​The early Writer’s conferences I attended worked very hard to provide attendees with resources and materials provided by presenters.  In those days we were each given a three inch-three ring binders that you would haul around for the entire conference.  I am sure that some of those binders were left somewhere, forgotten and alone.
Attendees provided feedback after the conference, including me, that the binder was nice but too much to lug around for three days.  The response the next year was to provide the materials without a binder but held together by a brass clip.  That proved to be worse because the brass binder came off easily leaving sheaves of paper to fly everywhere.  The next solution was to provide a pocket type folder with basic materials for the conference, like the detailed daily schedule, and allow attendees to pick up other materials they wanted and slip them into the pocket of the folder.  The organizers forgot that conference attendees are hoarders – they pick up everything – just in case they might need something.  The result was the pocket folders were not large enough to hold everything and papers went flying.
With technology the options changed.  Several years ago we were given the option to receive presenter materials by e-mail after the conference.  The problem was that most folks want to refer to the materials or read them during the conference; it was a step in the right direction but actually a bit of a misstep.
The conference this year saw a major technological breakthrough.  A day before the conference started we were sent an e-mail with the offer of a free app for your Smartphone that contained all the conference materials.  Of course, I tried it out and was delighted.  The app contained the detailed schedule and many of the presenters materials- not all – but many.  A neat feature was that you could browse the detail schedule and create a schedule for yourself based on what events you elected to attend.  This was a very handy feature which I used throughout the weekend. 
There was no need to carry materials around and possibly loose them.  Everything you needed was in your Smartphone.  A personal goal is to be paperless and this app has made that possible.  I even wrote the conference organizers an e-mail after the conference that they can use to quote me on the benefits of the conference app.  I fully expect that next year nearly all the presenters’ materials should be available on the app.
This is a conference that over its long history has adapted to the trends in publishing, writing, and the business of being a writer.  It is a weekend that writers can spend with others in our tribe and that alone has tremendous benefits.
While you may not choose the Wisconsin Writer’s Institute, I encourage all writers to research and select at least one conference every year that meets your needs.  If it doesn’t work out there’s always a variety of conferences to choose from in Wisconsin and the Midwest.  I would point you in the direction of two other conferences this year in Wisconsin.  May 12-13 is the Lakefly Writer’s Conference in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, go to: www.lakeflywriters.org.  October 6-7 Wisconsin Writers Association Conference in Neenah, Wisconsin, go to: www.wiwrite.org.
                

​The Writer’s Conference follows the trends in the publishing industry to be sure current information is provided to attendees.  In the most past the conference focused on self-publishing and how to make your mark in social media.  It all changed this year.
There was a single class on alternatives to traditional publishing-“Alternative/Independent Publishing and the other way to to self-publish” scheduled for Saturday afternoon at 3:45 pm.  (Is there a message in the scheduling?).
I characterize the theme for this year’s conference as:  “I’m gonna die if I don’t traditional publish and sell 10,000 books”.  As support for my viewpoint I’ll list several of the conference presentations:  “The Business of Writing”; “How to Craft a Book that Sells”; “On the Road:Taking Your Book on Tour”; “How to go from fingers on the keyboard to dollars in your bank account”; “The secret weapon of getting published, staying published and writing the breakout book:; “How to Blog your way to a book deal”; “Connecting your craft to your brand”; “Public relations:  it’s more than marketing”; “How to find an agent”; ”Create your own successful author career plan.”  It’s like the technical college of writing.
I hope that these course offerings were useful to those attending the conference.  The other half of the conference was devoted to practice pitches to agents and actual agent pitches.  Last week I mentioned one attendee I met who was giving five pitches – the shotgun approach.  No one ever really knows if anyone attending the conference signed an agent contract from a pitch made at this conference.
The key is that every author must design for themselves what “success” is and how to measure it.  One fact gleaned from this conference is that most authors sell about 250 books.    

