GENREALITY

No great genius has ever existed without some touch of madness.
- Aristotle

Here on GenReality we’ve talked about writers organizations, and had discussions about the pros and cons of conferences. For me personally, I’m not a big fan or organizations, or of the pressure to go to confrences as a career move. However, I am a big believer in going ot conferences to connect with others.

You see, I live in northern Alberta, Canada. There are no local writers groups in my city, and none of my friends have any interest in writing. My friends and family try to be supportive of my writing, they congratulate me on releases, and ooh and ahh over new covers if I flash them around enough. They occasionally ask how the writing is going, and they listen when I whine about something not working right for me. But they don’t really get it.

To me, this is why I go to conferences. So I can hang out with people who get it. Friends who get teary eyed when, without a word, I show them a copy of the May/June issue of Complete Woman magazine, and they see my book cover in the bottom corner. They get what a feature like that means to me. Friends who can talk about characters like their real people, and who understand when I have a panic attack at the thought of actually plotting out a story. Collegues who come up to me and congratulate me on getting an Honorable Mention by a National Leather Association.

Hanging out online is great, without the internet I’d have long ago driven myself insane trying to be a writer. But once a year I make sure to attend a big conference in the US so that I can remind myself that no matter how alone or disconnected I sometimes feel, there are others out there who are going through the same thing. Other writers who often feel that no one really understands what they’re going through. Other writers who need to get together with like minded adults, and let loose. And not just other writers , but readers too.

All writers, booksellers, editors, agents and reviewers are Readers as well. We all love stories and we all love books…it doesn’t matter if someone doesn’t like historicals, or erotics, or whatever. All that matters is that we all love books, and we’re together for that week to celebrate that. Many conferences I’ve attended have had drama of some sort or the other, but I have to say, this year RT rocked. And it was perfect timing for me, because the past year has been especially hard for me career wise. I’ve been waffling on a lot of decisions that I needed to make, and wondering if I was really meant to be a writer. Strangely enough, I didn’t talk alot of writing this past week at that conference, (I did talk some, just not a lot), yet I am now home, refreshed and renewed and ready to tackle several projects.

To me, that is the best reason to go to a conference. – to remind yourself that you’re not alone, and to get re-energized with your own personal goals. We let our creative sides come out on paper all the time, but every now and then we need to live it up, and remind ourselves that there is more to being a writer than just writing, and business. If you can’t enjoy life, how are you supposed to write about it?

With that in mind, I’d like to share with you the slideshow I made with my photos from this years Romantic Times conference. I think it sums up the vibe/energy of the event, and will hopefully show you that it’s not only okay to have fun with your career, but also necessary.

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