7 LESSONS I LEARNED IN ATTENDING THE WRITER'S DIGEST NOVEL WRITING CONFERENCE 2016

I find Writer's Digest as one of the best platforms for writers, educators, publishers and agents to connect as a community. It was a blessing that Facebook had tracked my posts about writing (even though it's creepy to think about this sometimes). that it consistently allowed ads about different writing conferences pop up on the side of my newsfeed. That's how I got hold of the information about the Writer's Digest Novel Writing Conference 2016.

Held in Bonaventure Hotel, Los Angeles, California, last October 28-30, I was opened to a whole new chapter in my writing career. I've met published people, famous writers of different genres and editors whose preferences were sought.

At first, I found it intimidating because I just blogged. But as soon as the participants I had small talk with in between sessions wished that they knew how to blog, I knew it was right for me to be there at that particular moment. They reassured me that as long as I write, I belong in the Writer's Digest Community and what an honour.

A lot of reading materials are now online because of the fast paced demanding lifestyle at the present. With the availability of the unlimited ether, the internet had paved a faster way to disseminate information globally; moreover, for a book to be published in a blog. This is something that I have been doing for 10 years so, I felt that the conference will teach me a lot as I decide on going for my own website. I aim to pay credit to Writer's Digest by sharing to you 7 of the most important lessons I learned that (1) exceeded my expectations as an aspiring journalist and (2) that I know no amount of money equals them.

1. TAKE A LEAP

Allow yourself to be exposed to the world. Don't be afraid to go out of the familiar because going out of our boundaries make us learn big time. Honestly, the title, Writer's Digest Novel Writing Conference made me doubt at first because I love novels, but I never wrote one. I always have an idea in mind but I never pursued it. But when I was in L.A., being surrounded by novelists, they inspired me immensely. Take this from me, if you aspire to be successful in something, surround yourself with successful people of that particular something. Chances are, you'd be propelled into reaching your dream in taking the first step. This is the ultimate secret of successful people, thinking with alike minds. They push each other in making it happen by giving you substantial experiences to learn from.

2. BE AN OPEN VESSEL

Here is John Peragine,
In this picture, he was featured in
the Writer's Digest with his article entitled,
6 Keys to Building a ghostwriting career.
Find him in FB as John P Writer

It was my first time to attend a writing conference, something that I've been longing to do. So I told myself in the bathroom of Bonaventure before I started to register, "I will be an open vessel..."

What am I claiming for myself in saying this?

This is to remind myself that it's ok to let my walls down to be able to make a little exchange of hi and hello. After all, what else would it take to initiate a conversation?

Then I stumbled into a laid back looking person. He was wearing shorts, very comfortable sandals, black shirt that says something about ghosts. He looked approachable and perky and I felt his energy that he is excited about the conference. I took my chance, "Let me guess, you write novels about ghosts." "Technically no, but I am a ghost writer. I am attending this conference for the book that I'm working on. I need inspiration." His name was John. "And you?", he continued. "I just blog.", I answered hesitantly. "Well, you write so omit the 'just' there. Have a great day! And get as much knowledge as you can from this conference. Who knows, you might get your first book published because of this.", he claimed it for me.

John Peragine is a published author of 12 books, has ghostwritten over 100 others and does freelance work for the New York Times, Reuters, and Bloomberg News. - LinkedIn

John ghostwrites for some of the top names in business, real estate, Hollywood, politics, fitness and healthcare. He has published articles in WineMaker Magazine, Herb Companion and Speaker Magazine to just name a few. 

John has been writing professionally since 2007, after working 13 years in Social Work and was a professional musician in the Western Piedmont Symphony for over 20 years. He has been providing services to the National Speakers Association  and the Global Speakers Federation since 2013. John is a member of the National Writer's Union. (UAW-Local 1981) 

His expertise is in business writing, real estate, small business, finance, Amazon self publishing, how to self publish a book. He had built a company that is a leader in self publishing companies
- www.johnpwriter.com

My first day went great because of John. I researched right away about ghost writers which I never had an idea about what they write about specifically. And now I do. The very first person I had a conversation with at the conference. A stranger at first that told me the conference will do me justice if I really want to make it big in the writing biz.

