The Surrey International Writers' Conference

I listened to Jack Whyte read poetry and got tips on character development from Anne Perry. I sat back as Michael Slade, Vicki Petterson, and Kelley Armstrong debated how best to scare the life out of a reader, then I stayed up late to hear Jan Burke tell a ghost story. Oh, and there was free coffee all over the place. Am I the luckiest person on Earth? Well, I'm not alone. I just got back from the Surrey International Writers' Conference.

This was my second year attending. Last year I had no idea what to expect, and I had an amazing time. This year I knew exactly what to expect and it was even better. With professional writers willing to share their experience and knowledge, and eight hundred other either aspiring or successful writers standing beside you, how can you go wrong?

Besides all the workshops, there are Blue Pencil appointments where you can sit down with an author, editor, or agent and see what they think of a few pages of your work (I recommend the first few pages - there's nothing better than knowing if your hook could snag their interest before sending it away.) There are also agent/editor interviews, where you have ten minutes to pitch your manuscript and see if they want more. And there are banquets, a trade show, and a book festival where for two hours you can remember that you're a fan as well as a writer and get that autograph. Last year Eric Wilson signed my copy of Disneyland Hostage. I felt nine years old again.

A few of us who attended last year got together for sushi, examining the goals we'd set and considering new ones. We split up and went to whichever workshops interested us most, but kept touching base with each other, and on the last night we were still in the lounge while they tried to vacuum the entryway. I learned a lot of useful, practical things, but what I really wanted to post about first was that comraderie and the sense of support that carries me through the rest of the year. I'm sure I've babbled about how writing is both solitary and absolutely dependent on other people. This conference really highlighted that in my mind.

And there's nothing wrong with fantasizing about what your keynote speech will be, when you find yourself invited to give the closing thoughts on such an event. Just... don't write it quite yet. Write the bestseller first.