Conference Goals

One of the things that the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference (hereafter known as BRMCWC cause really, that’s a mouthful) website suggested a few days ago is to set some realistic goals for your conference experience. (I was going to link directly to the post, but it’s challenging to figure out the permalink with the way they have domain masking set up, so, just scroll down on the first page if you’re interested, it was posted 5/3/12).

Goal setting is something I really struggle with in just about every area of my life, and writing is no exception. (It follows, then, that a writing conference is also no exception.) While in my head I understand perfectly the difference between a dream and a goal, and I can even go so far as to set up discrete, measurable steps toward a goal (vs. a dream), I always seem to bite off more than I can reasonably expect to chew as far as the goal goes. And then I end up being discouraged when I don’t make my goal. (And the whole “Shoot for the moon, even if you miss you’ll be among the stars” idea has never really worked for me. I’m much to pass/fail, true/false, black/white for that. I blame my analytical brain.)

After reading that post I will admit that I pretty much rolled my eyes and decided to just move on. But this question has been nagging at me since then: what, really, are you looking to get out of the conference?

I can come up with several answers, some are clearly pie-in-the-sky, others are more realistic, and others are kind of givens. For example, I won’t have my kids at the conference, so I’m really looking forward to four nights of uninterrupted sleep! That’s pretty much a given. Then there’s the pie-in-the-sky of meeting the perfect agent who is in love with my novel and scoops it up with no hesitation. (Why is that pie-in-the-sky? Well, sure, it could happen…but the chances are pretty slim.)

So what am I really looking to get out of this time? I’ve narrowed it down to the following:

• A good critique of my novel. This is in the “given” category, because I’ve already sent that off and am eagerly (?) awaiting the feedback.
• A chance to meet some fellow Christian authors. Also a given, but I’m especially looking forward to putting some faces with the names of folks I’ve been chatting with on Facebook and via email.
• An opportunity to pitch my novel. This one is on the scary end of things for me. Yes, there will be time slots for doing this – but it’s going to be tough to work up the nerve to actually sign up for one of the slots. (And I also need to get busy with a little more research on who’s going to be there, because I definitely want to choose the right person/people.)
• Finally, it’s a good opportunity to stretch my extrovert muscles and be willing to push outside my comfort zone.

Realistically, that’s enough to start with – there are two that will stretch me and two that should be pretty easy to accomplish. It’s a good balance, I hope. Mostly, though, I just want to use this as an opportunity to see where God is taking me with my writing. I really believe that this book (and others that are in my head and heart) is from Him, and I just want to see it used for His glory – however that comes about.