This past week, for the first time, I attended the The Write His Answer Christian Writers Conference Conference, in Colorado, where I was honored to be on faculty.

Marlene Bagnull, conference director, is a wonderful woman with a heart for God who really cares about writers. Her staff was always cheerful and helpful. The conference as a whole reflected her spirit and was, as a result, a joyous place to be. I could feel an overall sense of joy in the attendees, too. All were enriched by worship and sharing from speakers as well.

I was on four panels, so writers had a chance to get to know me as well as my colleagues. Attendees could choose from many workshops and sessions with excellent faculty. My feeling is that a writer who wanted to learn about a particular publisher, editor, or agent present at the conference had at least one good opportunity to do so.

The conference is held at a camp setting and I found my room comfortable although dicey cell phone service made it impossible to reach my family a couple of evenings. Thankfully I had warned them this might be the case. No television in the room took away the temptation to turn on the nightly news and increased my ability to relax.

Viewing snow-capped mountains in May does come with the price of thin air. I struggled to cope with high altitude sickness and I’m hale and hearty. When you go, do:

drink plenty of water before and during the trip. I was grateful the conference organizers were diligent about providing plenty of bottled water. Those who chose to do so could provide a donation to the scholarship fund in return.

ask your doctor if you should take ibuprofen to prevent headaches.

limit caffeine.

sleep when you can. This conference has a sensible schedule, a fact I greatly appreciated and needed.

plan to stay in Denver for a day or so to acclimate yourself to higher altitudes before the conference. I didn’t have time to do this but it may have been a good idea for me since I live at sea level.

You’ll fly in to Denver for this conference and the drive to Estes Park is absolutely stunning. If you’re not pressed for time, plan to pull off at one or two overlooks to take photos.

As with any writer’s conference, there are many factors to consider when deciding to attend. But if you’ve been on the fence about this one, I’d recommend grabbing a bottle of water and climbing on up!

Your turn:

Have you ever been to this conference? What did you think?

Do you have any tips to share about avoiding or coping with high altitude sickness?