Writers Convention fun & high energy - When Words Collide 2018, Calgary

Welcome back everyone!

So last post I mentioned this convention I attended—When Words Collide 2018— and I'm here to deliver.

I first heard about attending writers conventions from The Writer magazine. Someone had written something along the lines of — but not nearly as condescending — "any self-respecting author should attend at least one in their lifetime." I thought it made sense that I should. I definitely don't think of myself as knowing everything there is to know on the craft, even after reading quite a few books on the subject, plus I'm still picking up pieces of experience every time I write.
Real people would be an interesting experience and this convention, a great opportunity to escape home and its routine.

I've been waiting for so many years to have some days to myself away from home. I did what anyone with very few bits of sanity would do; I booked a hotel room for 2 nights. I read up on what I should bring to a convention, here's my list:

• Comfortable shoes
• Comfortable clothes
• Light jacket
• Big bag (tote bag?)
• Voice recorder
• Cellphone
• Chargers
• Laptop + mouse + wrist pad
• Protein bars
• Water bottle
• Plans and Schedule in my folder clipboard
• Something to write on (paper + pen)
• Manuscript (first 2 pages)
• Money
• ID
• Tea bags + empty tea bags if bringing loose leaves
• Tampons and pads in case
• Business cards

Upgraded room on the 8th floor after an awful night hearing happy/drunk people in the hallway and the loud bang of doors closing. It wasn't their fault, I tried to close mine silently, it was impossible, but the Tower section of the hotel is newer and walls aren't made of paper.

I decided to stay at the hotel where the convention was held since I don't live in Calgary. It made things simpler: less driving, not having to take care of the kids, not having to bargain with my husband each morning. It was a weekend for me.
But it wasn't without incidents...
I first parked in one of the two portions of the hotel, called The Atrium, where the staff were already getting busy with the increasing flux of hotel patrons and convention goers. There was a fair line up to the registration counter, operated by a single clerk plus a line helper, right in front of the convention's registration desks on the opposite wall, narrowing the passage for those already done with registering with one or both. As I took my place in the line, I was asked if I had a reservation. I did, all good, I thought, but when the clerk called me, she asked if I had a membership with them, and I told her I didn't, which I thought wouldn't be an issue, but apparently, it was.
   "You're in the wrong part of the hotel," she informed me.
Great. So I lugged my luggage and bags to my car, drove to the other part of the hotel—The Tower—and entered another line-up to the registration counter. All was good with my reservation, but my room was inside the Atrium part of the hotel. Really? They offered to bring my luggage over and I accepted, running to the registration desk—in The Atrium—to get my name tag which doubled as my official pass for the whole 3-day convention and ran some more towards The Tower part for my first panel. Wooh! I made it!
I wore very professional-looking clothes, as, prior to attending, I imagined this event to be filled with rows of editors waiting to shake hands with people. Apparently, my view of the real world has blurred lines.
I turned out to be way overdressed. WAY OVERDRESSED. I wish I had taken a picture of myself just to let you judge. On a positive note, I was one of the best-dressed people out there, which never hurts a good introduction. Bonus: these clothes were also comfortable.
Good shoes are also a must, even if the carpet was lush, I walked a lot from one hotel Tower to the Atrium, back and forth almost as fast as the the Olsen twin.
I had a 100 business cards made for the occasion as I heard it's good to have handy (instead of handing a crumbled piece of paper with your email on it). I gave away maybe 5 or 6 of them, but I can keep using the rest for subsequent conventions. I might need to add this blog to the back though.

Not too bad-looking for cards made in 30 minutes on an empty stomach and a tired mind. As usual, I forgot to make them at the last minute. Picked them up freshly made, the morning of the convention. One day it will have a design reflecting one of my published stories.

I brought 2 pages of manuscript I wrote a while ago. I had no expectations of selling my (still unfinished) story, I just wanted feedback on the style and structure. Unfortunately, there had been some confusion and we were not notified that editors—or this specific one I saw—wanted the manuscript sent to them ahead of time. He didn't feel he had enough time to go through both pages and give me proper feedback, so he had to rush through them, asking a lot of questions about how something didn't make sense, when it happened to be explained within the next few sentences. All in all, I was disappointed, but he did give me a few good pointers on how to grab an audience. although I internally disagreed with some of them as apparently, nobody cares anymore for a good introduction like in the Last Unicorn. It saddens me as I have trouble getting into a story if it starts right in the middle of action; I like to know where is what and who I'm rooting for. I don't get this mentality that we should care about someone simply because they are in a bad situation.
Later, someone re-framed what the editor told me as "in the middle of conflict". That made more sense, but I still like a solid introduction, nothing too long.

As part of my list, I want to point out that I couldn't have done it without my big tote bag since there's barely any time to get from one event to the next, often in totally different buildings (or maybe I was just unlucky?). I needed to carry along water and food at all times, and give up panels in exchange for some breathing room and a warm meal.
Another very useful item was my voice recorder. Attempting to jot down everything that was discussed during panels would have been a real struggle, and it also enabled me to participate more actively. I've got a rechargeable Sony digital voice recorder, with decent sound quality (I tried it during a big concert where the organizer recommended recording!). The only downside is the need to recharge it every now and then (I wouldn't say frequently) as the battery didn't last the whole day. At best quality settings, I still got at least 3-4 hours. I should take note to invest in a portable charger power bank for next time.