You see, my point is, I almost held back. But, as I open up to somebody, the universe gladly gives what I need. An encouragement. An inspiration. A push. What if we are like this everyday? Just imagine the potential that will get fired up! Because, right now, I am compelled to finish my e-book for my personal blog hoping to build a platform for my blog-to-book projects. Who knew I'd be starting my 2017 with a self-hosted blog? And that will come out this January.

3. BUILD A BUSINESS PLAN AROUND YOUR IDEA.

Amir holds a BA in magazine journalism with a concentration in psychology,
has edited or written for more than 50 publications producing hundreds of articles
and had her work published in five anthologies.
She has self-published 10 short books, including the popular workbook
"How to Evaluate Your Book for Success" and
"10 Days and 10 Ways to Return to Your Best Self". 

Nina Amir is one of the most profound writers I got the privilege of knowing. Even if she was talking to 20 people in Santa Anita A hall room of the Bonaventure Hotel, I felt like her words resonated only to me because I heard her loud and clear that having a book idea is not enough. I learned from her that you are the number 1 agent of your book. You should help your book get sold by building a business plan around it first. She was the only one I know active in writing blogs (which I researched). She does it twice a week and she maintains several websites to support whatever products she had written and it's her platform to make services available in terms of writing, editing and publishing. Her talk was the last session I attended before the closing keynote section for the conference and she gave birth to  the  authorpreneur in me.

I knew Nina from the third day of conference but I bought her books, Creative Visualisation for Writers and How to Blog a Book from the second day without hearing her talk yet. I was seriously in awe that I got to meet her because out of all the many books that were sold in the conference, two of hers attracted me the most. They are by far so helpful to me. 

4. JUST WRITE!

This is a shot of me wearing the
Viking's hat with the Nanowrimo
Executive Director, Grant Faulkner

In the NanoWriMo Pep Rally session, they encouraged us all to participate in writing a novel for the whole month of November. It was truly a moving idea that they included this in the conference because November was about to kick in 2 days after the conference.

Basically, the aim of the organisation is to guide and support writers in finishing a 50,000 word (or more) novel in a span of 1 month. I was only able to write 3 chapters, a total of 6,323 words but I aim to continue it still at my spare time. And I've never even written anything before that is to be considered a novel.

In participating last November, I learned about writing prompts, word sprints and most especially, I learned that it may help you to write in quantity first rather than get stuck with a blank paper. There may be a chance that you might be overthinking the quality of your work that you don't get to writing. So, the principle is: it's better to edit something than nothing. Who wouldn't want to have a novel in a month? It follows the saying, "If you're a writer, write!" Sounds interesting? Check out NanoWriMo's website by clicking here. 

5. DO NOT UNDERESTEMITATE THE POWER OF GOOD CONNECTION.

It's important to build a connection, have a community or a set of friends that actually would help you get to do the things you wanted to do. Surround yourself with supportive people. This is important because motivation doesn't just fly out of the window. Allies are needed when the real enemies creep in: procrastination, laziness, writer's block, despair, loneliness and lack of inspiration. Sometimes, these communities and connections, big or small keep you accountable. They may come in forms of readers, supporters, close friends and basically people who believe in you. If you put out your writing project out there for them to expect, or if you declare something that you will do publicly, and you know there are people who would be looking forward to this finished project, it's more likely you'd make it because you don't want to disappoint them. This way, you can actually consider connections as a way to success.

6. TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY.

Let's talk about the Halloween Cocktail Party we had after the second night's session. Considering the plan you have in mind in reading lesson number 3, simply knowing the experts is already an opportunity. Having the chance to hear them talk in the conference is a gift from God. Having a cocktail drink with them and see these experts be themselves at a Halloween party was unimaginable. What's my point? At any moment, there's always an opportunity. The good news is, you can also make your own opportunity by taking the initiative to talk to them, introduce yourself to them and 'personally' connect. That's something you won't be able to accomplish thru the social network alone. In a simple conference, where you can choose to stay quiet and then walk away with nothing, you can reverse the outcome by building a network of people that you can actually gain confidence from.

