This past weekend, I had a blast at the 20th annual Crime Bake mystery writers’ conference in Boston. Maybe it’s just that I’m getting better at writing conferences (because going to conferences is definitely a skill!), but I think this was my favorite one so far.
And what exactly does one do at a writing conference? Well, at Crime Bake, I . . .
- attended two master classes on Friday: one on adding more conflict to a story, and one on romantic subplots in mysteries
- fan-girled at sessions on Saturday that included some cozy mystery authors I admire!
- participated in workshops on business plans for authors (not as scary as they sound) and using opposition in stories (super helpful!)
- sat in on a “Meet the Experts” panel where a cleric, a retired police detective, an editor, and a marketing consultant answered all kinds of questions
- ate lots of buffet meals
- bought more books than I’d intended to
- didn’t win a raffle, but
- did get a book signed!
- volunteered by stuffing conference totes and proof-reading the closed captions on conference videos (to be fair, I did that before the conference started)
- finished up with presentations from a death investigator and a doctor about the realities of death and poisoning.
A lot of the truly valuable moments of the conference happened outside of the sessions themselves. For example, getting social media advice or meeting fellow Sisters in Crime members in the hallway, and hearing other authors’ success stories over breakfast. And on the drive home, reflecting that maybe I should have just looked at my notes instead of the death investigator’s vivid powerpoint images. (Yikes! There’s a reason I like cozy mystery.)
All in all, I had a great time and came away with a lot to think about. On that note, I guess I better go do some thinking . . . ! 🙂
