The Maryland Writers’ Association (MWA) Conference took place this year on April 26, 2014 at the Maritime Institute Conference Center in Linthicum Heights, MD under the tasty theme “Feed Your Writing Habit.” I was so glad to be among this year’s group of presenters, which included exciting appearances from former Maryland Poet Laureate Michael Glaser and Keynote Speaker Rafael Alvarez, staff writer for famed HBO series The Wire.
The MWA is a “voluntary, not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting the art, business, and craft of writing in all its forms” and their yearly one-day conference provides a great, interactive forum for writers and industry folks to unite and compare notes on the many-splendored joys and challenges of the field.
My talk, “Revisions: Polishing Your Work for Publication,” fell into the Craft of Writing category and focused on teaching writers some of the most common problems plaguing creative works while offering some of the most effective tips I’ve found for how to resolve them—and strengthen your writing in the process.
Here’s the talk description:
Each year, more than a million new titles are published by traditional and self–publishers. Every writer knows, or soon learns, that it takes multiple revisions to create a piece ready to compete for the attention of book buyers. This talk will introduce you to the most common problems that plague written works and offer simple ways to identify and resolve them in your own novel, short story, or memoir. You’ll receive tips on improving your work to keep readers’ attention, polishing your manuscript at the technical level, and getting objective feedback before you submit or go to press.
As a long-time member of MWA, the annual conference is a great opportunity for me to spend time catching up with my writer friends, many of whom I don’t often see throughout the year. I had a great time speaking and was happy to receive this kind testimonial from one of the attendees:
I wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed your workshop on revision. It gave really concrete, specific guidance to help my revisions be thorough and successful and was exactly what I needed. —Crystal Holly of Glen Burnie, MD
Many thanks go to the MWA Board of Directors and all who attended and made the conference possible. I look forward to seeing everyone again next year!
Check here for more of my posts on preparing for publication!
If your presentation was anything like the one you did for the Communication Central conference last year, I’m not surprised that you got rave reviews! I enjoyed co-presenting a session on contracts for writers at the 2014 MWA conference; just wish I had had more time to hang out with you and other colleagues.