2017 Writers Group Convention

Last Sunday I had an opportunity to attend my first Writers Group Convention at the Enoggera Bowls Club here in Queensland.

The day started at 9am and went through to 4pm with a mixture of speakers presenting on writing, publishing and marketing. Representatives from the various writing groups across Queensland discussed the importance of joining a group of like-minded people who know the craft of writing to assist you to strengthen and develop as a writer.  Each group had it’s own speciality and that was fascinating to listen to.

Here are some of the speakers that resonated for me:

Lauren Daniels, Director of Brisbane Writers Workshop discussed how to develop your writing skills and drew on an inspirational story from Women Who Run With The Wolves by Dr Clarissa Pinkola Estes. The story was a metaphor to describe the process writers goes through when creating a story.

David Reiter, award-winning text and digital artist, and Publisher / CEO at IP (Brisbane), discussed aspects of publishing and provided thoughts on how to tap into digital media to expand your publishing options.

Cass Moriarty, author of The Promise Seed (UQP 2015) presented excellent tips on the writing and publishing process. Her personal experiences were insightful and entertaining.

Jennifer Bacia, author of numerous books including Indecent Ambition took us through tips on how to build characters. The best tip I got from her talk was to focus on the character’s psychological profile as it helps with conflict and character growth.

There were many other excellent speakers (unfortunately, I didn’t catch all the names) on the day. Each speaker added something to the mix and further inspired me to keep writing what I love.

Finally, the opportunity to socialise with like minded people who love story was wonderful for me. I met up with author and editor, Geneve Flynn and had a great chat about the mentor program she is engaged in. Geneve writes horror fiction and has some excellent tips from her mentoring experience on her blog (geneveflynn.com.au). She also puts up tips on how to write a killer opening line.

If that’s not a hook that catches you, I don’t know what will!

I hope you enjoyed reading this post. I’ve been away from the blog for a while so it’s nice to be back and chatting on the virtual space.

Happy writing and happy reading.