My First Writer's Workshop

My First Writer’s Workshop
By Donald Jones

The streets were still wet from the early morning rain. The street lights cast their glow up from the pavement. The sun would not be up for another hour. There were only a few cars and one bus on the street. I fell behind the bus and followed it south on A1A going into the downtown area of Ft. Lauderdale. I had figured that the traffic would be light at 6 a.m. on a Saturday morning. Registration at the National Writer’s Workshop would not start until 8:15, but I had received an e-mail from Kathy Bushouse of the Sun-Sentinel, warning that there would be limited parking and it would be a good idea to be early. I had spent the night at my aunt and uncle’s condo, so I was only about 30 minutes away from the Hyatt Regency Hotel where the workshop was going to be held. I was going to be incredibly early. Turning into the parking lot at 6:30 a.m., I discovered the parking lot was full! To my amazement, there in front of me was a parking space close to the door. It had to be fate.

After parking, I went to the registration desk and was told I was in the wrong building. The workshop was on the other side of the parking lot at the Panorama Ball Room building. Oh, well, so much for parking close to the door. I walked across the parking lot to the Panorama building, as it started to sprinkle a little rain.. As I arrived they were just putting out the registration tables and the Starbucks Coffee snack table. Coffee was $3.00 a cup. Wow! I realized I would be drinking a lot of water today.

This was my first time at a National Writer’s Workshop. It was an adventure and an education. It was advertised on local PBS-TV on the community calendar. After I found it on the web, I decided to register online, and pay the $120 fee by credit card. This was one event I did not mind investing in, even if I did have to cut back on my book buying for a while. It would be money well spent. I then contacted my aunt and uncle who live in Ft Lauderdale and asked to borrow their spare bedroom for the weekend. They were delighted I was coming, and I was too. Since I had been so late finding out about the Workshop, it would have been impossible to get a hotel close by. My home is about two hours north of Ft Lauderdale, so driving back and forth would have been possible, but it would have been miserable to drive.

Jennifer Dawn from the Sun-Sentinel, came in and started setting up her tables for the registration and laying out the sign up sheets. Then the ladies who worked at the registration arrived and Jennifer gave them their instructions on how the morning registration would be carried out. Like a good writer, I found a comfortable seat in the corner and made notes as the day began to unfold. Many college students were in attendance for the Journalism Career Fair being conducted at the same time. The Poynter Institute News University, one of the co-sponsors of the Workshop, was hosting the fair.

While waiting for the workshop to start, I met Mark Baker, special projects producer for documentaries at PBS-TV. He has friends that live in Stuart, and we decided that next time he came to Stuart we would get together. There were several other writers that came in and sat near by and we all started talking about the workshop. One lady had come all the way from the Virgin Islands. She was a school teacher who wanted to write her autobiography and the history of her Island.

By the end of the day, I had heard Jim Born speak about weapons used in mystery novels and how they should be portrayed. Jim Born has several novels to his credit. I also heard Thomas Swich, travel editor for the Sun-Sentinel, who spoke about The 10 Sins of Travel Writing. The Editors of Pineapple Press, David and June Cussen, spoke on Getting Published. They have been publishing for 25 years. One of their well known publications is A Land Remembered, now in its 25th hardback printing and 22nd printing in paperback.. There were many other outstanding speakers. Saturday afternoon the final speaker of the day was Brad Meltzer, New York Times #1 best selling author. His topic was Writing the novel from imagination to publication.

The local library in Stuart, Florida, has authors who speak once in a while. They are always interesting, but cannot compare to the Writer’s Workshop. Anyone aspiring to be a writer ought to attend a writer’s workshop. If not this one, then one close to where they live. Some colleges hold short workshops that would be worth investigating. Checking the Writer’s Digest for schedules of workshops is also a good idea.

This workshop has been held at the Hyatt Regency Pier 66 for the past six years . Gail Bulfin, the conference coordinator, informed me that anyone that would like to be kept informed about the National Writer’s Workshop should contact her at gbulfin@sun-sentineal.com with their name, address, phone number, and e-mail.

There are several things I learned at this workshop that are worth sharing and repeating. Plan to go to a writer‘s workshop, if not to this one, one near where you live. This is an annual event in Ft. Lauderdale, so start thinking about it now.

Start saving your money now.. You will want to buy books or eat out and plan to see the sights. It cost $120 to come, and then the gas. Parking was discounted to $3.00 a day if you got in the parking lot early. If not it could get more expensive. Starbucks coffee was $3.00 a cup and bagels and pastries were $3.00 each. If you are real frugal, you can bring your own lunch. These facts hold true for almost any workshop no matter where they are.

Make it a vacation. This is Florida. There are lots of beaches and sights to visit. Why not make the most of it. Come for the weekend, and plan an extra day before or after and make it more than just for education. Make it a family thing. If your partner does not care for the workshop, have them visit the beaches while you attend. The best way is to arrive early to meet writers and do some networking.

Expect to find books you will want to buy. The Murder on the Beach Mystery Bookstore will be there selling the latest speakers’ books, and many of the books from Writer’s Digest as well.

Bring a camera to record your trip and adventure. I was surprised that there were not others there recording the event. It is true a picture is worth a thousand words. I just wish I had taken more.

Come to listen and learn. I learned it is easer to get published by a big publisher by getting an agent. Most of the time, it will be the agent and not the editor, who will let you know if your writing is any good. It is easier to get a publisher in your state to publish your work, then a big one. Many of the writers I met, got started with their publication through small publishers first, without an agent, and went on to the bigger publishers later.

Writers love to talk about their writing experience and love sharing it with other writers. It is a great opportunity to pick their brains. This is also true about editors, they want your business, and will be more then willing to share the secrets of publishing with you.

Finally, be prepared to wear yourself out. I did and was dead tired at the end of the day. Of course being over sixty did not help any. I guess it is a young person’s game, but I am not out of the game, yet. Smile.

Story ID:	2987
Written by:	Donald L. Jones (bio, contact, other stories)
Story type:	Diary/Journal Entry
Location:	Ft. Lauderdale Florida USA
Year:	2007
Person:	Self