I returned from the PennWriters convention on Sunday and let me mention up front that if you are a writer and do not belong to the PennWriters organization you are doing yourself a grave disservice. I can’t say it any plainer than that. I have been a member for 3 years and I wish I had joined a decade ago when I first started. It would have saved me years of struggling, individual effort!
The annual convention was hosted at the Eden Resort in Lancaster, PA which oddly enough seemed like a long way off on the way there and significantly closer on the turnpike ride home. The resort is a very nice complex and even though we shared the facility with a wedding and a PROM and evidently a gospel meeting judging from the singing going on there was plenty of room for everyone. Ramona Long and I hung out in the lobby as the prom court went by and I know I was never, ever that young.
I'm really very proud of the way our Sisters in Crime/PennWriters group has developed and grown and I know we must be doing something right because every time we sit down we have to add tables and chairs for interested newcomers. That was another great thing about the conference: the chance to talk for hours about nothing but the craft of writing and the easiest way to start a conversation was to ask a stranger: what are you working on?
It's going to take me a week to catch up on my sleep because this weekend was like going to Vegas - I stayed up way too late and couldn't close my eyes because there was always something fun to watch and/or going on. I can't wait for 2011 - and the conference is back in Pittsburgh! Mark your calendars now.
I'm really very proud of the way our Sisters in Crime/PennWriters group has developed and grown and I know we must be doing something right because every time we sit down we have to add tables and chairs for interested newcomers. That was another great thing about the conference: the chance to talk for hours about nothing but the craft of writing and the easiest way to start a conversation was to ask a stranger: what are you working on?
It's going to take me a week to catch up on my sleep because this weekend was like going to Vegas - I stayed up way too late and couldn't close my eyes because there was always something fun to watch and/or going on. I can't wait for 2011 - and the conference is back in Pittsburgh! Mark your calendars now.
