Midsouth Writers Conference

Conferences are so much fun cuz you get to hang out with people who have similiar interests. The SCBWI Midsouth Writers Conference took place in Nashville, Tennessee at the Embassy Suites Hotel September 25th, 26th, and 27th. There was a lot of talent packed in that building! Caroline B. Cooney, author of 75 suspense, mystery, and romance YA novels was there. She gave a very interesting talk about how the process of writing is for her. I was amazed and inspired. Cheryl Klein, senior editor at Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic, attended. She was impressive as well. First pages were read and then critiqued in front of all of us. Cheryl really knew how to zoom in on things! Literary agent, Chris Richman, critiqued the first eight pages of my manuscript (writers can pay for that at conferences) and I was given some desperately needed guidance. It's like he opened the floodgates -- the ideas are flowing. I'm so grateful. And in addition to all that, I got to visit with two of my very talented SCBWI pals from Evansville--Kristi Valiant and Christi Atherton. Sometimes a person has to travel a great distance to see the people that live right next door.