My Favorite things about LDStorymakers Conference

Before I published my first book "A Question of Trust" I knew very few authors. Authors seemed way too cool for me to know firsthand. Well...they are, but then they aren't any cooler than any other talented people. So one of my favorite things was seeing some of these friends--cool people--who have gone after a dream. And meeting and hobnobbing with great people who are setting aside time and effort to learn something new. Over 250 writers attended this years conference.
I loved meeting Dean Lorey--a genuine Hollywood scriptwriter and author--and a genuine guy all around, approachable and didn't seem to mind a bit when I gushed over him and had our picture taken together--something I never do. He worked as a writer on one my all time favorite T.V. comedies--Arrested Development. Seinfeld is the only show that for me was in the same ball park as "Arrested Development." Dean also has a Children's series out called "Nightmare Academy" that seems like the kind of books I would've enjoyed reading with my kids. He spent nearly an hour treating us with stories about writing his first screenplay--a hilarious sounding tale about a boy going to the prom with his dream date, but dying first and turning into a zombie--but still going on the date. He also told us about meeting and marrying his wife of 14 years, writing "Happy Gilmore" and other such life-changing events as losing his hair and discovering this by viewing a film with camera shots from above.

All of the workshops I attended were great. One of my favorites was hearing Matthew Buckley explain why ebooks and the like aren't necessarily a bad thing, using numerous funny slides to illustrate, including a dog--well maybe not the exact dog--that got sued by the recording industry for illegal downloads. Matthew encouraged us to view the new trends as an opportunity.
Another one that was fun was the mystery/thriller panel, which included my good friend Josi Kilpack, also Liz Adair, Stephanie Black (Whitney winner for this year), Julie Bellon, and JoAnn Arnold. I don't know why there weren't men included, but with Kerry Blair moderating it was fun. Like I said all the workshops were great and is one of the best workshops hands down, and I really don't think you need to be LDS to learn from these authors. After all the discussions on writing plot, character, and conflict apply to writers in general.

If you missed this years workshop, we're doing a fundraiser workshop for the AVA. When I say we--I don't mean storymakers, but I do mean some great Cache Valley writers and one amazing Box Elder County author. It's May 9th. It's bound to be fun.