After all, I was afraid.

Last year, the writers conference was my fairy godmother, and my every wish came true. This year? I knew what was ahead of me. Work. Hard, brutal, frustrating work.

I pitched to an invisible agent the entire drive to the conference.

Grew teary over my imperfect one sheets and proposal.

I was the only one to blame if I failed. I had reason to be afraid.

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Strange? Why, yes, we’re writers.

I came to the conference expecting to forge my own path, only to find that I could not succeed alone. I wept with newbies as they received their first critiques. Leaned on friends  to keep me going when I failed. My days were fueled by advice from meetings, critiques and keynotes: Talent without persistence is useless. Set aside all reasons to ignore the call. Quitting is the only path to failure.

I came to the conference to pursue my dreams.

Only to realize that we all have dreams. We all are important.

And to succeed, we must put others first.

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One of the best things about a writers conference? The opportunity to meet your author heroes.
Writing is not a race for a destination. It is a journey. A slow journey. We grow impatient, demanding the success we are certain we deserve. We scavenge for fame. Expecting everything to fall into place when we have not laid the groundwork for our castle of dreams.

Ashley
Spending time in the lobby with a sweet new friend.

Our writing journey is like building a stairway. Either your foundation will be solid and you can climb all the way to the top— or your foundation will be hollow and you will crumble. Life will throw unexpected twists in our paths, but we must keep going.

Pray.

Hope.

Work.

For now, I will focus on building my stairway. One step after another until I reach my dreams.

The only way to success is to keep climbing.

Do you have writing goals? What are they? How do you plan to reach them?

 

Coming Next Week: Interview with Author Aaron Gansky

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Until next time. . .happy writing!

 

Dragon Tamer. Ancient Rome fanatic. Writer living on the edge of fictional worlds. J. A. Patterson attempted to teach herself to write at the age of four, wrote her first book (featuring eerily violent chickens) at age five, and has been immersed in books ever since. Sometimes literally. When she isn't writing, you can find her studying music, reading, and searching for portals to new fantasy worlds.

12 thoughts on “Write Pursuit: My Conference Experience”

  2. You are an encouragement to others. Always putting other’s wants & desires above yourself. Thank you for being real! The world would be a much better place if everyone was like you!

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  3. This is a great post. I’m blessed to have you to lean on. I can’t wait to see where the future takes us, but I’m so thankful to have you as a friend.

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  4. LOVE this post and what you learned! God is good, and I am learning that He truly gives second chances. I put my first WIP two years ago down due to my strong pride and arrogance in one of the most bitter and heart-breaking possibles. Sometime last week the Lord brought that story to the front of my mind as if the story never left. Talk about leaving someone wanting to weep! I’m looking forward to us both growing solid foundations in Christ as we write unto His name. Thankful we can encourage one another too! ❤

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    1. Awww, I love this so much! Thank you for sharing, Laura. Sometimes it seems like our dreams have been ripped away from us, when in reality the dream is simply hidden until our foundation is solid and we can tackle the undertaking. I cannot wait to hear more about your WIP!

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  5. I like this post a lot. I like that you focus on the emotion of the journey, too. And I relate well to your words. So thank you for sharing, and I totally agree. When I first attended BRMCWC last year, I thought that writing had to be a solo journey. To my delight, I’ve realized that it takes a community, and I’ve SO loved finding new and more writing friends.

    Also, I totally did a tiny shout out to you on my blog post about #BRMCWC. I should tweet it. 😉

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    1. I was thrilled to see you again, Barbara! And I’m thankful that we’re on this writing journey together. For so long, I refused to emerge from my solitary world. After all, I was the only writer out there, right? 😉 BRMCWC was a wonderful introduction to the world of writers. We are all so different, and important in our own ways. #writersunite

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      1. I can’t imagine you being a hermit! I’m glad that you emerged, and I’m excited to see what happens with both of us as we continue to cheer each other on!!! YAY!

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