WisRWA Conference 2012

So this year the WisRWA Conference was in my town of Wausau, WI. First time EVER I didn't need a hotel! Which was nice, until I found out that all the hotel rooms there had HOT TUBS...

Oh well...

Friday night was a bit of an official "sad" because the editors and agents scheduled for the Editor & Agent Panel (Q&A about "The Biz") were stuck in Chicago & Detroit due to bad weather. Unofficially it rocked, because give a bunch of writers who don't see each other but once a year a room full of tables with a bar and dessert and we're happy little chit-chatters. Most of us spent the night "catching up"...into the wee small hours.

The headline speakers were Elizabeth Hoyt and Jade Lee. They ROCKED. Jade Lee did a presentation on Characters - Male vs Female POV with stuffed animals as props ("girlie" teddy bear and a purple gorilla). Lemme tell ya - the LOVE SCENES??? I laughed to hard (ever see a purple gorilla pull off "stud muffin"? me neither...) I got the hiccups. Lord, that woman's a trip.

One of the best events is "WisRWA's Got Talent" on Saturday, when an editor and an agent critique various anonymous first pages. The feedback never fails to be helpful to everyone. Felt bad for my friend Steve - he missed the reading of his b/c he was pitching...and b/c he told me to listen for the words in the TITLE and then they didn't READ the titles, I didn't know it was HIS until WAY after he got back. ARGH!

Fellow Samhain author Mary Hughes won a Reader's Choice Award! We went out to dinner at my favorite restaurant 2510. Where I go for all my "writer triumphs" and birthdays. Waitress asked what we were celebrating, and when I told her about Mary's award we got the chocolate "celebration cake" for free.

It was weird, because for the first time ever I didn't have ANYTHING to do. Since I wasn't a member I wasn't working and because I'd just sold God of Fyre Mountain to Samhain and Marek's New World to Noble, I didn't have anything to pitch. I just got to hang out and attend and visit. Great way to recharge the batteries. Writing can be a solitary profession, and nice to hang out with other people who "get it" is beyond price.

Elizabeth Hoyt gave a closing presentation on "We Don't Need No Muse" which was Elizabethian-speak for "How to glue your butt to that chair and WRITE...when you don't feel like it." When you have a sick kid. When you have overtime at your day job. When your dog wants another walk. When you'd rather be at the beach. Very good for us non-disciplined, easily-distracted types... *cough cough* (I'm being good, Mom, honest - I'm going back to writing Moonwitched as soon as I finish this blog...)

Wish Conference was more than once a year, but maybe we wouldn't appreciate them as much? Would get too commonplace? Can't WAIT for next year - Twitter and Facebook just AREN'T the same.