The 6th lesson, you can be the start of your own advancement. Chase your dream. Don't wait for the opportunity to come. Start with yourself. Be hungry. Go seek it and you'll be surprised as to how you can be lead to what you work and pray hard for.

When I was lining up for a signature for the Closing Note speaker of the conference Christopher Rice, son of the famous Anne Rice (who is known for her vampire chronicles namely, Interview with the Vampire and Queen of the Damned), I was thinking of what to ask him as he signs my book because I don't want to waste such precious time. So, I asked his point of view about the current obsolete educational system. If he agrees that "creative" is the new school, an idea that a good friend of mine and business partner had actually theorised. He stopped and sincerely lent an ear. I asked him, "What if there's a school that would offer a course covering business management, financial education and creative arts? Do you think it could survive?" And he actually gave me a sensible answer, "If you would include internet with it, it will. Because nobody is actually offering an umbrella course for the internet: photography, design, publishing and sales. These are the things that actually make the internet live. It would be fantastic if there's going to be a course for that and I bet if it will exist, it would be the most in demand above everything else." I was blown away. So, you see, seize the day! Never let a chance pass.

7. BE YOURSELF.

I am always reminded by mentors not to limit my creativity with craft and form alone. Style should include you. When you write, trust the process because this is what's going to make it unique. What you know, what you have experienced and what you might want to impart will make your story worthy to read. Remember, your story needs to be told. Yes, it's yours to tell so you don't need anybody's permission to do so. You can start at any moment you feel like prompting yourself with, and you can stop at any point you find sufficient.

with Rachel Randall,
Writing Community Editor,
Writer's Digest

These lessons are not only applicable to writing. I plan to put these lessons in everyday life because they are substantial to my purpose. Inspiring others, being of help to those in need and becoming a source of good information online are becoming a universal need since more than 40% of the entire world population have internet. And every 5 years, internet users increase to a billion. I would be very happy if I could inspire just a million with my blog.

So let me take this opportunity to put out a shout out in this post. Thank you to the organisers of Writer's Digest Novel Writing Conference 2016 for recognising a Hong Kong delegate. The efforts you've given in putting up this event is remarkable. Each of the writers' humility inspired me most.

Credits to Rachel Randall, one of the Writing Community Editors for being helpful and available. She runs to people whose questions needed to be addressed with a microphone just for everybody to hear the discussion clearly. She gave out pen and paper to each of us and reminded us endlessly of availability of coffee, links to the presentation materials and many more. She basically was everywhere and I can't help but admire how hardworking she was. I find it humbling to cater to aspiring writers while she is huge herself in being an editor. Her and the rest of the famous writers I bumped into in this conference were so down to earth. I don't have words for the admiration I have for you all except thank you.

This was a gift for my birthday month, November! What are the odds that it is the month NanoWriMo had chosen to be the writing month??? Hahaha!

Related posts:
1. WRITING THERAPY - Have you ever tried writing to yourself?
2. SILVERMINE BEACH RESORT - Looking for a place of serenity and inspiration? Maybe Silvermine can give you that peaceful vibe to write.
3. THE BEST INVESTMENT IS EDUCATING YOURSELF - Learn, burn and earn!

WRITING THERAPY

Have you ever tried to write to yourself? If yes, what did you write? If you haven't, what would you want to write? Let's say, like next month... what do you need to write to yourself in the next month that is substantial, ... needed? Is there something you want to tell you?

Last Sunday was a blessing to me along with many Filipino overseas workers here in Hong Kong to be able to make it in Ms. Susan Ople's Writing Therapy Workshop held at the Philippine Consulate in Admiralty. The session was free in pursuit to encourage foreign workers to dedicate 15-20 minutes of peace and quiet to writing.

