In my time I've met plenty of "writing conference junkies" - those folks who'll go to any seminar that might help them finally figure out what stands between them and publishing stardom. I'm not one of them. I pick my workshops and conferences carefully, paying attention to the level of both the speakers and the participants. One of those that I particularly enjoyed was the San Francisco Writers Conference. It was held in a beautiful hotel, attended by hundreds of writers, agents, and publishers and I had an opportunity to meet and spend time with some of the leading lights of the USA publishing world. So, when friends down here told me that Lake Chapala had its own annual writer's conference, I was naturally a little skeptical. Years ago I'd attended a small-town workshop led by a wannabee-writer and an agent who was begging for clients, and it wasn't an experience I cared to repeat.
Last year, when the posters came out for the Third Annual Lake Chapala Writers Conference, I carefully checked out the website to get more details. What I discovered was that this was no "lets-have-our-local-boy-who-once- had- an- article- in- a-church- magazine," workshop. The quality of the speakers was undisputed. I was particularly excited to see that Judy Reeves was coming because she's the author of my favorite book on writing practice. I registered early and then started pestering the organizers with all the really important questions, like whether they would they be serving tea as well as coffee in the morning. Stephanie Smith's responses were reassuring in the extreme - she would personally bring her wide selection of teas for those of us who've never got into the coffee habit. (She did too, and they were great!)
I suspect that my pestering masked anxiety about how this conference would really turn out, but from the moment I arrived at the Hotel Real de Chapala, I was reassured. The women running this conference knew what they were doing: the registration process was organized and I received a folder full of information about the upcoming workshops.
The setting of the conference was ideal. As someone who finds concentrating for any length of time difficult (I have no doubt the term ADD would have been applied to me as a child had it been invented at that time), I was thrilled to see that the room we were in had two sides that were window from floor to ceiling. Whenever I wanted to space out, all I had to do was look beyond the room and marvel at the lake and the mountains.
To be honest, I really didn't space out that much. On the first day, Susan Page was so professional in her presentation, and had so much information to give that I was too busy scribbling notes all over her handout. On the second day, Judy Reeves held me enthralled with her beautiful use of language and her practical guidance for improving my writing.
In addition to the workshops themselves, I had plenty of opportunity to network. I met other folks who were doing the same kind of writing I was, and we arranged to have lunch together the second day of the conference. We chattered excitedly throughout lunch and made plans to stay in touch after the conference.
So will I be attending this year's conference? Well, when Blue, Harriet, Marlene and Stephanie asked last year if anyone would be willing to join the organizing committee, I stepped forward. So I guess that means I have to attend. I wouldn't have it any other way.
The Lake Chapala Fourth Annual Writers' Conference takes place on Thursday January 24th and Friday January 25th, 2008 at the Hotel Real de Chapala, with a kick-off no-host cocktail party on Wednesday January 23rd. It features writing coach Jessica Morrell, author of numerous books on writing, and award-winning journalist Vince Beiser. For more information check out www.chapalaguide.com/fourth-chapala-writers-conference.html. To register for the conference, email Stephanie Smith at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or stop by Diane Pearl's Colecciones on the corner of Colon and Ocampo. Early bird registration is 750 MXN until December 31, and 850 MXN from January 1, 2008 onwards.
