Hopping to Conclusions

The first year I taught school, one girl approached me the first day. I thought, "oh boy, this girl is

This little dude is one of the few dogs who
enjoys a bath. He has a skin condition.
 Medicine prevents his hair loss.
My sister found him scared on the
side of the highway.
 He may not weigh over 8 pound
 but now he is a fierce streetfighter

going to be trouble". She was one of the neatest students I taught in my career. There was a three or four years age gap between her and me. I don't remember her name. I doubt she remembers me. But I do know she was exceptional and has probably achieved much in her life.

Going to the conference, I sat in the back the first day and snoozed through so many good presentations due to exhaustion of a hard day getting ready to leave the day before. I let my mind wander over the people seated around me and just made a few good observations based on how they were dressed.

There was the incredibly small, crisp, cute woman with premature gray hair. She wore a ball cap, a sweatshirt, khaki shorts and tennis. She sat beside a much older man with clear, large brown eyes. I wondered if he had had some cosmetic work since his eyes looked so much younger than his body's age.

One man came with his tweenager. He was a skater screenwriter who wore wrinkled shorts, shirt and shoes with the heels crushed. We do keep wearing the outfits of when we came of age.

I wore a pair of black capris, black leather flats with a black, gray and white leopard print top. I have to admit. I would not have worn this dressy casual outfit as a teenager or young woman. I'm still dressing for the job I aspire for.

What I learned is that this was a great group of people who could not be summed up by the clothes they wore. What made this conference unique is you got a chance to meet the presenters and other attendees on a personal level.

I haven't been to many writing conferences. I went to a local conference called Crossroads. It was a good start with leads for directions I could take. Two continuing ed classes at Emory University were a big help. I've been to a workshop by Richard Krevolin who is a screenwriter expert.

I went to the Writer's Police Academy last year. So many actual writers and the focus was learning about law enforcement to write an informed book. In August, I go again because it is so cool. I have learned to google the presenters and people. It helps to hide how little you know. It doesn't stop me from being a rube.

This last conference is probably the best I've been to. I thought many of the writers knew each other and they did. So many were repeaters and I will probably be a repeater too, God willing of course.

They had so many contests and opportunities for writers which I did not take advantage. My mom was sick for most of April when I would have been getting my act together in submitting. This year, I will be getting my submissions ready early, much like the A to Z blog challenge posts. My 2016 theme will be Good Influences on My Writing. Most will be writers and their books. Some will be great presenters.

The conference had great presenters. Donald S. Vaughn described freelance writing and he was better than Great. He is also my V for A to Z. Below are links to his websites.



http://www.donaldvaughan.net/index.html

http://www.tafnc.com/