Tuesday, May 1, 2012

The New England Conference (NEC)

     This weekend I attended the NEC with many of my CTRWA pals. We had a blast. The New England Conference (NEC) put on by NERWA was fun, insightful and a great networking opportunity. To say we all had fun would be an understatement.
     One of our fellow CTRWA members was the keynote speaker. As usual Kristan Higgins captivated the audience with her grace and humor. We all left breakfast with the same good feeling we enjoy after reading one of Kristan's books.

     Later in the day, I atttended a workshop that Kristan hosted with Michael Hauge. Michael took one of Kristan's books and showed us how it fit into his six stages of a story. It's great when you read a book, but it is even better when you can see how it applies to real writing. Thank you Kristan and Michael.

     At lunchtime, the keynote speaker was Marie Force a mulitpublished author. Marie shared her numbers both as a traditional published author and now a self-published author. It was an education to say the least. Marie presented this informational speech with humor and knowledge. Later on, I took Marie's workshop and enjoyed it.

     In between agent appointments, I took two more workshops. The knowledge received from author Annette Blair and author Susan Eagan was expectional. Annette's workshop on Storyboarding and the valuable templates she handed out will be used by me for many years to come. Susan Eagan's workhop on How to Plan the Perfect Crime belew me away, as did her handouts. Susan's background as a prosecutor for the federal government showed in both her presentation and knowledge of her subject.

     This was my first time attending the NEC and I would recommend that every writer puts it on their calendar to attend.

     Oh, and I got an offer to submit by an agent! WooHoo!

A special thanks to the NERWA Chapter, well done.

Marian

19 comments:

  1. Marian, was the conference recorded this year? I would have loved to hear the workshop with Kristan and Michael Hauge. My choice to sit this conference out this year was a supremely dumb one!

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    1. I don't think it was, Melanie. You could contact the NERWA and see. Thanks for stopping by

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  2. Congratulations, Marian, on your agent nibble! Glad you had a great weekend. NEC sounds like a wonderful conference.

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    1. Hi Rhonda--soooooooooooo much fun! Will I see you at CT Fiction Fest?

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    2. I hope so. I'm registered, but I've had that inconvenient surgical interruption of my life ...

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  3. Awesome, Marian. Sorry I missed it. I would love to see those story boarding worksheets. I could definitely use some tips:-)

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  4. Paula, thanks for stopping by--I'll email you off loop, Marian

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  5. Lots of fun and learned a lot. It was well worth attending and a great kick-off to conference season! Next up Fiction Fest and then Nationals!

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    1. Gail, I'm so looking forward to CT Fiction Fest with Sherry Thomas as the keynote speaker

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    1. Thanks, Katy--I loved your blog this morning on your book Real Viture--go sales!!! lol

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  7. Congrats~!~ It was so great meeting you, Marian! Nice to put a face to online class experience~!

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  8. Kathryn, it was so great meeting you after being classmates. I had a wonderful time, I hope you did also.

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  9. Woot for the request from an agent, Marian! Glad the NEC conference was so productive for you. I'm still processing all the terrific info I received.

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  10. Thank you so much, Marian! It was wonderful to have so many friends in the audience! xox

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  11. Sounds like a wonderful conference. Calgary RWA has Michael Hauge coming for an all day workshop on the 12th of May. I can't wait to hear him.

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    1. I hope you enjoy him Louise. I got a lot from his presentation

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