As always, I return from a writing conference energized with all the new things I learned, interesting people I met, and fun moments with good friends. Probably not surprisingly, my NESCBWI 2016 recap includes all of those things.

One of the best parts of the conference this year for me was meeting my longtime critique partner, Michelle Mason. Michelle lives in far-off Missouri, so even though we’ve worked together for years, this was our first time meeting in person, so you can imagine how cool it was to have real conversations for the first time!

It was also lovely catching dinner with one of my favorite writing friends, Katharine Manning, meeting some of her good friends, and talking a mile a minute about all the bookish things. But of course, the conference is about more than just socializing, and while the workshops at NESCBWI are always good, this year, they were simply fantastic. A few of my absolute favorites:

Scrivener with MarcyKate Connolly: I consider myself an intermediate Scrivener user, but I learned quite a few neat tricks as well as got all of my burning questions answered.

Antagonists with Annie Gaughen: I have a thing for antagonists, and I was glad to learn that antagonists aren’t necessarily the villain. As an added bonus, Hamilton and Burr came up more than once. Which one is the antagonist?

Verse Novels with Padma Venkatraman and Holly Thompson: I have been studying verse novels recently, so this class couldn’t have come at a better time for me. Both authors gave a great overview of some of the important elements in verse novels, along with so many wonderful examples to illustrate their points. My reading list has certainly grown!

Counterfactual Fiction with Trisha Leaver: This workshop walked us through Trisha’s recent YA historical release, Sweet Madness, with an eye focused on weaving facts and theories together (all without altering the timeline). Such a unique way to attack historical fiction!

Finally, even though I was busy stuffing my brain (and my mouth, since the conference food was pretty tasty), it was also great to take a break with the members of my #PitchWars family gathered for the weekend. So fun seeing you all. Until next time!

Conference season is most certainly upon us, and I’m thrilled to be gearing up for NESCBWI 2016 this year. Last year, I chose the amazing Novel Writing Retreat at VCFA over the conference (so many events, so little time/cash/what have you), and while I hope to head back to that one again next year, there’s nothing quite like NESCBWI, as evident in my recap post from the last time I attended (in 2014).

I have to say before even going how excited I am about the workshop offerings this year. I registered the first minute they opened and managed to get all my top choices, which focus on everything from Scrivener to verse novels to revision. So exciting! I consider myself a lifelong learner and always walk away from this conference with new tools tucked into my bag, so I’m already looking forward to all the new knowledge around the corner.

Also, business cards! I haven’t gotten new cards in a while, so I figured it was time for some new ones.

Of course, another thing I’m really looking forward to is seeing all my writing friends. In general, I prefer to hide out at home, but I do make exceptions for bookish events, and this one brings together so many of my favorite authors as well as fellow travelers on the path that it’s even possible for an introvert to enjoy. Perhaps best of all, I’m finally going to meet one of my longtime critique partners, Michelle Mason, in person!

So who else is going? Let me know because I’d love to meet up!