​The Writers Conference Series-The Dirty Little Secret
 
I have been attending the annual Wisconsin Writer’s Institute Conferences for 15 years and it that time the conference has changed as the publishing industry has changed.  Every year that I’ve attended I have taken away big ideas, met new friends, learned about craft, been inspired and tried to find a literary agent.
I am writing this blog for male writers who attend writing conferences.  That doesn’t mean I’m excluding females – who in their right mind would do that.  My experience is that men have a different experience from women who attend writing conferences.  I’m not making a judgment about that – but stating a truth – at least from my perspective.
The dirty little secret is that about 90% of those attending the Wisconsin Writer’s Institute are women.  I consider myself a gregarious, open person and I thoroughly enjoy meeting and talking with everyone.  However, being in a room with 270 women and about 30 men is overwhelming.  The first morning of the conference is held in a large room where the Director Laurie Scheer makes introductory remarks and the conference keynote is presented.  I looked over the sea of white cloth covered round tables searching for a few other men.  I spotted a table with two men which meant if I joined them there would be at least three men at a six person table.  I plopped down my cup of coffee and asked if I could join them although my body language shouted, “I’m here to sit with you.”  Maybe it’s tribal?  Maybe it’s just comfort with your own kind – I don’t know.
Between sessions there is time to grab a beverage and or a snack and mingle.  The women do most of the mingling – with other women.  In between one session I noticed one man awkwardly looking at all the name tags of folks walking close to him.  He spotted me:  “Hi Rex, I’m Phil.”  A straightforward bold self-introduction.  I learned that Phil lived in the northern woods of Wisconsin and had traveled south to catch an agent.  He wrote futuristic/fantasy/sci-fi and was pitching 5 agents.  His goal was to get a contract with an agent that weekend.  The agent would help him get a contract with a major traditional publisher who would agree to a first printing of 5000.  Phil oozed with naiveté but I didn’t want to discourage him.
Throughout the conference mini groups of women huddled in the hallway or the corner of a lecture room or in the hotel lobby.  They appeared to be engaged in animated conversation and laughing.  I guess I could have joined any of the groups but I felt like I would be imposing.
I met a woman at one writer’s conference several years ago who has become both a professional colleague and friend.  We both attended the same lecture class that was interactive.  We sat next to other several seats apart and were given instructions for an interactive assignment.  We looked at each other, smiled and said – OK.  Over the years our relationship has grown and it all started at a writer’s conference.
I just want the men who attend writer’s conferences to be prepared.  It will be fine, even though your initial reaction may be one of intimidation or unease.  Trust me, it will pass.

​I’ve mentioned in previous blogs that I infrequently receive comments on my blog posts and those I do receive are from friends and colleagues.  Except one type of comment I receive.  The comments I receive do not appear in the comment section of my blog.  I receive comments directly to my personal gmail address.  I have a separate web e-mail account embedded in my website and I’ve never received a comment on that e-mail site.
I received an e-mail on March 21st with the subject of “reply.”  The post, as many of them are, come from an organization, not a person.  This post was from the college paper org on my post “Never Forget”.  I posted the blog “Never Forget” on 9/3/16 and didn’t receive the comment until 6 months later.  Below I’ve shown the exact blog comment:
                Study article to know what he wants us to remember maybe his advice will help
                Us to make our future bright in our career.  I would to tell everyone to know what
                is the purpose of telling us by that writer because his message is very special
                for us.
The first thing that jumps out at me is that the post was either written by an English as second language person – or a machine.  Second, the post is non-sense and doesn’t have full sentences.  Finally, the original post was about remembering 9/11 and my firefighter son’s re-enactment of the climb in Dallas, Texas.  The comment has nothing to do with the content of the post.
Where do such odd comments originate?  I don’t know.  I find them both a nuisance and insulting.  If I had a way to block them, I would.
Anyone in blog land have any idea on the source of such inane comments?    
   

