PSWA CONFERENCE 2021 – PART II

This is a continuation of last week’s blog on the PSWA Conference we attended last month.

SATURDAY, July 24

This was our big day. Following the opening by Scott Decker, Joe Haggarty read Keith Bettinger’s poem, “Judiciary Square.” (These folks are wonderful writers, and some are terrific poets.)

We were on next for our Featured Presentation: “The Perfect Pitch.” Most writers hate reducing their books to the “elevator pitch” length of 25 words or less. This presentation gives guidelines to help authors create them. Then we allow time for the group members to write their own. Everyone seemed to enjoy it.

A break, then a panel on “Nonfiction Dos and Don’ts.” The panelists were Rannah Gray, Bruce Adams, Geno Munari, and Mike Brandt. They discussed how to keep your writing fresh and interesting when writing nonfiction.

After the break, we were back on a panel called “Stepping into Publication,” with Jo Wilkins (a publisher), Barbara Hodges, and Marilyn Meredith. We discussed the steps to publication. Larry covered book covers, and Barbara and I discussed editing, formatting, etc. We also discussed what we look for and what makes us cringe.

Another fabulous lunch. (Have I mentioned, they were all terrific?)

After lunch a wonderful Featured Speaker, Terry L. Kerns, described “The Opioid Crisis.” She explained why it is really a drug crisis. Terry was an FBI Field Division Evidence Team Leader and is currently the Opiate Coordinator with the Nevada Attorney General’s office. We learned a great deal during her talk.

Following the first afternoon break, we were again on a panel entitled “We’ve Got You Covered.” We discussed the final steps in preparing a manuscript for publication and cover design. Since covers are Larry’s area of expertise, he offered some good advice. I was also on the panel along with Barbara Hodges, Thonie Hevron, and Dave Knop. (Barbara is also a cover artist.)

More information on the police was presented in the next panel, following another break. This one was called “Fuzz,” and included information about jurisdictions. The experts were Bob Doerr, Scott Decker, Joe Haggerty, and Darlene Record.

Following another afternoon break, we heard about “Writing Action Scenes” from Bill Rapp, Dave Freedland, Jim Gugili, and Rich Wickliffe.

Afterward, there was an open discussion on how the past year has affected our writing.

Once again, we took advantage of the opportunity to have a light dinner with Marilyn and Lisa. The café has been redecorated since we were last there, and I really loved the chandeliers made of brass instruments. They were fabulous!

Knowing we would be leaving the next day, we went to the valet stand and asked to have Elsa (the Tesla) charged up for our departure.

SUNDAY, July 25

Before we left our room, we packed our luggage. We checked out and then took the luggage to the bell captain to hold for us during the day.

The first panel in the morning was called “Animals, Aliens, and Other Things that Go Bump in the Night.” This was a lot of fun because the discussion included ghosts. Since one of my books, Ghost Writer, contains a ghost, I was most interested.

Bob Haig Sr., Barbara Hodges, Dave Knop, and Marilyn Meredith discussed the advantages as well as the potential pitfalls and limitations of including these elements.

Following the morning break, we heard a panel on “Building and Maintaining Suspense in Your Fiction.” Barbara Hodges, Thonie Hevron, Bob Doerr, and Kelli Peacock provided some good advice.

After the final break, I was on one more panel called “Polishing Your Manuscript.” The others were Jo Wilkins, Frank Hickey, and George Cramer. We discussed what to look for after you think your manuscript is ready for publication.

We picked up our remaining books to take home. (Yes, we sold a few.)

The last event was the Awards Luncheon. Once again, good food, great company, and a nice awards program.

We said goodbye to everyone and started on our way home with the car fully charged. We enjoyed the weekend, but we were looking forward to being back home again.

PSWA CONFERENCE 2021 – PART I

 We attended the PSWA Conference in Las Vegas last month. Last year’s was cancelled, so we especially looked forward to this one.

It was our longest trip in our Tesla, and she performed wonderfully. (See previous blog: TRAVELS WITH ELSA.)

We drove up on Wednesday, even though the conference itself didn’t officially start until Friday. We like having a day to relax before the hustle and bustle of the conference. It gave us a chance to catch up with a few people.

