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Monday, May 01, 2006
In the Company of Writers
I've just returned from a writing conference. In fact, I nearly forgot I was supposed to blog today because I'm always a bit fuzzy after a weekend away...tired, out of sync, & desperate to catch up on all the work & writing I missed while I was gone.
But what I love about conferences--& what makes the packing, traveling, living out of a suitcase, early mornings, late nights, & lack of sleep worth it--is the chance to be...well, in the company of writers.
This particular conference is a favorite of mine. I attend every year, and spend the other eleven months waiting to get back.
And what attracts me so strongly to this annual gathering? you might wonder. Is it the breathtaking view of the mountains & two converging rivers from the patio of the Civil War-era hotel? Sure. Is it the relaxed atmosphere & casual dress code? Definitely. But what draws me to attend time after time, to drive five hours through three states, is the people.
Friends & fellow writers who make me feel at home, make me feel comfortable. Who have been there & done that, so I feel I can talk to them about things that are going on in my life or career & know they'll understand. That maybe they'll even have a bit of advice to share that will help me out.
A few of these friends are very dear to me. We may only see each other once or twice a year, keeping in touch via phone & e-mail the rest of the time, but even if they were the only ones scheduled to be there when I arrived, I would still make the trip. Just to see them & sit around talking about everything & nothing.
A few of them, I'd never met before. But even those I barely know or meet for the first time each year are fun to run into. At conferences, no matter the size, it seems you can arrive as strangers, but leave as friends. Every day this past weekend, I would run into someone I recognized and stop to talk. Or I would sit down next to someone I'd never met before--or have someone I'd never met sit down next to me--but immediately find some common ground to chat about.
As writers, we spend so much time by ourselves, with only our characters for company, that we can start to feel alone in the world. And as much as they try, our non-writing friends & family can't really understand what our lives are like or what our careers entail. So it's nice, even just once a year, to get out & mingle with our own kind. With people who speak our language, understand our hopes & fears, & love the written word as much as we do. (I think the same can be said, by the way, for any profession...thus the need for conferences & conventions of every kind.)
Sigh. My weekend was so lovely. I miss it already.
And only eleven months before I can be there again.
posted by Heidi Betts at 3:24 PM
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