{"id":4228,"date":"2015-10-11T04:00:53","date_gmt":"2015-10-11T11:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/?p=4228"},"modified":"2015-10-09T15:45:51","modified_gmt":"2015-10-09T22:45:51","slug":"a-convention-by-any-other-name","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/writing\/a-convention-by-any-other-name\/","title":{"rendered":"A Convention by Any Other Name …"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"IMG_0608\"<\/a> Top spots for conventions.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Can you guess America\u2019s top convention city? I thought it would be Las Vegas, but according to Qvent<\/a>, for 2015, Chicago is number one, followed by Orlando and then Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

Most attended,<\/em> however, is not the same as favorite<\/em>. Readers of USA Today voted on the \u201cBest Convention City<\/a>,\u201d and you\u2019ll never guess which city they chose. It was Indianapolis, followed by Boston and then Nashville. Las Vegas didn\u2019t even make the list. Chicago was number ten.<\/p>\n

Writers have \u201cconferences.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Writers don\u2019t have conventions. We have conferences. There are hundreds of them in the United States alone.<\/p>\n

\"Write<\/a>This past weekend a popular writers\u2019 conference, Write on the Sound<\/a>,<\/strong> was held in my own back yard.<\/p>\n

So … you may wonder why would I go to a writers\u2019 conference? Well, here are some of the reasons:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Inspiration<\/li>\n
  2. Reinforcement of the basics of good writing<\/li>\n
  3. Keeping up to date, and<\/li>\n
  4. Networking and having a little fun.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    I\u2019m guessing that most convention attendees of any sort would have a similar list.<\/p>\n

    \"in<\/a>

    We like to sit in the front row. (The yellow coat is mine.)<\/p><\/div>\n

    My first session: Body Language<\/strong><\/p>\n

    One of my favorite presenters was Mary Buckham. She started her talk by referring to Albert Mehrabian\u2019s research<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n

    If a character\u2019s nostrils flare, her eyes widen, and her fists clench, no matter what she says, the reader will understand she\u2019s afraid of something.<\/p>\n

    Here are a few examples of the differences between men and women:<\/p>\n

    Men nod when they agree. Women nod to show they\u2019re listening.<\/p>\n

    Women smile more than men.<\/p>\n

    Women touch to show support or connection. Men touch to show control or superiority.<\/p>\n

    Men take up more space to look bigger\u2014knees spread, elbows out, hands on hips.<\/p>\n

    The quickly changing world of publishing and marketing a book<\/strong><\/p>\n

    I attended a couple of practical classes on publishing and marketing.<\/p>\n

    Sylvia Taylor\u2019s presentation<\/strong> focused on building a professional platform. \u201cPlatform\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

    Brian Schwartz<\/strong> has a sure-fire method for becoming an Amazon bestselling author in twelve steps. His presentation was very convincing. I think I\u2019ll look him up when I\u2019m ready to publish my next novel. Of course, by then, the publishing world may look different.<\/p>\n

    Networking and having fun<\/strong><\/p>\n

    It\u2019s always fun to talk to other writers. At one presentation I ran into a neighbor who has just published a book. Congrats Leroy!<\/p>\n

    \"Edmonds,<\/a>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.<\/p>\n

    \"lunch<\/a>

    lunch at Thai Cottage, Edmonds<\/p><\/div>\n

    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.<\/p>\n

    \"my<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Top spots for conventions. Can you guess America\u2019s 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 \u201cBest Convention City,\u201d and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[743,4],"tags":[1017,1019,1018,1021,1015,1020,1011,1014,1013,1016],"class_list":["post-4228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-books","category-writing","tag-albert-mehrabians-research-on-communication","tag-becoming-an-amazon-bestselling-author-in-12-steps","tag-building-a-platform","tag-indianapolis-voted-favorite-convention-city","tag-inspiration-for-writers","tag-networking","tag-top-convention-city-2015","tag-write-on-the-sound-in-edmonds-wa","tag-writers-conferences","tag-writing-about-body-language"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3Kn1e-16c","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":749,"url":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/war\/resistance-fighters-and-collaborators\/","url_meta":{"origin":4228,"position":0},"title":"Resistance Fighters and Collaborators","author":"Nicki Chen","date":"October 18, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Which would you be? If your city or country fell into enemy hands, what would you choose? * Would you lie low, keep a low profile and stay out of trouble? * Would you escape to another city or country? * Would you go along to get along, looking for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "war"","block_context":{"text":"war","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/category\/war\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Painting courtesy of HikingArtist.com","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/5726812891_7699159f36.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":10552,"url":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/vanuatu\/vanuatu-vanuatu\/finding-support-in-a-lonely-endeavor\/","url_meta":{"origin":4228,"position":1},"title":"Finding Support in a Lonely Endeavor","author":"Nicki Chen","date":"March 3, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Writing requires a lot of alone time. A quiet room, a desk or table, pen and paper, laptop or desktop, some books for research. And most of all, the writer\u2019s own ideas. Some writers can handle all that solitude and still keep producing. 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I first noticed that peculiarity on the second day of our three-day \u201cwriters\u2019 retreat\u201d at Wild Duck Lake. It was early morning, and we were sprawled on the plush living room chairs and sectional, wearing our varied sleeping\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "summer"","block_context":{"text":"summer","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/category\/summer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"lake view","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/IMG_1485-e1466705521343.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6536,"url":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/writing\/keep-on-learning\/","url_meta":{"origin":4228,"position":3},"title":"Keep on Learning.","author":"Nicki Chen","date":"October 15, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Monday morning, and Jane, one of my favorite clerks at QFC, was scanning my baby spinach and ground beef and avocado. \u201cHow was your weekend,\u201d she asked. \u201cGood. I went to Write on the Sound.\u201d \u201cOh!\u201d It was an upbeat \u201coh.\u201d Most people in Edmonds have heard of the local\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "books"","block_context":{"text":"books","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/category\/books\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/IMG_2813-e1507671075561.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6795,"url":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/war\/1968-a-very-bad-very-good-year\/","url_meta":{"origin":4228,"position":4},"title":"1968: A Very Bad Very Good Year","author":"Nicki Chen","date":"March 11, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Nineteen sixty-eight is the new hot topic in the United States, not just because 2018 marks the fiftieth anniversary of that year, but because for Americans, 1968 was a very bad year. The Vietnam War was not going well. 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Some formal writers' retreats might have a cluster of cabins\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "books"","block_context":{"text":"books","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/category\/books\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/IMG_1389-e1550344321265.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4228"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4228\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4250,"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4228\/revisions\/4250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}