The writers police academy was quite the adventure. Lots of hands-on stuff. Lots of great insider information. Lots of really nice people. Not so much sleep. But it was all worth it. The workshops were great, the food was good, the hotel was adequate, the location was perfect, the guest speakers were fabulous. One in particular touched me with his keynote address on Saturday night.
Robert Dugoni is a New York Times Best Selling Author, which in and of itself is quite the accomplishment. What was cool about him, is that for the weekend, he was one of us. A student. A conference attendee. An author who had never before experienced a writer’s conference quite like this one. He and I shot guns together, side-by-side in the firearms workshop. His room at the hotel was right across the hall from mine. He was . . . well . . . normal. Very approachable and willing to talk about writing, the conference, lunch, anything really.
But, unlike the other writers in attendance, he was the keynote speaker after our banquet on Saturday night and man was he good. He didn’t talk about all the trials and tribulations of writing, like some folks do. He was more of a motivational speaker. Very positive and encouraging, without being condescending or all-knowing like some authors tend to be. I was enthralled with his message, delivered in a very down-home, I’m-one-of-you-guys kind of way.
Needless to say, I came home inspired with a few new book ideas and a new attitude about my writing. Basically, the message is not to force your creativity. We are writers because we feel the need to tell the stories filling our heads. Stories should come from the heart in order to touch readers. So, essentially, his advice was to get out of your head and just let the words pour out from your heart. Let the story tell itself, don’t try to mold it or direct it to fit someone’s perceived “correct” way. The best stories are felt so give the reader an experience, not a book.
I like that concept. Sometimes you have to ignore the rules in order to let the story come to life. Write outside the box. Sure, proper grammar and sentence structure need to be in there, but the guts of the story need to come from a place of deep emotion. That vulnerable place that we all usually protect because we don’t want to let people see our weaknesses or fears. And we don’t want to get hurt, in a writer’s case, in the form of rejection. But we need to open up that vulnerable place and see what comes out. Because that will change the entire story.
So, from hereon out, I shall try to write from the vulnerable place. I’ll give my brain a rest and stop over-analyzing everything and just let the story come out. Hey, it’s worth a shot right?
I found this video that sort of sums it all up. It’s not from the WPA, but it’s spot on with its message. Enjoy.
How about you my writer friends, do you get pumped up after conferences? Have you ever listened to someone speak and really felt like they were talking directly to you? How do you keep yourself motivated? And for you readers, do you feel a difference when you’re reading really good books? Like you’re experiencing what was in the author’s heart? Books are so cool that way.
Here’s a few more pictures of me from the first day.
I’ve got more exciting things planned for the year that only my newsletter followers will know about. I promise you’ll only get 6 newsletters for the entire year, so I won’t clutter up your inbox. Here’s the link if you want to sign up and be the first to know things: http://bit.ly/JansenSchmidtNewsletter
Word of the Day: Quiff
Fun fact about me: I knew more about policing than I thought I did.
Original post by Jansen Schmidt, June 2022. Images by P. Rickrode and giphy.com. Video by YouTube (Disney)
Going to a GOOD conference is a game changer. A conference several years ago led me to change my entire approach to teaching kids science and it took awhile but it led to additional conferences and growth and learning for me. I think Muhammad Ali said it best, “if you are the same person you were 30 years ago, you have wasted 30 years.” Keep learning, growing, and moving forward. Also, you’ve gotta figure a way to include the confiscation of the scissors by the TSA into your next book. Stay well. Peace.
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Always keep learning and never give up. Little bits of my life always show up in my books so no doubt the confiscation of manicure scissors will indeed find its way into a book some day.
Thanks for visiting. Enjoy this wonderful day!
Patricia
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Wow, sounds like a great conference! I definitely always leave with extra motivation. Unfortunately, it always wears off – it’s just a matter of when!
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Yeah – it’s hard to keep the adrenaline alive for extended periods of time. That’s why I’m so glad in person conferences are coming back. I think we all need to attend one or two a year to keep the spark alive.
Thanks for stopping by today. Enjoy the rest of your week.
Patricia
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So glad you enjoyed the conference and got so much out of it. I expect you will reveal bits and pieces in many future posts. As for the word of the day, whenever I refer to my quiff, it is in the past tense (see profile photo).
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I’m already working on a book idea to incorporate some of the things I learned at the conference. The thing that was most eye-opening to me was the amount of stuff that I already knew about law enforcement. Obviously they don’t reveal all their tricks, but the proper procedures for arrest and booking and such were already solid for me. I liked finding out that I’ve been on the right track. Now I just need to start working in some of the details that I wasn’t sure about.
Thanks for visiting and sharing your thoughts. I always enjoying hearing from my followers. I need the validation I guess.
Have a lovely rest of the week.
Patricia
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I just love conferences that leave you full of ideas and motivation! I always walk away full of energy and inspiration and have learned that if I don’t write down all my ideas right away, they’ll disappear fast. So glad you got to attend such an amazing conference and meet such fantastic people. 🙂
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Thank you, I’ve been looking forward to it since 2019. It didn’t disappoint.
Have a great rest of the week!
Patricia
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