Spent the past weekend at another conference. It was...well, I learned a lot about myself and my work.
The sessions were good, but I didn't feel like I got a lot of new information. The critiques were moderate to positive, and the conference was on the beach.
Things I learned about myself:
1. I am still not over my car accident completely (the four hour drive paralyzed me with fear, and I ended up asking my husband to take me.)
2. In my husband's words, I am a raccoon (YA author), and this was not a conference for raccoons...there were raccoons there, but we were the minority.
3. I don't take criticism well, but I do know when to start listening...say, when two industry professionals echo each other.
Things I learned about my writing:
1. I sort of suck at historical fiction.
2. I have a good turn of phrase, some of the time.
3. When I rush, I don't produce good work (really, Jen? What took you so long to figure that one out?)
4. It will never be ready. But I can put the best of my abilities into the pages, and then it will be ready enough.
All in all, I'm glad I went. Will I return next year? I'm not sure...but it was a good experience, even if it wasn't what I thought I wanted.
You can't always get what you want...
...but I think I got what I needed.
Your post puts me in mind of a song.... ;)
ReplyDeleteSorry I did not see you more during the conference! I loved the poem in the Petigru Review!
I won't say I "learned" that my book isn't ready because I knew that, already. What I learned though is that good things can still happen when you put yourself and your writing out there. Nothing further may come from my contacts at the conference but I learned quite a bit about myself, as well.
(I also met another YA writer who is working on urban fantasy...I'll email you...)