Writing Conferences

During my extensive daily blog reading and Twitter updates, I invariably run into posts from writers regarding conferences. Every time someone mentions they're heading off to "this conference" or "that conference" I find myself lost in the "if only's". If only I had a sitter, if only I had someone to watch the dog, if only I had money, vacation time, energy...well, you get the picture.

There are hundreds of writing conferences each year, maybe thousands. Most states hold several and there is even a big one, the Midwest Writers Workshop, going on in Indiana right now. Many are held abroad in places like Italy, Spain and Greece (tippy top of my bucket list).

Http://writing.shawguides.com has an extensive list of conferences and you can search by type, date or location to find your perfect fit. Sadly, I didn't run across any within a ten mile radius that offered free daycare.

Imagine my elation when I saw a reference to http://www.writeoncon.com while perusing Twitter one evening (see, it's not just a time suck). I hurried over to the website to check it out.

As I sat slack-jawed starring at the screen, I pinched myself to be sure I wasn't dreaming. How could this be? A totally free online conference set up to accommodate those of us who work during the day. Did I mention it's free? Just wow. I signed up immediately. It runs August 10-12, and I hope to learn a lot and make tons of new friends in the process.

Much thanks to the fantastic ladies who are putting this thing together: Jamie Harrington, Elana Johnson, Casey McCormick, Shannon Messenger, Lisa Roecker, Laura Roecker and Jennifer Stayrook.

I've been polishing up the first chapter of my novel and I hope to get some great feedback.