...thoughts from the Marriot.

I've spent the last couple of days stalking (I mean, walking) the conference, as someone said, "doing a great impression of a ninja". I guess that means I vanish, and honestly--just because I get up when your back is turned doesn't mean I vanish. I just walk really fast because I wear sensible heels, lol.

I did fill a couple of boxes and ship them out. I swear, all those boxes and piles of free books, I felt so bad. I wish I knew more people, (or people who actually read that genre). I shipped Unhingey out a pile of things I'm very very sure she'll look at and go, "What the hell was she thinking?" (I was thinking, well....that fan with the hot cowboy on it was damned spiffy, and I'm sure she wants a multi-colored, beaded book thong with a half nekkid guy on it)

...or maybe not, but she got one anyway.

I didn't find anything with feet, but it wasn't for lack of trying.

I did attend a really great lecture about medical fallacies, and got to ask some really good questions, and I confused Annie Solomon with EC Sheedy because I was so tired I was about to fall over, and almost did in the "making a living as a romance writer" lecture by Stephanie Bonds.

Excellent lecture. If you get the chance, or get the lecture, listen to it. She makes great points about production, scheduling and money. I never really thought about writing quite that way before, but maybe I wasn't serious before.

I think there's a difference (now that I'm reaching that point) in "serious" writers, and "writers". A serious writer is a person who commits themselves to the process, improves their craft, and sells that book, (or tries to sell that book). A "writer" is a person who writes, and has--to use gaming terms, leveled.

It takes you up that next step and out on the landing.

Craft lectures will always interest me, but production and the nuts and bolts of being someone with a job writing are...re-angling my focus.