My very first writer's conference (I'm so excited!)

Okay, so it's not until April, but if I blog about it now, I get all sorts of, well, entries in a contest which could lead to a cool prize... well cool for me, anyway. If I win, I get to sit at a table with really, really talented authors and editors while we enjoy a concert by Shaun Barrowes. (Yeah, I don't know him either, but he was on American Idol Season 7. One of the top 48 contestants.)

The conference I'm going to was suggested by my college roomate Susan (Hi Susan!), who is awesome enough to come all the way up from Arizona to attend with me. The first book I publish is going to be dedicated to Susan--she's that cool. (Of course, if the book is dedicated to her, it might affect the percieved validity of her A+++ book review--what other grade could she give me?--on her awesome book blog, blogginboutbooks.com, so maybe I'll have to consider what's more important to me.... :))

But I digress. The conference is LDS Story Makers (full conference info here) and will be held at the Provo Marriot  hotel on April 23-24. Susan and I have registered for the boot camp feature, which meets early each morning and is billed as... intense. I'm excited for it--mostly because it means that now I have a deadline. I've decided I love deadlines. When it's just me writing along, with the vague goal of submitting something for publication when I get it done... well, let's just say I've been working on this current book for about two years now and have comparatively little written to show for it. Deadlines are cool.

The other cool part about the conference is the talented writers who are presenting at it. Jessica Day George, David Farland, and James Dashner will all be at the winner's table for the concert, and other awesome writers, editors, agents, and other industry-types will be there to impart the secrets of their success. Or at least, I assume that's what they're doing. As noted at top, this is my first time. In particular, I want to learn the (rumored) magnificence of Bree Despain's color-coded editing system. I love, love, love color-coding. :)

For any of you who may be interested in attending with us, we're staying with my relatives (to cut costs) and we can probably find room for one or two more close friends. After you register for the conference, be sure to check out the Show Your Love for the Storymakers Contest, here. That's the contest that lets you sit next to [me and] Jessica Day George. :)

Let me know if you register!