Conference Report - Who Was There - Part 1

As I continue my report on the NC Fall Writer's Conference I attended at the beginning of this month, I will introduce some of the people I met over the next week or so.

Before I begin the specific introductions, I'll attempt to describe in general who I saw.  Last week I spelled out five stages of the Aspiring Writer's Spectrum of Success.  By far, the vast majority of the participants were somewhere in the first three stages, and perhaps the beginnings of Stage 4.  There were a few published writers, quite a few more self-published authors, a lot of people who had finished products, and even more who were still working on their first book.  There was even one participant who hadn't started writing yet, but just loved reading.

I was a little disappointed in the seeming absence of Stage 4 and 5 writers - that is, the established writers and the famous writers.  Except for those who were listed as workshop leaders and panel participants, I didn't see some other particular NC authors I hoped to see.

In particular, I was holding out hope that the famous NC sci-fi writer, Orson Scott Card, would be there.  It would have been fun to meet him and talk with him in a informal setting.  But it was not to be.

Then again, now that I think of it, it makes sense that if a famous person is going to be there, they're going to be asked to cover a workshop or panel.

So, keep in mind - if you're planning on attending a writer's conference, check out the list of workshop leaders and panel participants.  If you don't see your favorite author listed, you're probably not going to see him or her at the conference.  Everyone else is going to be of the Stage 1 to Stage 3 variety (and a few beginning Stage 4s).

I was happy to meet a lot of good people.  Though they are not yet famous, everyone there had a story to tell - even the one participant who hadn't started writing yet.  Any one of these writers could be the next John Grisham or Isaac Asimov or Martha Stewart.

Once I wrap up NaNoWriMo, I'll come back and start with the introductions.

Mel