A Convention by Any Other Name …
Top spots for conventions.
Can you guess America’s top convention city? I thought it would be Las Vegas, but according to Qvent, for 2015, Chicago is number one, followed by Orlando and then Las Vegas.
Most attended, however, is not the same as favorite. Readers of USA Today voted on the “Best Convention City,” and you’ll never guess which city they chose. It was Indianapolis, followed by Boston and then Nashville. Las Vegas didn’t even make the list. Chicago was number ten.
Writers have “conferences.”
Writers don’t have conventions. We have conferences. There are hundreds of them in the United States alone.
This past weekend a popular writers’ conference, Write on the Sound, was held in my own back yard.
So … you may wonder why would I go to a writers’ conference? Well, here are some of the reasons:
Inspiration
Reinforcement of the basics of good writing
Keeping up to date, and
Networking and having a little fun.
I’m guessing that most convention attendees of any sort would have a similar list.
We like to sit in the front row. (The yellow coat is mine.)
My first session: Body Language
One of my favorite presenters was Mary Buckham. She started her talk by referring to Albert Mehrabian’s research on communication. Mehrabian found that in certain circumstances, the words a person speaks account for only 7% of his communication. The rest is supplied by tone of voice (38%) and body language (55%). In other words, a writer had better observe body language and know how to describe it.
If a character’s nostrils flare, her eyes widen, and her fists clench, no matter what she says, the reader will understand she’s afraid of something.
Here are a few examples of the differences between men and women:
Men nod when they agree. Women nod to show they’re listening.
Women smile more than men.
Women touch to show support or connection. Men touch to show control or superiority.
Men take up more space to look bigger—knees spread, elbows out, hands on hips.
The quickly changing world of publishing and marketing a book
I attended a couple of practical classes on publishing and marketing.
Sylvia Taylor’s presentation focused on building a professional platform. “Platform” is the current buzz word for preparing the ground for a writing career. It has to do with getting your name and work noticed by the public. According to Sylvia, I should have started building a platform before I ever put pen to paper.
Brian Schwartz has a sure-fire method for becoming an Amazon bestselling author in twelve steps. His presentation was very convincing. I think I’ll look him up when I’m ready to publish my next novel. Of course, by then, the publishing world may look different.
Networking and having fun
It’s always fun to talk to other writers. At one presentation I ran into a neighbor who has just published a book. Congrats Leroy!
My friends and I took advantage of the perfect weather to walk down the hill and have lunch–Thai Cottage on Saturday, the Rusty Pelican on Sunday.
lunch at Thai Cottage, Edmonds
Talk about having fun, my daughter (the actuary) attends a five-day convention every year in a different state. She and her fellow actuaries go to seminars for four and a half days and save half a day for fun. Last year she did zip lining in a pine forest in Florida. This year she went tubing down the San Antonio River. It sounds like actuaries (like blonds) have more fun. Hmm.
