Image Credits:-
Images created in Book Brush using Pixabay photos. AI images avoided. Images from The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick were taken by me, Allison Symes. Many thanks to the school for kind permission to use the poster photo for my launch there.
I’ve just come back from a wonderful few days at The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick. I hope to report more on that next week, including details on how my book launch there for Seeing The Other Side went. But it was the thought of the launch which led to the idea for this post.
Writing events didn’t come into my creative life at all to begin with. The thought of going to any terrified me but as it became clearer to me, writing wasn’t going to just be a hobby, I knew I needed to network, to learn more about the industry and so on. So that meant writing events would need to be something I got used to.
Over time, I’ve learned what does make for a good event. I’ve learned a great deal from going to other author events, online and in person. So I thought I would share some tips I hope will prove useful. It is the kind of advice I wish had been around for me earlier in my career. It would have meant I would have gone to writing events (learning more, making friends etc) sooner than I did.
Creative Writing Events
Some of the advantages of going to these include:-
You will meet other writers. You will make friends. You will learn so much from the industry chatting with them. Someone told me about The Society of Authors and someone else mentioned The Association of Christian Writers. I’ve been a longstanding member of both of these but I had to know about them first. Above all, you will know you are no longer alone in wanting to write. It can seem an odd thing to do for those not bitten by the bug.
You will learn from any workshops or classes put on at these events. I love it when there are handouts or if you are given a link to download notes when you’re at home. The Writers’ Summer School, Swanwick always does this for delegates and it is so useful.
So much networking goes on at these things. These events help you get used to this and it is lovely later on when you realise you’re in a position to give good writing advice to nervous newbies. You are learning to “find your writing tribe” at these things.
Going to writing events can be a major help in helping you to take your writing more seriously. What you learn here is a form of Continuing Professional Development. You may find others will take your writing more seriously given they will see your own commitment to it when you go to these things.
There are always opportunities to buy books, including writing craft ones, from the bookstalls here. This is both a pleasure and a help for you and you can get them signed directly by the authors too. It helps them too!
Writing can be a lonely profession. Events can help break that.
Making the Most of Going to Creative Writing Events
It helps to know you will never take in everything in one event or in one course or what have you. What matters is coming home feeling you have learned plenty of useful tips to help you with your writing and you’ve enjoyed chatting with the other writers. Tips I’ve found useful for making the most of things during the event include:-
It pays to take a spare notebook and lots of pens.
If you’re using a laptop or your phone, make sure you’ve got your charger. Batteries give out at the most inconvenient times and it is so easy to forget this. Knowing you’re set up and prepared helps boost confidence too!
If you have a business card, bring them. It’s the easiest way for people to contact you if interested in your work etc. If you’re not yet at the stage of having a business card, I would consider getting a simple one made up. Vistaprint are probably the best known for doing this but they have various designs and do have sales from time to time. I’d put on name, website, and email as a minimum but if you have books out there, I’d have small thumbnail images of your covers somewhere on the card too. I’ve just updated mine to include my three flash collections.
If handouts are available, do take them. Now the problem often is for a tutor is just how many of these things do you bring with you? Often, there will be a sign up list if the materials run out. Do put your name down. I’ve made good use of many handouts I’ve had over the years, some of which I could pick up at the time, others I had to have emailed out later on.
Get chatting to other writers who went to different workshops at the same event. They can ask you about the ones you went to and you do likewise for them. It’s a good way of figuring out what would be good for you to get to the next time.
Keep hydrated. You concentrate more than you think. Thankfully there is usually a plentiful supply of tea and coffee at events!
Conclusion
Writing events can often lead to other things for you. I’ve learned about professional bodies useful to me. I’ve found out about competitions, about writing scams and Writer Beware (which is US based but the principles and advice are useful so the website is well worth bookmarking).
I also found out about CafeLit (and that has led to so much else happening in my writing life). I also met the lady who was to become my publisher at the very first event I went to on the Isle of Wight, though neither of us could have known this would happen at the time.
You will find out about publishers, competition possibilities etc because no one writer can know it all and we share information over a helpful cuppa or several.
People also get to know more about you and your writing work as you go to more of these events.
It’s also a great idea to get used to talking about what you write succinctly and you do get better at that with practice. Listening to other authors talk about what they do will give you insights as to how you can describe what you do.
For the record I say I write flash fiction, which are stories of 1000 words or fewer, and my style is often but not limited to humorous/quirky. A one line introduction here is usually enough to get a conversation going because you’ll ask what the other writer does, they tell you in a similar one line summary, and before you know it, you will be exchanging questions and answers about each other’s work in more detail. It’s what I’ve found to be the case and those conversations are great.
I love most aspects of the writing life most of the time. The one I do love the most is chatting to other authors like that. We all have different writing journeys and I always find these fascinating. Often in these conversations you will find useful help and advice.
So if you can get to a writing event, do so. It may well open doors for you. If nothing else, you will have fun and learn a great deal. Nothing to dislike about that!
Related Posts:-
Read interviews with Chandler’s Ford writer Allison Symes: Part 1 and Part 2.
Read blog posts by Allison Symes published on Chandler’s Ford Today.
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