Conversations and Connections Writer’s Conference

Today I attended the Conversations and Connections Writer’s Conference. This was my first writer’s conference, and it was great. I especially enjoyed a session by Susan McCallum Smith, the author of Slipping the Moorings, among other publications. One concept Susan discussed was “Free Indirect Style,” which James Woods discusses in his book How Fiction Works. In addition to this simply being interesting, I see a lot of this style in my own work, and am excited to study it further and improve my craft. Some authors that Susan says use this style well include James Joyce, William Trevor, and Henry James.

The keynote speaker, Steve Almond, was hilarious. He spoke about lowering the bar – his way of saying stop worrying what others might think of your writing, just write without inhibitions and your best work will come out. He recently self-published a book titled This Won’t Take But a Minute Honey, which I purchased and am excited to read. I hope to have some great take-aways to share on this site!