Just got home a bit ago and in reflection, would say that the conference was well worth the money. There was no schmoozing of agents and publishers on my part, though they were mobbed by those who either did or felt that they did have a book ready for the world to see. To me, two agents, two editors–one from Simon & Schuster and one from the Yale Review versus 125 hot to trot writers were worse odds than simply going home and sending out query letters.
Did get some excellent retraining in thinking like a writer, although I do feel that my work is nowhere near the caliber or level of perfection I need it to be. What a couple friends like Sally and Sarah (from Chicago) and Josip Novakovich did offer in their critiques were extremely useful to my writing and revising, as well as the class workshopping and concentration on each element with reinforcement by example. We read Chekov among others, and an in-depth discussion of both the famous writers and the experience of the published writers who were the instructors held considerable weight in understanding.
I made people laugh with my reading (thanks, Sally, for making me get up to the mic!) and enjoyed it tremendously. I’ve come back with ideas for my own stories, a start of a new one, and a real feel for what’s been missing from much of my narratives–tension and conflict. Maybe even some real blood and guts. Prof. Novakovich only had suggestions on the stories and said nothing negative about my work, and in speaking with others he’s consulted on, this is a good sign. Sally hit me hard on my invalid fragments and oh my–my punctuation and that evil semi-colon I continue to abuse.
I have some contacts for top notch speakers for the next Tunxis Writers Festival, and some possibilities for taking otto into a new direction. I have found writers who want to find groups of like-minded folk, and those who would like to submit their work.
I’m exhausted but happy. Anxious to write. (<–invalid fragment, nyah, nyah, Sally!)
The Lost Children: A Charity Anthology