​Last week, one rare sunny morning in Wisconsin, I wondered how many blogs I’ve written since I created my website several years ago.  Well, I’ve written 181 so this is number 182.  Imagine that.  I’ve managed to write a few words on 182 different topics.  Under normal circumstances I wouldn’t even think I was capable of writing on that many topics, but there you have it, I’ve done it.
When I started posting a blog nearly four years ago, there were two options.  One option was to write a blog on wordpress and hope to attract readers.  The second option was to nest a blog within my author’s website.  The hope was that the blog would act like a magnet to my website, drawing readers in and hopefully building a fan base.
My website numbers have been good and fairly steady over the years.  I’ve written about that.  I’ve found it impossible to judge the success of my weekly blog.  I probably haven’t received more than 10 blog comments in almost four years and all of them have been by people I already know.  I’ve asked my fellow writer/blogger friends and they have had similar experiences.
I will say that writing a weekly blog serves to keep the ‘ol creative pump primed.’  It also allows me to spout off once in a while about something that bothers me – a psychological housecleaning.
There you have it for another week.  Blog number 182 posted.   

​Today is the Ides of March.  This date became historic because Julius Caesar was assassinated in the Roman Senate on this date.  This is your thimble of history for today.
Last weekend we moved our clocks ahead by one hour to begin Daylight Saving Time.  First, you should know that Daylight Saving(s) Time is incorrect.  You can look it up for yourself or trust me on this.  In many parts of the world it is called “Summer Time”.   The idea behind moving the time ahead by one hour is that it “saves” time in the evenings when we are all home from toiling at work.  In the depth of summer here in the Midwest the sun sets about 9:00 pm.  If we didn’t move our clocks ahead the sun would set at 8:00 pm.
This should teach us all a lesson.  There is Time with a capital T and there is time, or more accurately how we measure time.  The fact that we invented Daylight Saving Time shows the genius of our species and how we control our perception of the world.  The sun actually sets in the pattern dictated by our rotation and pitch and position relative to the sun.
The term Daylight Saving Time is confusing and misleading.  We don’t “save” anything.  There is no physics that allows sunlight to be “saved”.  Einstein confused matters worse because he taught us that time is a dimension.  In fact there are four dimensions that are most accurately described as “space-time”.  Einstein also taught us that time isn’t static, it is elastic.  Time stretches or compresses based on how fast we are traveling.  The faster we travel – time slows down.  Now that is a nifty trick.
What I do know about Daylight Saving Time is that I lose an hour of sleep.  It disappears – gone – I don’t know where and it screws up my internal clock – called the circadian clock or circadian rhythm.  The circadian clock is unique to each of us controls our sleep/wakefulness cycle during the day.  When we change the clock time it doesn’t match our circadian clock and there’s trouble. 
So, is experiencing an extra hour of sunlight in the evening worth it?  I’m sure each of us has our own answer.  There’s one thing for sure.  In my case, it alters my sleep/wake pattern for about a week.  What is your experience? 

​I’m lucky to have friends who are attentive and interested in my writing life.  Often I’m asked “how is the book coming?”  It would be easy to deflect and say “oh fine”.  I would then get the puzzled look because no one on the planet knows what “oh fine” means – it’s always in context.
Since people are kind enough and interested enough to ask I tell them the truth – whatever that may be.  My current answer is “slow” and then I explain that I’m just in the stage of reading and re-writing for story.  I always explain the difference between ‘re-writing’ and ‘editing’ and in most cases my friends didn’t realize there is a difference.
I am even further honest when I tell them how shocked I was the first time I read through the entire manuscript to discover that the first chapter didn’t have an inciting incident.  I don’t like to get wonky with friends but I’m always asked what an ‘inciting incident is’.  I relate it to their own reading experience of getting “hooked” or having a “page turner”.  I love the “oh” of understanding.
I recall the first reaction my best friend had when he finished Murphy’s Troubles: “How do you come up with all those words?  How many words does your book have?”
That question is more difficult to answer, isn’t it?  If we are truthful, the answer is:  “I really don’t know how I come up with all those words.”  The truth is, it is a mystery of our imagination.  I’ve always thought that what makes us unique as humans is our imagination.  We can imagine the future.  We can imagine something that doesn’t exist and then create it.
So, I think I will imagine my manuscript for Dead Reckoning transforming into a published book, then it will happen by some miraculous process.

