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Monday, April 11, 2011

Fear and Anticipation

I signed up for my first Writers Conference and I’m scared to death.
Certainly, the experience will be fantastic. I’ll spend three days immersed in the craft that I’ve chosen to pursue, surrounded by authors, agents, and editors. There will be well-planned courses, a boot camp to review my first chapter, and a chance to talk face to face with the people who work in publishing. I am grateful just to have the chance to attend such an event. Still, I’m afraid.

Until recently, I had been hiding in the shadows of the writing world, silently tapping my keyboard.
When I wasn’t adding to my word count, I was researching everything I could about the craft, silently absorbing all the information available to find. I Googled, I read, I looked up every blog I could find. If someone mentioned writing online in the past several years, chances are, I examined what they posted. Because I was new to the experience, I wanted to know everything. Hidden, I completed two novels. I’ve mentioned before—I didn’t tell anyone, except my wife, kids, and a few friends.

So, here I am, a writer—still unknown, and still dancing in and out of the shadows that have been kind to me for several years. On May 5th, I’ll walk into a brilliant hotel lobby in Salt Lake City and introduce myself to real people who have been doing this for a long time. That’s the moment I fear—the gasping breath before I discover if the air is safe.

If you are there, I look forward to meeting you.

4 comments:

  1. You will LOVE the conference! I just went to my first one in February. Which one are you attending and where?

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  2. Oh have fun! I am headed to my first conference in September. I look forward to hearing about your experience.

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  3. I'm so excited for you!! And maybe just a little jealous - I haven't been to one yet :)

    Have fun! And I just read on another blog that the best way to connect to other writers at these things is to ask, "So what do you write?" Great conversation opener :)

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  4. Wow, it's great to see your comments. Tiffany, I'm attending the LDStorymakers Conference in Salt Lake City. Any advice from what you learned in February? Lizzie, I'll be sure to post an afterthought once I get through the experience. Good luck in September. Jemi, I was lucky. The stars aligned and allowed me chance to go to this one. I'll use your advice to open up.
    I didn't say it in the post, but I sent in the first 3 pages of my novel, which will be read in front of everyone-gasp!-and then critiqued by agents and editors in a live session. I'm actually looking forward to that part!

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