Guest Post

Writers block.

If most people are most afraid of public speaking, and if the IRS can make grown men cower in fear, then the words writers block are enough to send writers into a helpless fetal position.

What do you do when the words won’t come?

Maybe the answer is to learn more about the craft. Maybe your characters don’t inspire even you, their creator. Maybe the high points of your memoir are a lot more boring on paper than the were in real life. Maybe your plot is wrapping around itself like a python tied in a bow.

Whatever the cause, the Florida Writers Conference (October 23-25 at the Orlando Marriott Lake Mary) has the program to recharge your inspiration and kick your muse in the pants to help you be productive. This year’s conference also has a strong assortment of agents, publishers, and editors, including representatives from MIRA/Harlequin, The Peppertree Press, and agents specializing in non-fiction and just about every genre in fiction.

This years keynotes are timely and appropriate. Rejection is part of the cost of being a writer. Any writer whose been published has also been rejected. Florida writer James O. Born, a successful novelist and member of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, will talk about using rejection to make you a better writer in the Saturday night keynote.

Bob Sanders of Mundania Press, which sells both hardcopy and e-book versions of its titles, will talk Sunday morning about the future of publishing. With the perfect storm generated by the economic downturn, the changes in the publishing industry, and the increased market in electronic publishing, you shouldn’t miss this keynote.

This year the conference also features Margie Lawson, an expert in making your characters come to life. Margie will be presenting a session on writing body language and dialogue cues to make your characters come alive. She’ll also be presenting an all-day session on Thursday, October 22 on empowering your characters emotions. This class is useful whether your characters in a novel, your memoirs, or even non-fiction. Registration is separate from the conference and all proceeds go to the Florida Writers Foundation to help fight illiteracy.

The conference will also feature sessions on how to pitch your work, how to market your work, and sessions on playwriting, writing for youth markets, and using social media.

For complete information, see the conference blog.  To register, go to the Florida Writers Association website.

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Chris Hamilton is the marketing chair for this year’s conference. He and I will present a Friday morning signature session on the FWA Network and Social Networking for Writers. Chris has been writing for a living since becoming a technical writer in 1989. He’s currently trying to publish a mystery novel.

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