Thursday, March 20, 2008

Mount Hermon Report

I am back from the Mount Hermon Christian Writers' Conference. After teaching the teen track and leading critiquing sessions that lasted well past midnight, I am exhausted, yet pleased and satisfied. What a great group of teens (and not-so-teens)! We had about fifteen students in the track, of which three or four were (*ahem*) just a bit older than teenagers.

In the photo above, I am teaching the track students about how fantasy characters work in the traditional story structure. This is the room we used for our major morning sessions.In this photo, you can see the room we used for our nightly critique sessions. Three of our adult members seemed to want to sit together on the front row. Were they intimidated? Maybe. On two occasions we quit just after one in the morning, and on the final night, we finished up at 2:15 a.m. We laughed so hard, some cried, but not from any harsh criticism. I think most of our track members point to these sessions as the most fun we had.Above, you will see our dining facilities. With the buffet style meals, we certainly had plenty to eat. Several of our female conferees were singing praise songs, giving us lovely background music while we waited for our next class.
Please meet Ezekiel, a six-sport athlete who encouraged me to eat ice cream with him as often as possible (He didn't have to twist my arm too hard). He was a delightful gentleman and a passionate writer, a true blessing to have in the teen track.My daughter's hippo (his name is Negative) came along with me, and everyone loved him. Here he is, being the life of the party, wearing a St. Patrick's Day necklace.Here I am at the author autograph party where dozens of authors had the opportunity to sign their books for conferees. The dining room was truly abuzz with chatter and laughter. What a great time!Here's a photo of the teen group, or at least what was left of them on the final day. Some people had already gone home. I will treasure this picture. I feel quite a bond with these budding authors.And best of all, my lovely wife was with me! Although she spent some time hiking through the amazing redwood forests in the area, she attended some of our classes and critique sessions. As always, she was a huge blessing to me.

Mount Hermon is a great conference, and I'm looking forward to teaching there again next year. If you have a desire to attend one of the best writers' conferences in the country, check it out. I hope to have an even bigger group next year.

21 comments:

Ian said...

Argh! I want to go to that! Need some more time polishing up my writing on my own, though...

:)Ian(:

Anonymous said...

cool! I hope you didn't have more fun than the FCWC! just kidding. I'm glad you had fun

Holli said...

You know...Hm. I might just be able to make that one next year.

We'll see. I'm glad all went well!

Anonymous said...

Yes, come! It was a wonderful experience!!!!!

Roheryn said...

I'm with ZeraY, hope ya didn't have more fun than at FCWC, I mean... there weren't any Stitch-eared or cloaked people, were there? *innocent look*

Nah, Awsomeful, Looks like fun!

Anonymous said...

That looks so fun!! I love the hippo, though! :-)!

Unknown said...

No, Roh. We couldn't want to put them through that... :)

Anonymous said...

This was definatly a life changing experiance! I will NEVER forget the people I met there. I encourage any budding writer to go!

Anonymous said...

wow that looks awesome! do you allow pre-teens? are you ever coming to Minnesota or South Dakota?

Bryan Davis said...

Daniella,

I don't know whether or not they allow preteens.

I have been to Minnesota and South Dakota. I would come back if I could get enough appearances scheduled, but I don't know when that would be.

I will be coming to Iowa soon, if that's close enough.

Anonymous said...

Danielle, the youngest they admit are those in 9th grade, as it is an adult conference with a teen track.

Unknown said...

The youngest they admitted at the FCWC was 13 year olds.

Araken said...

Ah, that's good news for me. But I have a question: how good does one have to be at writing?

Bryan Davis said...

Araken,

Your expertise at writing is not an issue. We have students from beginners to ready-to-publish.

Ian said...

Whoa, that's good for me. I have practically no training in how to actually write, other than the academic essay type stuff, so I would be shamed in front of experienced writers.....so maybe I will come to that conference soon sometime!

:)Ian(:

Camden said...

Iowa! I used to live there, and live decently close now (what's a few hours???). In fact, I know Welspring Bookstore quite well!

~Elliot

Araken said...

Iowa? Say, I'm only three states away!

Elenatintil said...

What exactly will you be doing in Iowa?

Bryan Davis said...

In Iowa, I will speak at several schools and one homeschool group. I will also do signings at five bookstores.

The details are on my schedule at http://www.dragonsinourmidst.com/schedule.html

Pam Halter said...

I attended Mt. Hermon for the first time this year. I agree with Bryan. It's the best conference I have ever attended ... although I was not one of the adults in the teen track. :)

I joined a mentoring group with Brandilyn Collins and it was great.

I also have opportunities with an agent and a publishing house, so now that I'm back from our family vacation, I'll be working hard this week to get my proposal together.

Attending a conference is one of the best things you can do for your writing, so I encourage everyone to pray and ask the Lord to make a way for you to go to one!

Sapphira Adi said...

Iowa? I used to live there when I was in first and second grade. I live a few states away, too. I might have to drop by one year:)