A Few Days at ACFW in Dallas

Going to the American Christian Fiction Writers’ Conference last week was the highlight of my summer. It was an opportunity to meet with friends and editors and authors teaching other authors writing techniques.  And to hear Bill Myer. That was two of the most inspiring times of the conference. He is an amazing Christian!

Flying into Dallas it looked as though I could walk across the clouds that looked like Cotton candy. Once I’m in the air, I love flying…it’s the getting there and getting through security that I don’t like.

And then the meetings began, both classes and friends. Lost of friends, both old and new. Reconnected with my friend, Delores Topliff and our Ponderer group. I met Lisa Harris, fellow Revell author and fantastic romantic suspense author. She’s a missionary in Africa. And, I finally got to meet Marion Morrison Ueckermann from South Africa and give her a copy of Johnnie Alexander’s Where Treasure Hides.

I took a photo of us together, (one of the few that I took at the conference) but in the only one that I liked of me, Marion’s eyes were shut, so I’m being nice and not posting any. 🙂

Then off to class the next day where the AWESOME Bob Mayer taught a class on writing the novel from the beginning with core conflict, developing plot and characters, working with point of view to pulling everything together. It was a great refresher course.

Friday and Saturday more great courses like Susan May Warren and Rachel Hauck double teaming to teach in-depth brainstorming and the story equation. Another great refresher and an awesome class for those just starting out.

There was time to visit with friends and my agent. And to pose in front of the Baker Books table.

If I’m beginning to sound like a commercial for ACFW, I am. Writers and unpub writers in particular need to attend conferences, and ACFW always offers really good opportunities to hone your craft.

And then there’s the food…always excellent and way too rich. My publisher, Revell, hosted a dinner that I do believe I tried to kill myself by eating too much. I didn’t take a picture of the desserts–cheesecakes, double chocolate slices of cake, vanilla creme brulee.

The highlight of the conference is always the Gala Awards banquet where Agent of the Year–this year my very own agent, Mary Sue Seymour, was honored with the award!

And my critique partner Chandra Lynn Smith won the Genesis for her story, The Turtle Box Memories!

Join me next year when the conference will be at the Omni in downtown Nashville!

Quick question! Do you go to writers’ conferences?

What do you get out of them?

Winners of last week’s books are:

For Jo Huddleston Anne Rightler won a copy of Trust Me!

For A. J. Cattapan it’s Kristin!