​Last week Frank Delaney died unexpectedly of a massive stroke at the age of 74.  Mr. Delaney had an incredible literary and broadcast career.  The National Public Radio network referred to him as “the most eloquent man in the world”.
Anyone can google his name and learn about his incredible accomplishments.  I want to share with readers my experience with Frank Delaney.  In 2014 I was a guest author at the Irish Book and Music Celebration in Chicago.  Mr. Delaney was honored by the event for his literary and broadcast accomplishments.  The event organizer asked if I would be interested in participating on a discussion panel on the topic of why Irish authors/literature appeal to Americans.  I was surprised to be invited to join this discussion, at the time I had published only one historical fiction novel, Murphy’s Troubles.   There are times a person says YES and was one of those times.
I wanted to know who would be on the panel with me so I researched the event website to learn that Frank Delaney would be on the panel.  I was terrified.  I was a novice and a light weight.  Other members of the panel included a professor from Northwestern University in Chicago and a professor and journalist from Trinity College Dublin.  Why was I invited to this panel?  I didn’t have the courage to ask the event organizer but spent weeks researching Irish literature in America.
When the panel was scheduled to begin, I arrived early.  At least I thought I did.  When I arrived all three other panelist were seated and ready to go.  We all exchanged pleasantries.  The discussion leader would pose a question and then allow each of us to respond and take questions from the audience.  I could have been knocked off my chair when Mr. Delaney agreed with my view that Americans were drawn to Irish literature because of story not because of heritage.  I felt affirmed and was surprised that he listened to all the responses from panelist, was thoughtful and a gentleman.
Later that day I was attending another lecture, standing in the back of the room.  Mr. Delaney greeted me and said he enjoyed being on a panel with me.  I asked where he was living and learned he lived near Frank McCourt in Connecticut.  He also told me about his children and grandchildren living in the United States which was the reason he moved to the states, to be close to family.  He was not prentious in any way.  
He was the next speaker and he felt the need to explain his sox.  He wore bright red sox.  He said he had reached the age where he could do whatever he wanted and felt red sox made a statement.  He also said he never had a problem with matching sox when he decided to wear only red sox.  He proceeded to speak without any notes for an hour.  Following his presentation he stayed and answered questions without any time restraint.
I feel fortunate to have this one encounter with “the most eloquent man in the world” who was just a guy who put his pants on one leg at a time, like the rest of us.  His passing is our loss.    