As we were checking in, we spotted Marilyn Meredith, one of those we most wanted to see.

We went to our room and settled in. Just as is often the case, our room was near the end of a long hallway. My response was, “Well at least we’ll get some exercise.” Unfortunately, not long before, Larry injured his leg standup paddle boarding, so he was walking with a cane. Everywhere in the hotel was at a distance, so I had to slow down to stay at his pace. (Not the usual circumstance!)

We had eaten in Primm in the late afternoon before we arrived in Las Vegas, so neither of us was very hungry. I always try to travel with some protein bars. This time, we also brought along a couple of protein drinks. Instead of dinner, we split a protein bar, and it was fine.

THURSDAY, July 22

Although Friday was the first official day of the conference, they offered a Writers’ Workshop on Thursday. Marilyn spoke, along with Kelli Peacock and Michael Black. The workshop included questions and discussion. Very worthwhile.

We went to Fuddruckers in the hotel and ate lunch. Larry ordered a mushroom burger, and I had a turkey one. They were very good and satisfying.

Although there was a reception scheduled for six, we were ready for dinner earlier. We knew the reception would probably have appetizers, but I suspected I would be unable to eat some of them. Besides, I had noted a salad on the menu at lunch, and it sounded really good. (It was.) Larry also ordered one and a vanilla shake.

Registration began at 3:00, so we picked up our materials and went back to our room and got our things sorted for the remainder of the conference until the reception began.

Of course, Larry grazed his way through the reception! We had a chance to meet some folks we didn’t already know, and it was a good way to start the weekend.

FRIDAY, July 23

We went to the conference area and dropped off our books for sale.

At 9:00, the conference proper began with introductions and a welcome message from President John Schembra. We observed a moment of silence in remembrance of the PSWA members who had passed away during the previous year. Member Joe Haggerty read his moving poem, “Why Wasn’t I There?”

A special presentation was made to Marilyn Meredith for her longtime support for the organization.

The first speaker of the day was Michael Brandt speaking on “The Art of the interview.” He made a distinction between interrogation and interviewing. He gave good advice for writers on how to describe the process.

After a break, we were treated to a panel discussion called “Keeping Things Real,” featuring Dave Freeland, John Schembra, Darlene Record, and Al van de Steege. They discussed how to avoid writing scenes that don’t ring true while maintaining excitement.

Following another break was a panel called “Research; The Art of Mining Yourself and Your Experience for Writing Fiction.” Jim Guiligi, Thonie Hevron, Frank Hickey, and Bill Rapp discussed bringing our own experience and doing research to make our writing authoritative.

Lunch was delicious—as it was every day of the conference.

The afternoon began with Featured Speaker Rannah Gray. She told us about her true crime book, Familiar Evil, and turning it into a documentary. It was a compelling story—so much so I downloaded the Kindle version and read it the next week. It is fascinating!

The book has been turned into a documentary called The Lies That Bind. It is on YouTube.

Following a break, we enjoyed another panel, “Steps in Conducting an Investigation,” with Mike Brandt, Dave Cropp, Scott, Decker, and Bob Doerr. They described how actual investigations differ from TV depictions.

After another break, we heard a panel discussion of “Fiction Typecasting—Writing Novels, Short Stories, Flash Fiction, and Poetry,” with Joe Haggerty, Dave Cropp, Barbara Lloyd, and Darlene Record.

Yet another break, and then anther panel on “Dealing with Censorship,” with Barbara Hodges, Thonie Hevron, John Schembra, and George Cramer. Their agreed they all self-censored their work.

At the end of that session, we did some book signing.

We were free for dinner, so we met Marilyn Meredith and her daughter, Lisa at the Café in the hotel. After our fabulous lunch, none of us was interested in anything much for dinner. We enjoyed our time together. Seeing Marilyn was one of the main reasons we attended the conference, so this was a precious chance to be with her. We had also gotten to know Lisa on previous occasions, so we consider her a friend as well.

We returned to our room, prepared for the next day, watched some TV, and got some sleep.

Next: The rest of the conference.