One of the best little conventions in Texas, ConDFW 2015 was a success as usual. I got to the con late on Friday and so I missed what looked like really great programming, but made up for lost time on Saturday.
This year I was tapped to do the guest of honor interview and had the good fortune to chat with Rachel Manija Brown, who co-authors YA (Stranger, Hostage) with Sherwood Smith and writes a werewolf-marines series (Laura’s Wolf, Echo’s Wolf) as Lia Silver. Brown is a PTSD counselor at a Los Angeles clinic, and she also makes a decent living as a writer. As someone who firmly believes that while the goals of most authors (including myself) is to support oneself through writing, it’s equally important to have a career that includes the opportunity to do cool stuff. Let’s face it, writing is boring. Brown talked about her day job with even more passion than about her writing.
The No Excuses! writing panel with Aaron de Orive, Kate Sanger, and Sue Sinor was very well attended. We discussed writers block and how to unblock, and there were many helpful suggestions from the audience too, such as journaling. As a long-time writer I have suffered from writers block and I’m sure I will again. We’re all in this together, and if you have something that works, then share it. I enjoyed the conversation.
My reading from the current WiP was well received. It’s so important to hear your words out loud, seriously. What you hear in your head is a far cry from what your readers are hearing in their heads, and frankly, the only way to even get close to how your work is received is to read it out loud. I’m definitely excited about the new project.
I confess that I stayed up way too late with friends on Saturday night, but as Tex Thompson said, a con is the only place where you can meet your writer-friend obligations, right? Just doing my job, ma’am, and I did it way past my bedtime.
See many of you at ArmadilloCon next!
0 Comments