September 21, 2006 @ 5:52 am | Filed under: Thursday Thirteen

Right after my last class today I leave for the ACFW annual conference. For the past five years I’ve attended this conference and have seen the sights in some great cities in the process: KC, Houston, Denver, Nashville…

But this year the conference is being held right here in Dallas and, with my school schedule and family functions I’m kind of relishing the fact that I’ll have a mere 20 minute drive to the hotel. Here’s thirteen things I’m anticipating about the next four days.

1.  I get to spend quality face time with my critique partners, Kim and Ramona. These women take the words of my rough drafts and chop away. But always with lots of grace and love. I treasure the relationships.

2.  Since I am a home-town girl I will be one of the ones transporting ACFW members around, suggesting great local restaurants, and pointing out that some of the most fabulous shopping in Dallas is only a few short steps beyond the hotel door.

3.  I will be attending some great workshops in the Advanced Level. Some of the sessions I’ll be in are: Inside Out Fiction, How to Juggle Your Career Without Dropping the Ball (SO looking forward to that one), and The Page Turner, How to Write it in Any Genre.

4.  At the end of each long day I’ll be retiring to a gorgeous and luxurious hotel room. I have a thing for really great hotel beds (I’m thinking I may be in the market for one when we finally sell our house and move…) so I’m looking forward to unwinding and de-stressing from the hectic activities of the long days.

5.  However…while I’m luxuriating in this really great room, I am going to have to do some really great studying as well. I have two papers and a major (can you hear me hyper-ventilating?) exam next week in school. So my school books, laptop, and plenty of pens and brightly-colored highlighters will be coming to the conference too.

6.  I will have sit-down sessions with my agent, Wendy. We’ll discuss the projects of mine that she is shopping around right now, including which editors now have Melrose Miracle on their desks.

7.  Speaking of Wendy, this is the first time I’ve attended ACFW when I haven’t felt the nervous tension and flutters of apprehension that are tagged to grueling editor and agent appointments.

8.  Since I have signed with Books & Such Literary Agency and Wendy has taken over the "selling" portion of my career, I just have to concentrate on introducing myself to certain editors so they can put a face with the name. <deep sigh>

9.  I will have major late night discussions with the other members of my mentoring group. Amy, Jen, and Mary are paramount to my writing. Not only do we lend critique suggestions to one another’s work, but we also actively pray for each other, encourage one another, and basically just lend a faithful ear. We always share tremendous gut-busting laughter when we get together in person. It should be lots of fun.

10. There will also be Late Night Chats (LNCs) where informal groups gather to discuss topics that may be pertinent to us. These are optional sessions, but there are a couple that I definitely want to make. If I can keep my eyes open that late! These are To Blog or Not to Blog (how appropriate, huh?) and The Biggest Loser: Rejection and the Heart of the Writer (my friend Jen is leading this group so I want to be there to support her).

11.  Saturday night is semi-formal night, complete with banquet and awards ceremony. So I get to really dress up and feel pretty. I even have a brand new red clutch purse to match my outfit.

12.  The keynote speaker is Liz Curtis Higgs, the best-selling author of Thorn in My Heart. That’s another great thing about this conference: I get to meet and mingle with so many great authors, some of which I’ve been a fan for YEARS.

13.  There is a worship service on Sunday morning. This is the time where we all come together and recommit our writing and our careers to God. It is always a time of refreshing and a gentle, lovely reminder that He is the reason we write.The people I will be spending the next four days with are my peers. Though most of the relationships are maintained via emails, loops, and phone calls, they are the folks that form "our company". There is no competition. We rejoice when someone lands a contract and we sympathize when the rejections slide in. I respect this group so much and I know the next several days will be rejuvenating and beneficial.