The Write Stuff Conference 2019

Here I am reporting on another Write Stuff Conference, which takes place every spring in Bethlehem.  This year it was held March 21 - 23, 2019.  I’ve been going to these annual conferences for six or seven years.  I always attend only on the Saturday when they schedule a selection of short seminars that attendees can choose from.  There is also always a key note speaker who conducts day long seminars during the week and gives a talk at the luncheon.  There are other activities, too, including a book fair on the last day where I usually manage to sell a book or two.  I always enjoy going to the conference and I always learn something new.​

This year I participated in Page Cuts, a forum for writers to submit the first page of a longer work to a panel of agents.  The submissions are anonymous so that the author can hear the commentary along with the rest of the audience without feeling vulnerable.  I submitted the first (and only LOL) page of a middle grade fantasy I’ve been thinking about writing.  I’ve had a great first paragraph for over a year, expanded it to a couple of pages, but haven’t gone any further with it.  The agents who read it were very intrigued and one said she would like to see more.  Too bad there isn’t any more, not yet anyway.  Their positive reaction inspired me to go ahead with the project.  It’s going to be a long haul getting it done, but now I have a lot more confidence that it has merit, which will spur me on.  And so it goes that every year I get something to take away from The Write Stuff that helps me on my writer’s journey.