’m polishing up my submission now. Wish me luck!
Another weekend is upon us (and will hopefully be a productive time for me) so everyone have a great one!
[ETA: Tori, who I went with, has posted to the Tri Mu blog about M&M, and she actually has a slideshow of pictures!]
What made it absolutely amazing? Well, there was the fact I learned a lot, at times, a whole lot. Margie Lawson's workshop on the deep EDITS system was a mind blower. I purchased the class packet several months ago, but I learned even more during the workshop. I also attended classes on setting, back story, and the hero’s journey which were highly valuable. I'm currently trying to apply what I learned in the hero’s journey class to my current WIP.
The value of this conference was more than just what I learned (also more than the bag of signed/free books I totted home, though you know, I’d never look down on that.) What made last weekend memorable was hanging out with so many other writers. At Dragon*con there were 40k people, but only a handful were writers, and me being the social wallflower I am, I didn't talk to too many of them. At M&M, there were probably 300 or so people, but writing tied everyone together. I also didn’t get the chance to hide in a seat and blend into the anonymous crowd like at Dragon, at least, not all the time. There were lots of social events, so I ended up meeting people at meals, sitting at round tables talking before workshops, discussing pitches with other writers, and then there was the dance. I saw writers from my home chapter, met several people in person for the first time from online chapters, and met new people I hope I’ll manage to keep contact with.
I wish I could list everyone I hung out with, but I’m horrid with names so I’m still working on tracking people down. To highlight just a few (but by far not all) I spent a lot of time with the talented Dana Lyons. Dana is a CRW chapter-mate I don’t see too often, so it was great seeing her at several events! I also ran into (read ‘was jumped by’ ^_~) the lovely Marcia Colette from my online elements chapter. It was tons of fun hanging out with Marcia, and I found out we have a lot in common. We belong to sister chapters that are not to far apart, so I foresee a daytrip in my future. Chudney, I met at M&M for the first time and I’m trying to find on facebook or myspace because I don’t think we share any chapters. Another elements member I ran into was Petrina. She was in my group at the pitch workshop, and her pitch was stellar. I except we’ll see her book in print soon. There were so many others, and everyone was friendly and great. I wish I could write a shout out to everyone, but I’m going to cut the list here.
Oh, before I wrap this up, one other big thing. Another highlight from the conference: I pitched (and garnered a request) from one of my dream agents! This was the first one on one pitch I’ve ever had and nervous is a major understatement of what I felt walking in there. I can only hope I didn’t make a total fool of myself, but she was super nice. I’m polishing up my submission now. Wish me luck!
Another weekend is upon us (and will hopefully be a productive time for me) so everyone have a great one!
[ETA: Tori, who I went with, has posted to the Tri Mu blog about M&M, and she actually has a slideshow of pictures!]
Comments
I just saw your name listed on the NaNo press release of published authors. Yay!!
(If you previously posted about that, I missed it.)
Hey Kelly. I actually didn't know I was in the press release. I just went and looked it up when I read your comment. How cool! Thanks for pointing it out!