Conferences, Conventions, Symposiums, Oh My

Spring is approaching and for the League of Utah Writers (LUW) that means Pre-Quills is coming up fast. This one-day event is the counterpoint to the main LUW event of the Quill’s Conference. Since this is the LUW blog, I bet you think I am going to extoll all of the wonderful classes that are being made available. For that I am going to direct you to the page with the schedule: https://www.leagueofutahwriters.com/pre-quill-conference

I really do think Pre-Quills is a wonderful place to learn and socialize with fellow writers and fellow members of the LUW. The real point I want everyone to think about are the numerous other opportunities we have for expanding our writing careers at other conferences, conventions, symposiums, and community events.

Every writer I have met has other areas of interest. I am willing to bet you do too. Our imaginations are fueled by these other areas. They also provide other benefits like socializing about those shared interests and relieving stress.

I recently had the chance to attend two other conventions on one of my hobbies and interests, tabletop gaming. I was able to catch up with people I hadn’t seen for months. They live across the state of Utah and from surrounding states. We talked about what they’ve been up to, and I shared some of what I have done. It was great fun to spend time with friends, most of them non-writers, playing games, shooting the breeze, and joking around.

I’m not saying you need to go to a tabletop convention; it may be a horror story for you to attend one. There are other areas you are probably interested in where you would like to learn more about or share in the interest.

I did a quick search about different events in our area and there are scores of events on the schedule for this year. I am sure there is something of interest for every person. These are not all the big costly events we think to associate with many national conventions that occur here in Utah. There are many that are free to join in. If you are short on cash, I have friends who volunteer for different events during the year so they can be involved with their favorite activities. I know just about every event is short on volunteer help. Seriously. If you are struggling on how to attend Pre-Quills and Quills with the LUW, check out the volunteer opportunities.

Anyway, what are some of the direct benefits of attending other events not associated with writing? As I mentioned above there are some of the direct benefits of creativity by sparking the imagination and relieving stress. Most writers are also looking to sell their work. I am not saying you should be a vendor at all these events. However, if you find an event where your work would be welcomed, that is a consideration.

Writers need to regularly find new readers to sell books they have already written. A great way to do that is to make new friends with common interests. How many times have you enjoyed answering the question of what you do with, “I’m a writer.” I’ve found this a great way to expand my audience.

 Daniel Yocom writes about geeky things because people always say to write what you know. Their love of the geeky, nerdy community dates to the 1960s through games, books, movies, and stranger things better shared in small groups. They’re an award-winning writer with hundreds of articles on these topics for blogs, magazines, and gaming companies. They also have short stories and books published.

They enjoy attending conferences, conventions, festivals, sharing on panels, and presentations. This has included being a presenter for The League of Utah Writers and at FyreCon, panels at LTUE, FilmQuest, SaltCon, and FanX. They serve on the selection and awards juries for FilmQuest. And has been a guest at ProtoCon, Salt Lake Gaming Con, TimpCon, Southern Utah RPG Summit, St. George Gaming Convention, and GenCon.

As the current president of the League of Utah Writers Infinite Monkeys Genre Writers, they want to help every writer to become the writer and/or author they desire to be. You can get to know them better at www.guildmastergaming.com.