It’s all about the love when it comes to the SCBWI conferences and boy was there a lot to go around in Los Angeles this past weekend!
For some great session and keynote details, check out the official SCBWI blog and 2015 SCBWI LA Twitter Highlights #LA15SCBWI.
The sessions I attended were amazing and my Inspiration Junkie was well fed. But beyond that, I was reminded about how much love there is at the conference—for each other, for the craft of writing and illustrating, for kids, for books, for reading—you know what I’m talkin’ about.
It’s about LOVE and CONNECTION
(and I don’t care how ooey gooey that sounds!)
- Being there when someone comes out of a one-on-one critique to cheer or jeer, depending on the outcome.
- Dancing at the Saturday night party with people you don’t know and yet you do because they get it, so they get you.
- Getting a hug from someone you haven’t seen in a while.
- Hearing the excitement in a writer’s voice when she describes her latest project.
- Making new friends and being surprised—but not really—by how deep the connection with them feels. Were we best friends in a past life? It feels like I’ve known them forever. I LOVE that!
Think (and Love) Outside the Box
For some it’s a reunion, for others it’s an overwhelming brand new experience, but it’s always fun, exciting and filled with possibility. In different ways, I heard speakers talk about approaching a project with your unique viewpoint as well as digging beneath the obvious and the safe to a deeper (and sometimes scarier) place to tell your story.
We’ve all probably heard versions of this advice, but for some reason it hit me differently this time. I feel like I’m doing this with my new YA, but something tugged at me at the conference and I want to look carefully to make sure I’m really digging for the Truth of the story.
I hope I get to share the love with some of you at the RMC-SCBWI Fall Conference Sept 19-20. I’ll be an attendee only this year so I have time to hang out. Hugs await!
