Halleluia! SCBWI-EPA held their annual Fall Philly Conference today, and it was fabulous! Just what I needed. Dianne Ochiltree gave a wonderful presentation on developing a picture book with punch, agent Stephen Barabara shared his wit and wisdom on the 7 Habits of Effective Writers, Joyce Moyer Hostetter showed us the STEPS to writing historical fiction, and Laurie Halse Anderson doled out a heaping helping of inspiration.
Boy did I need this day! Hats off to Laurie K.K and Marilyn H. and all the people who made it happen. Every topic hit the spot and fed my soul. I know how hard it is to put such a dynamic package together. And I wonder what other writers would like to see at a conference. Anybody have a topic they would like to explore?
It was great to meet some fellow blueboarders--hey Deena and Natisha and Jennifer! Saw more friends from the Poconos Retreat and met some new ones, too. The panel of editors offered some good clear advice, though I did not submit anything for critique (considering my fragile psyche these last few weeks, that's probably a good thing!).
I'll add more details later, but I'll leave this post with a thankful sigh and a bit of wisdom from Laurie Halse Anderson's DH: When Laurie injured herself this summer and could not run a race she was training, she was bummed and frustrated, as we would all be. Her DH told her, "The point is not to run that race; the point is to run the rest of your life."
AMEN
That's a very cool quote. I actually just finished Twisted two days ago, and I would have loved to hear Laurie Halse Anderson speak. I think I could learn a lot from her.
ReplyDeleteThat quote rocked, along with the rest of the con! I can't believe LHA was going to leave it out! :) It was great to meet you, and good luck with your revision submission! (And yes, I drove home last night w/out falling asleep. :) )
ReplyDeleteSo glad you had such a fun time!
ReplyDeleteSounds like it was a wonderful conference. I've only been to one writing conference -- the SCBWI LI conference last year. I loved it. I missed last year but I'd like to go to the NY SCBWI conference in February if I can. Glad it pumped you up, Mary Ann. I love LHA's books. Bet she's a wonderful speaker too.
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