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.
I was looking for this post and I’m glad I found it.
I’m partial to the session on body language. I agree, “a writer had better observe body language and know how to describe it.” This is something I’ll be looking into in depth. Thanks for sharing the link.
You’ve made me think about attending a writer’s conference, for all the reasons you mention, and just to be among crazy people like me, who swoon over words.
Thanks for sharing your experience. Actuaries may have more fun, but it sounds like you had soooo much fun at your conference 🙂
We should carry a pad in our purse so we can make notes about the body language we observe. Most of what we know about body language is subconscious. It’s hard to bring it to the surface so we can describe it.
I love writing conferences! It seems to me that writers have more fun than people attending other trades conferences. Maybe because of the genuine feelings of camaraderie between people who share the love of words and stories. Nicki, I wanted to offer you to participate to a blog event but cannot find an email contact. Can you email me?
Thank you!
We writers do enjoy getting together and talking shop. In the past I have also enjoyed writing classes. You can’t stay on the superficial level long once you start talking about each others’ stories.
I’m going to email you right now. I’m curious to see what the blog event is.
Nicki, the conference sounds like so much fun. And I can understand that people’s facial expressions and body gestures give a lot away – both in writing and in real life. I, for one, have a really hard time concealing my emotions and, even though I say I am ok, my face reveals otherwise.
I attended a convention/trade show/business meeting with my husband in Vegas a few years ago [actually, I tagged along to see the bright lights 😉 ] and then we swung by Canada to visit my folks. It actually rotates between Vegas and Chicago year after year.
It might be interesting to have one character who can’t hide her emotions and another who is skilled at concealing how he or she feels.
I’ve gone to a couple of weekend seminars with one of my daughters. I enjoyed it. The good thing about being a writer is that you can work from anywhere. So while she was at the seminar, I could either wander around or stay in the room and write.
Body language certainly says a lot about ourselves and often we don’t even realising the little ways our bodies react to what’s happening around us. I used to work in academic research and one of the things I had to do was observe how participants physically reacted to watching videos on a TV screen. It was so interesting to observe that none of them sat absolutely still while watching.
So nice to see you have a good time at the writers conference. We do have quite a few of them here in Melbourne and Australia, but they are always booked out very quickly. Also like Lani, I find myself unable to afford to tickets for the entire conference or the sessions that I’m interested in. There is a yearly writer’s festival in Melbourne that runs for a couple of weeks, and that has writing talks and classes all over the city. Much more affordable and accessible.
You’re so lucky to attend a writers conference. I’d love to go to one because I don’t think the one in Bangkok last year counted. I was too poor to pay for anything but one class and I snuck into the Q & A’s / roundtable discussions (they were free, I think).
Would you say it’s worth it?
It’s hard to say whether a conference would be worthwhile for you or not. Some are better than others. Some are too expensive. You can learn things on line, but it’s often more inspiring to meet the presenter in person. Some years I feel like l’m better off staying home and writing.
I’ve never been to a Writer’s Conference . . . but I’ve attended lots of Legal Seminars for CLE credits. They usually include some fun and good food.
Glad you enjoyed Write on the Sound and had a chance to catch up with friends.
Daughter #2 just finished a legal seminar yesterday. I guess the subject matter was unpleasant, but the location in the mountains was beautiful and she caught up with some old friends.
Although I’ve never been to a conference, I’m lucky to have The Loft Literary Center not far away in Minneapolis. It’s a well respected regional resource for writers and offers a wide variety of workshops and classes. I’m glad you have such a great conference nearby too, Nicki. That presentation on body language sounds fascinating!
The biggest writers’ conference in our area is the Pacific Northwest Writers’ Assn. Conference, and it’s huge. I went once and found it overwhelming. It does have the advantage of having agents and editors in attendance, so maybe I’ll go again when my next novel is ready and I’m looking for an agent. Trying to impress an agent with an “elevator pitch” is really daunting though.
Thanks for posting this NIcki. Having friends like you makes Write On The Sound a special fun annual event!
Aww. Thanks, Maureen. It was fun this year, wasn’t it.
Thanks for sharing your conference experience, Nicki. I’d love to attend a writing “convention.” Unfortunately, I don’t see many in the Charlotte area. I guess we don’t rank up there as the place be. 🙂 I do order recording from some of the conferences.
When you’re really in the mood, Jill, I suspect you’ll be able to find one not too far away. It’s amazing how many writers there are around here and around the country. There were about 250 attendees at “Write on the Sound” and many of them from Edmonds, a town with a population of only about 40,000.
Conferences can be so helpful. Sometimes they just remind us of what we know, and sometimes they can open our eyes to a new way of looking at the world.
And sometimes it’s nice to just talk shop!
So true, Autumn. I think at writers’ conferences there’s a lot of reminding going on. All those techniques we already know need to be right there at the front of our minds so we can put them to use. It reminds me of the Pope’s address to Congress. He received his biggest applause when he mentioned the Golden Rule, something the congressmen had all heard before but, like all of us, could stand to hear again.
Body language and tone of voice are so important. They have different meanings in different culture.
What about our every day Western word?
I once told a group of young Arab girls to zip up. Little did I know that ‘zip’ is a rude word. They were in stitches but I knew I had say something I shouldn’t .
Yes. Body language has different meanings depending on one’s culture. The presenter didn’t mention that. My new novel will have an international cast of characters. I hope I can remember the gestures and body language of different groups and what it all means.
I used to go to huge Human Resource conventions. Las Vegas was the most popular and easiest to get around. Chicago was hard. There weren’t hotels in walking distance of the convention hall so traveling was a hassle. I expect Orlando would be great. I did a smaller conference in San Antonio and loved it. Sounds like you got some great nuggets of information out of your conference and that’s what it’s all about.
We visited San Antonio on vacation once. I loved the River Walk. I guess we can thank a women’s group for that.
P.S. I’m from Chicago, lest anyone think I’m being unjustly harsh on Chicago. 🙂
Great points about body language! I need to keep those in mind.
I haven’t been to a conference in awhile. How true that writers have conferences, rather than conventions. Glad you enjoyed this one!
Yes, Chicago has a ton of conventions. I can see why it ranks lower though. Parking can be a hassle. And the expense of certain venues is prohibitive.
One of my daughters works in Indianapolis. It’s a lovely city. I can see why it’s a popular convention site. The downtown is attractive and easy to get around in, either on foot or by car. Plus, there are lots of new hotels in the suburbs, and the surrounding highways are good.
My youngest daughter, the engineer, reports that she can go to conventions, congresses or conferences. Lawyer daughter attends CLEs (Continuing Legal Education) classes and seminars. She’s required to get a certain number of credits every year. No zip lining or tubing down the river for her, but she usually squeezes in a hike or two.