Western Writers of America Convention June 10-13, 2008

At last! The day has finally arrived! Since discovering the organization, Western Writers of America 3-4 years ago, I’ve always wanted to attend one of the conventions. The convention usually runs for about 5 days and is held in a different western city each year. In recent years it has been in Spokane, Cody, and St. Louis.

This year it’s in Scottsdale which makes it convenient for me to attend. As I am not yet published (okay, I HAVE published one devotional, but no western novels – yet), I am not eligible for membership to WWA, but I can still attend most parts of the convention.

I find it interesting that they call it a “convention” and not a “conference”. I don’t know if there is really any distinction in the terms but it is interesting.

My goal in attending this year’s convention is to be a sponge – to absorb all that I can from writers, editors, and agents, to help in my heart’s greatest desire – writing westerns. I also hope to learn more about WWA itself.

The conference will start off with a bang for me because the first panel is on my all time favorite author, Zane Grey. YEEHAW!!!!!!! Of course, discussing Zane Grey on the first full day of the convention is going to give the subsequent days a pretty tough act to follow, but I’m confident they will do their best. And they might even surprise me!

The other panels at the convention include:

- The top Western films
- Researching & Writing on the Military Frontier (I’m especially looking forward to this one! YEEHAW!!!!)
- Magazine Publishing
- Editors & Agents
- Marketing
- Short Fiction
- Screenwriting

It should be a very informative and entertaining week. As a side benefit I hope that being able to attend this genre-specific event will help recharge my batteries. My enthusiasm for writing never seems to wane, but life getting in my way certainly knows how to put a damper on things, and this convention is just the ticket to help me put “ordinary life” on the back burner while I immerse myself in all things western.

I hope to be able to come back to you and share many wise writerly insights; insights that will be beneficial no matter what genre you write.

See you next week!