Lexicon

Now that I've had a week to reflect, it's time I share my thoughts on Lexicon.

Friday evening began with a few words from Mitch Haynes, the brain and vision behind Lexicon. He told us his dream for Lexicon was that it be different from other writer's conferences where we have to sell ourself, where egos rule and writers compete with each other. I liked that right off. So many times we get caught up in what others can do for us, we forget what we can do for them.

The dinner was very good and while I really don't like mingling, the meet and greet was fun. Once I get started I'm fine, it's that first couple meets and greets that are uncomfy. :-)

Saturday morning started with breakfast and more meeting and greeting. Then on to the workshops.

Marketing Your Business on a Shoestring was a bit basic but I still took away a couple ideas I want to try.

Every Novelist Should Write Short Stories reminded me just how much I love doing short stories. I also met Earl Staggs, who is a great guy. I bought two of his books and plan to dig into them soon.

The Do it Yourself Marketing Boot Camp gave me some things to think about as I work on my  marketing plan. 

Lunch took longer than expected 'cause the hotel kitchen got overwhelmed but we didn't mind. We shared lunch with editor Susan M. Malone of Malone Editorial Services.  If you need an editor, I highly recommend her.

After lunch, it was a workshop with Susan dealing with Story Arc.  Now I love story arc, hero's journey and three act structure stuff. As she talked, I went through my WIP checking to see if I had all the elements there.

Next it was Intrigue Your Reader with Darlene Hartman. I'd met Darlene the night before and fell in love with her. She actually wrote several episodes for the original Star Trek series. Darlene is one classy lady.

I skipped the time with agents and took a short nap then headed down for the "Round Table" discussions. These were all very informative and carried over on Sunday morning.

The highlight of the conference though, had to be Saturday night.  After dinner at Braum's, we had ice cream, a group of us ended up downstairs in the lobby/seating/dining/bar area.  We talked about the publishing business, social media, life in general and had a great time getting to know each other. We headed to our rooms a little after midnight.

Never have I come away from a conference with friends as I did with Lexicon. I'm already looking forward to next year's conference.

The thing about Lexicon, we were all equals. Novice writer as well as published. Traditionally published, small press or even self-published, it didn't matter. We weren't there to compete with each other, but to help.

Sunday, during breakfast, one of the agents attending joined the table where I sat. I've been to quite a few conferences and never has that happened before. And, that's another reason I enjoyed Lexicon so much.