Peak Writers Conference

I spent Saturday in Colorado Springs at the 2nd Annual Peak Writing Conference, hosted by the Springs ACFW chapter, WWW. Next year the conference will be moved from the last Saturday in February to the first Saturday. For info on the conference go here and select "events" from the nav bar.

Above is literary agent Rachelle Gardner, author/editor Erin Healy, and author Colleen Coble.

It was money well spent. The conference was divided into three segments: Rachelle Gardner spoke on grabbing an agent's attention from the very first line, Erin Healy spoke about self editing, and Colleen Coble discussed the joy of revisions. We learned so much, my brain was in overdrive. I got so many great ideas for my current story during the sessions that I had to jot down notes of "add this" and "change that" on the handouts.

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love spending time with other writers. I think associations with colleagues is what kept me in the game until I got my contract. There's a special energy in the air when you're with creative people who are enthusiastic about their craft. I was happy that some of my Words For The Journey writers also attended the conference.

From left to right are Danica, Diane, a lovely writer I did't meet, and Helen.

The organizers said attendance doubled from last years (there were about 50 writers there yesterday), and they expect that trend to continue. One of next year's speakers will be author/editor Karen Ball.

If you're a writer or an aspiring writer, put aside money to attend conferences. They don't have to cost thousands of dollars for you to get great information and advice. This one cost less than $100 and included lunch and snacks.