As I write this blog, I’m sitting on a bench beneath towering California Redwoods. There’s a gentle breeze blowing, carrying with it the fragrance of evergreens and sunshine. But it carries something else. Something wondrous…
The sound of community.
All around me, people are walking and sitting and standing, and as their voices drift past me I hear a number of things:
Excitement
Shared laughter
Commiseration
Exploration
Instruction
But most of all, what I hear is passion. Pure, unadulterated passion. For writing. For words. For sharing God’s truth and wisdom on the written page (or, as the case may be, on the Internet). For the gift that is writing.
I’ve had numerous people ask me why I always recommend writers’ conferences to them. I wish I could take moments like this–sitting here at the Mount Hermon Christian Writer’s Conference, listening to the chatter and excitement buzzing around me—and package them. Then bring them out and let them speak for themselves. Because friends, there are few things more wonderful that being in the company of like-minded people.
Many of us experience that in critique groups, but that isn’t quite the same. Writers’ conferences like Mount Hermon are far closer to…well, to how I envision eternity. To being immersed in the wonder of God’s Word, and of the creative power of words. To talking with people who not only speak you language (English), but who speak you language of POV, proposals, Show vs. Tell, narrative, exposition, and on and on. Fiction, nonfiction, articles, kids books…it doesn’t matter what you write. When you’re in the company of other writers, you’re home. I’m home. And it’s a feel that uplifts, and excites, and energizes.
Why come to conferences like this? To go deeper into your craft. To find friends who will not just help you as a writer, but who will last a lifetime. To know you’re not alone in this endeavor. To experience, for just a moment, the wonder that will be eternity, where we’ll all know and share the same passion: worshiping the Creator who breathed His gift of creativity into us!
Writers’ conferences are beneficial. They’re empowering. And, in oh so many ways…
They’re just a big magical.
