Priceless experience of attending a writer's conference.

Today was an amazing day! I, along with my very dear friend Kali Rogers, attended a local writer's conference. Just a short trek into the mountains of North Georgia brought us to the beautiful town of Dahlonega. As this was the first writer's conference I had ever attended in any capacity, I wasn't sure what to expect. To be perfectly honest, I was more than a bit nervous.

Silly, right?

Still, it's the truth. I'm not typically a timid person, however, unfamiliar situations unsettle me regardless of my extroverted personality. But I must say, sitting in on the panels and listening to other authors discuss their processes on myriad aspects of writing brought a sense of belonging made me feel connected to something much bigger than myself. I've not been at this whole writing thing all that long, so making that connection to others, discovering that these authors struggle and move through many of the same things I find myself stumbling over was priceless.

I've heard it said many times that writing is a solitary act. I tend to agree with that sentiment. As authors, we (at least I know this to be true for myself) become involved with our characters, they become like family after all, we're immersed within whatever fantastical world it is we're building at the time and we bury our heads in the sand. Sometime days, weeks, months later, we emerge with, hopefully, at the least a completed  first draft. Attending the literary festival/writer's conference today reminded me that this isn't such a solitary act after all.

There are a few more of these small town festivals on the schedule for myself and Kali this summer. Next year, I plan to not only attend these conferences but to have a table or booth there as an author.

Can't wait!

In case you're interested here's a link to the conference I visited today:

http://dahlonegaliteraryfestival.wordpress.com/

Until next time ...

Savannah