The weather was really nice during the day or night. Even when it rained it wasn't too cold. In the end, my jacket became superfluous. So was my laptop. I thought renting a room for the weekend would enable me to write in pure blissful silence at night, and even though I did write a little, I was too tired. I wrote once one night and not for long; I stayed up too late chatting up real people (for once!) which is really the heart of the evening at writer's conventions. You run into the same people, exchange pleasantries and when you see them later, people assume you've known them for years as winks and inside jokes are thrown here and there.

Personal preference, but I travel with my own tea.

You might have noticed I put my menstruation kit up there. It's always good to be prepared. So there. Tampons and pads, because I might need them. People, let's stop the bloody shame (I can't do a good British accent).

There were a lot of books on sale as well, but I tried not to go too crazy so I only bought books from authors I met. Those who were willing to tell me more about their books got a purchase from me as opposed to those who were too afraid to discuss them lest they spoil something. So I guess that was also a lesson here. More is better, just don't tell them the big twist and you'll likely get yourself a few interested followers, translating into sales. There were also panellists with non-fiction books related to writing, ergonomics in the workplace and, one I missed but really wanted to attend was a panel about life in the middle-ages. The author happened to be at one the book-selling booths and told me more about her research and the non-fiction books she wrote. She even signed them for me. All of these people got a purchase from me.
I was lucky to catch the author of one of my favourite non-fiction Thesaurus series, Angela Ackerman. I didn't have any of the books with me (because carrying books from home to a writer's event would just be weird, right? Right?), but she willingly signed a page of my notebook which I tore gently and tucked inside one of her Thesaurus when I got home.
The best book I bought is by far Jim Jackson's book. It contains 4 easy steps to write a good story, yet has a ridiculously long satirical title: How to Tell a Really Good Story about Absolutely Anything in 4 Easy Steps. Rarely do we find books on the craft that contain more than vague clues as to how to make it happen on the page. Jim delivers and what more, he appeals to people like me who need examples to fully understand how the information is applied.
No, Mr. Jackson did not ask me to promote his book, I do it willingly because there are too many books out there and few like this one. If you're wondering what books to get, put this one on your list, you won't ever regret it. If you ever meet Jim, he looks like a mix of Glen Hansard and Gavan O'Herlihy in the Willow movie.
You can check out his website and Facebook pages.

So what was the convention like? Two days and a half (Friday to Sunday) of panels every hour, some panning longer and at least two panels happening at the same time that I wanted to attend. Lots of hard decisions were made. In the end, I decided that I would skip all panels about publishing, finding an editor and all the in-betweens until I had a book ready. There were still lots of panels to see within the same time frame but in different locations. I had to cram eating during panels I felt could be sacrificed. My husband came to visit on that first Friday as the kids were taken care of. First date in a long time! Which happened during panels "Writing Believable Sexual Tension & Romantic Elements" and "Kink, BDSM, Consent,
& Feminism". I really wanted to attend those, but managed to get got some romantic content down. I also met Rick, a funny open guy whom I kept bumping into. I guess our friendship was meant to be. And this is the beauty of these conventions in this era where we can easily keep in touch via internet, and know that if we're both going again next year, we can see each other once more.

The mornings were the worst. I woke up earlier than I would have on a weekend and made for the breakfast area, feeling the slight nausea of someone who is not ready to eat yet. After a ridiculous amount of time and looking through their average buffet and delicious-looking A la carte menu, I knew where my allegiances lay; I was a A la carte gal. Their duck Benedict egg was amazing on a croissant, which is a shame as they do not naturally offer the option. I noticed they had croissants and being French-Canadian, I had to have one in my meal.
It's not the croissant that makes me French, it's the love of good food. And that internal monologue in my head screaming Vive la Révolution! every now and then. It does happen.
I met lots of fellow authors and book-lovers I had bumped into during the previous day, some new ones joined our tables, expanding my circle of acquaintances and friends.

The most important item on my list was my clipboard with the printed schedule covering all 3 days. I highlighted all panels I really wanted to see, made notes for back-up ones in case the chosen panel was not what I expected or turned out to be boring. It did happen once where it seemed to me the panellists had no clue how to go deeper into the subject and attendees became the source of information for the whole group. I left mid-way for my back-up panel.
I had a few markers throughout the day where I could consider eating through panels I felt I could skip, but I wanted to attend all of them, making this a very tough decision. Food or knowledge? But knowledge IS food, Sam! and without food, you won't be able to focus on absorbing that knowledge...
I'd say there were too many interesting panels crammed together. Some panels were interactive too, definitely a change from simply sitting on our butts trying not to interrupt the speaker's flow with questions—I'm bad at that, I always have questions.

I didn't get to use much of my notepad, but I did use it. I think any writer should have a small one handy at all time with a good pen or pencil. Ideas don't wait, they strike as they come.

Came Sunday evening, I was both exhausted and full of enthusiasm and energy. I knew I wouldn't be able to do that for a whole week unless they stretched the same amount of panels within that one week, then I'd have time to see all of the ones I circled, highlighted and doted. The only problem is that most people wouldn't be able to afford to take a week off for such an awesome concept. If I were to ask attendees if they would like to do it, I bet they'd all say "YES!" or "Yes, but..." We're all passionate people gathering, mingling, exchanging thoughts, ideas, and concepts for a tight three days. If you ever think you might be bored there, but you love books, writing, reading, meeting people who do, or all of these, you will never be bored. I can guarantee it.

Now go find the next closest writer's convention in your area and give it a try. I hope my list helps, don't make the same mistakes as me and wear casual, comfy clothes. No one will judge you.