​In the last few weeks I have been sluggish in my work to re-write the manuscript to my third novel.  In part because I’m waiting for feedback from two beta readers who are both reading the last chapter.  I need to have that sense that the last chapter is effective so that I can build the story to that point successfully.  I’ve changed the last chapter several times and in particular I changed the perspective of my protagonist in a turnabout in the last chapter based on comments from a beta reader several weeks ago.
I used that excuse for at least two weeks and the energy to continue re-writing fizzled.  I needed something to rejuvenate myself.  Often I turn to nature for a way to give myself the space to become creative again.  In recent years I’ve become a devotee to birding.  Birding allows me to get out into nature and focus my attention on being a witness to the marvels of the bird world.  When I learned that modern birds are the remnants of dinosaurs I was hooked.
Winter in Wisconsin and the Midwest is a great time to watch eagles.  Eagles like to hunt in open water to catch fish so dams on rivers attract eagles.  Sauk City, Wisconsin is close by and a dam on the Wisconsin River is an excellent place to watch eagles.  We’ve been there many times so I searched for a new location.  A nature magazine outlined the benefits of going to Lock and Dam 12 on the Mississippi near Bellevue, Ia.  We left one early Friday morning and encountered more traffic than expected.  I also didn’t check the mileage in order to have some idea how long a drive it would be.
We entered Dubuque Iowa after two hours of driving and I was ready to take a break but we bore on because we were close.    South of Dubuque we turned off onto an Iowa state road that ran parallel to the Mississippi.  The weather changed to be overcast and very windy.  I noticed that Iowa Highway trucks were spreading beet juice on the road.  I checked the weather before leaving and there was no rain in the forecast.  The Subaru has weather tracking but in the rolling hills of far eastern Iowa there was no reception.
We arrived in Bellevue about thirty minutes after leaving Dubuque.  The entire town is about three blocks long one side because the river is on the other side.  There was a park and a place to view the eagles.  That day a crew was cutting down trees, making a horrendous noise that the eagles didn’t like any more than I did.  Down river there were about thirty boats in the water with people fishing.  The eagles would never compete with that many stalwart Iowa fisherman.
Walking through the viewing area we did spot two eagles soaring upriver to the dam.  I guessed they were a pair by the way they flew and floated on the thermals.  They must not have been too hungry because they soared for a few minutes and then flew off north east to their nest.  It was magnificent to watch but cold and windy with a storm brewing so we scampered back to the car.
Back at home in the late afternoon I laughed when I realized we drove about 300 miles to watch two eagles.  We could have driven to Sauk and driven less than a hundred miles.  Yet, the trip did clear out all those cobwebs that sometimes grow in my mind.  I went back to work on re-writing for story and knew the trip was worth every mile.           

​I believe that all writers should attend at least one writer’s conference a year.  First, it gives us writers an opportunity to mix with our own kind.  A great deal of our time is spent alone bleeding over our laptops or old yellow tablets.  The truth is, writing is often a lonely profession.  At most conferences there is time provided just for socializing and often shared meals.  Second, it gives writers the chance to learn the latest publishing news both self-publishing and traditional publishing.  Both forms of publishing are in flux and will likely be so in the near future.  Third, writers can learn business skills need to promote yourself and market your work.  Whether you self-publish or traditional publish the author is responsible for their own marketing and dare I say it, developing your own “brand”.   All conferences include presentations on craft which can help improve your writing.  In addition, many conferences invite agents and you have the opportunity to make a pitch for your work, often for an additional fee.  Finally, conferences give you the chance to take a mini-vacation while still working in your profession.  Conference fees, travel and meals are also tax deductible.
I will be attending three conferences this year, each unique, and offering different things to all writers.  The first is the Wisconsin Writers’ Institute March 24-26 at the Concourse Hotel in downtown Madison, Wisconsin www.writersinstitute.wisc.edu.  This is 28th annual writers confernce.  I have been attending since 1996.  If interested there are also pre-conference classes beginning Thursday March 23rd that you can register for in advance.   To help you select the sessions you would like to attend four “tracks” are offered:  fiction; non-fiction; marketing; and, poetry.  This year there will be nine agents there accepting pitches.  There are even classes you can take on how to make a pitch before you find yourself sitting across from an agent with your life in your hands.  A new offering this year that I am taking advantage of is Advance Manuscript Critique, the timing is perfect as I re-write the manuscript to my third book.  If you’re not ready to pitch an agent yet, no problem, you can attend agent question and answer sessions to understand their role in publishing.  This conference can be pricey but is best viewed as an investment in yourself.
The second conference I’m attending is the Lakefly Writers Conference in Oshkosh, Wisconsin on May 12-13 – lakeflywriters.org.   This conference is unique because it is sponsored and organized by the Oshkosh Public Library.  I should confess that I am presenting at this conference in addition to attending.