Weekend Writing: Attending the 2019 Gathering of Writers Conference

At the beginning of the year, one of my goals for 2019 was to attend a writing conference. I have wanted to attend a conference since I graduated from college, and I am pleased to inform you that I have successfully "checked" that goal off of my list. I attended a writing conference!

Last weekend, I attended the Indiana Writers Center's 2019 Gathering of Writers conference held in Indianapolis, Indiana. It was a small gathering of writers from all backgrounds, including professional and published writers, college students, and writers who have a full-time job but love to write as a hobby. It didn't matter what stage you were at--whether you were just starting out as a writer or an experienced professional. We were there to write and discuss our passions, and I loved every second of it.

The conference began with the keynote speaker, award-winning poet Ross Gay. The Indiana University professor has received the National Book Critics Award for Poetry, and he recently released a collection of essays, The Book of Delights. His keynote address included excerpts from the collection, but he also answered questions about his craft.

Ross Gay (photo/Kasy Long)

I had heard of Gay prior to this conference. I knew his writing and I was interested in meeting him and listening to his words of advice. He advised us to write about what we don't know. We're often told to write about what we know, but what about the things we have yet to learn? By writing, we learn new things and we observe the world around us. We might be surprised by what we learn.

Gay commented, "Observation is a part of the training with writing. You can't write unless you're observant." 

After Gay's presentation, the conference split up into a variety of workshops. I attended two workshops: a fiction workshop, titled "Starting and Finishing Your Novel," and a poetry workshop on prose poetry.

The fiction workshop was incredibly helpful. I'm in the process of writing a novel, so I knew the workshop would allow me to tap into my creativity. We had to determine our goals. What do we want to accomplish as a writer? For me, I want to finish my novel, get a literary agent, publish my novel, and make a living as a professional novelist.

That's the dream, but there's a lot of work that needs to be done to achieve those goals. Like with any job, you don't become an award-winning novelist overnight. You have to work for it. But our instructor (novelist Larry D. Sweazy) inspired us to keep writing every day. He provided helpful comments, including:

• Write as much as we can. Our first draft is perfect as a first draft. Just write it! Separate writing and editing in the first draft. You can always edit later. 
• Make yourself accountable to write every day, even if it's just one page. If you write one page every day, by the end of the year you have 365 pages. That's a novel.
• Interview your characters. Know them inside and out. Don't forget to write down every detail. They might not end up in the novel, but they will help you know your characters as though they're real people. 
• Don't overcomplicate the plot. Write what serves the story. If something doesn't add to the story, take it out. It's not necessary.
• Plot is your character's footprints in the story. 

Finally, Sweazy had one last remark that is so important to consider. He said, "If your story is worth starting, it's worth ending. Your story is important. Write it." 

Next, the prose poetry workshop was amazing. It was wonderful to be back in a poetry workshop and to share my thoughts with fellow poets. Our instructor (poet Callista Buchen) commented that prose poetry is often underappreciated. She asked us to define prose poetry, and we spent time deconstructing the form of poetry. 

Prose poetry is: 

• Freedom of expression
• Narrative
• Preservation of poetic qualities

Afterward, we were required to draft two prose poems. This was an invitation for us to express our creativity--to write words down on a page. We didn't have to read them aloud, but it was still enjoyable to have two hours of free time to learn and write. 

The prose poetry workshop (photo/Kasy Long).

That's what I loved most about the 2019 Gathering of Writers. The conference allowed me to feel connected to my creativity. I felt inspired to write, and sometimes you need to be reminded of how important it is to take time out of our busy schedules to write. We're writers. We should write every day. Like Sweazy said, even if it's just one page of writing, at least it's something. 

So, thanks for the inspiration, Indiana Writers Center. I'll be back next year! 

-KJL-