Back From ACFW!

Technically, I’m not home. I’m visiting my sister in Fort Worth for a couple of days, but this year’s ACFW is history. Sniff. Sniff. I have a mixed bag of emotions (forgive the cliches, I’m pulling them from my WIP, and I  guess they have to land somewhere!)

ACFW went by too quickly. There’s never enough time to do everything and see everyone you want to. With close to 500 attendees, I didn’t even catch a glimpse of some of the people I wanted to meet. So maybe next year in Minnesota.

As for the content of the conference, the buzz is that it was the most organized, most content filled, most amazing ACFW conference to date.

Agent Chip MacGregor said “while I’m not exactly prone to raves, allow me to rave about this one… Fantastic conference. Incredibly strong. Probably the best conference I’ve ever been to in terms of content. I saw more publishable manuscripts than I’ve ever seen at a writing conference. The team of people who put this together are to be commended for creating such a strong gathering of writers. ” You can read the rest of what he has to say HERE.

For me one of the best things about the ACFW conference is the people. Randy Ingermanson agrees.  Most of these writers I see once a year, with a couple of emails in between. But bring us together at a writer’s conference and it’s like we’ve known each other all our lives. It’s not just the commonality in writing that brings us together, it’s the connection we have as believers.

On a personal note, I was a reluctant participant in the agent panel late night chat. Unarmed (I left my son’s plastic Shield of Faith at home), I turned in my One Sheet to the three agents. I figured if I wanted to grow as a writer, I needed to take advantage of this opportunity, despite the potential pain. Of course, it made it easier knowing that my One Sheet wasn’t going to be the only one ripped apart. Thirty others added their “babies” to the stack.

The actual process was painless (at least for me) and eye opening as the editors read the nameless One Sheets out loud. We got to see and hear their gut reactions. If you ever wondered why an editor or agent keeps rejecting your stuff, this panel helped to shed light on the mystery.

By the mercy and grace of God, my One Sheet passed the inspection. I even got a smile and laugh from the agents and audience. So I passed the first test. Now the real work begins.

Both agents I met with the next day were incredibly helpful to me and gave me direction as to how to take my WIP to the next level. I’m anxious to dig in and overwhelmed from the amazing ACFW sessions, wondering if I’ll be able to pull it off as a published fiction writer.

The biggest thing I need to remind myself and the theme of my writing right now, is “be true to yourself, your voice and your calling.”

Grab hold of that.

Work hard at learning the craft and do what you can do. You can’t do it all. Even the most prolific writers are still learning. Case in point. James Scott Bell, ACFW’s Key Note Speaker,  sat in on the Early Bird Session.

Speaking of James Scott Bell, I’ve got a funny and slightly embarrassing story involving him and I, a social faux pas and a bruised ego.

BTW, I used several literary devices and common mistakes in this piece. Can you find them? If so, leave a comment!