Have you ever attended a retreat? How about a revival meeting?Attending the Northern Ohio SCBWI Conference is like going to a retreat and a revival at the same time! It’s both intensely introspective and wildly inspirational.
If I may plug SCBWI for a moment…Through this organization, I found two amazing critique groups, learned how much more I need to learn about my craft, and added new tools to my writing box that helped me to publication.
This past weekend’s conference did not disappoint. As much as I attend the conference to learn, and I do, I also meet fellow writers who love writing for kids as much as I do. We are an unusual group of professionals who actually celebrate one another’s successes and encourage each other, from honest critiquing, to praying that a phone call from an editor goes positively for a fellow writer. People blow me away with their genuine care for my growth as a writer. I think this may be unique to kidlit writers, but heck, I’ll take it!
I left the weekend pumped to jump back into my projects to massage them, to strip them clean, to delete them if necessary and to make every manuscript I have, ”bookworthy”. (Thanks for that phrase, M. Lamba)
Vegas is not the only place that corners the market on secrecy. What happens at the SCBWI Conference stays at the SCBWI Conference. So, I can’t really share all the fabulous stuff I learned. Suffice it to say, it was pretty awesome. But, rather than leave you hanging, I’m excited to offer a cool link that children’s author, Shutta Crum, shared with us and I have her permission to share it with you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvFfYkDaEiQ
Enjoy!
Now, go write some great stuff.