I have been dedicated to the craft since I was young. I have collected a mountain of stationeries of different designs, piled them up according to sizes, sorted them out according to colors and I save the best ones to use in writing to my best friends. There even came a time that I sold stationery sets in high school just for my pen pals to write me letters written on a nice, quality paper. And probably, my classmates felt they needed to reciprocate a special dedication to how I make a big deal out of all of it when I wrote them that's why they bought from me. I had a little business going on there as I enjoyed what I loved doing, writing. Fast forward to the snail mail becoming obsolete and growing up from exchanging letters with friends, I started blogging since 2006.

It started as a hobby but it dawned on me that it's now more of a calling. I write because I have to. I find myself writing non fiction most of the time and I always have dedication to being informative, inspirational and rational. And it had been a fruitful 10 years as it led me to pursuing a career in writing. The title of my blog goes, "Why I Value Life" because initially, it was supposed to be just for me to write about every good thing that happened in my life that makes me value it. As I grew up, experiences had molded me into understanding life's opposites. How sadness makes me realise the true meaning of joy; how despair makes me understand the depth in hoping; and how darkness could actually lead you to something good despite the absence of light, that it's not light alone that helps you find what's most important in life.

With Chief of Staff,
Susan Ople, a politician and an
advocate of Filipino OFW's.

As I was searching my niche in writing, I became in love with the very complexities that make a human being. Its ability to imagine, reason out and dream. Its ability to learn, comprehend and project an idea. I loved its vulnerability, dependence and independence altogether, and its ability to thrive despite that. I love hearing how other people are driven, what they consider hurting, what helps them to survive and most importantly, why they love. And I believe connection is important as far as having something to share, to give and to take part in. I felt compelled to feature them as I take in lessons for my own understanding and wisdom.

While all of these had been cooked up as I journeyed a decade, it came to a point that I want to take it to the next level so I attend every writing workshop there is. With a dream of getting published someday, I seeked and seeked ways for my skills to get sharpened. Facebook is so good in understanding trends that I follow and activities that I engage into. With respect to its programmed algorithms, Susan Ople's Writing Workshop popped up in my news feed. So much so, it was also seconded by a colleague and a friend that I should go for it.

Because Susan Ople is an advocate of helping distressed Filipino OFW's, she aimed to provide a safe and efficient outlet for them (to avoid idle time) by presenting how writing could serve as therapy.

I have learned a lot in just two hours. Some of the important points about writing that she highlighted were:

1. You DON'T need permission from anybody when you write because it's your story to tell. Many people find it hard to start and even harder to end, once you start but an important idea to keep in mind is that, no matter where you are in your life, you could start from anywhere.

2. Writing is healing. It enables you to disclose great emotions. Whether you want others to read it, or just for your personal use, it expresses something that takes a weight off your shoulders. In fact, great motivation to write comes when you're extremely oppressed or extremely in love. 

3. Writing is a way to find clarity. When you write down your goals, your frustrations, your present situation, it makes it all more tangible that it lets you realise a lot of things.

4. Writing helps you to be good communicators. It allows you to express yourself  effectively.

5. Writers need to write as much as they need to read. And this is where the learning process begins.

This is my encouragement to you who doesn't know how to start, when to start and where to start. Write to yourself as soon as you find time or if you have the resources, create a personal blog like this and start by writing to yourself. Send a notice to your email and give it a week or two before opening it. You'll be surprised at how this task could empower you, nurture you or ignite something in you. Because you'll never know, maybe you, yourself can give the answers that you've been looking for from another time zone.

I intend to contribute to the writers' guild globally and I'd like to start by independently establishing a site where I can max out my creativity. It would be a hard leap because here in blogger is where I started so I have to give full on credits to them. If not for it, I don't think I'll be able to move forward when it comes to writing. I believe this is one of the best and most preferred free blogging sites and I'm glad I started here. In January, I will launch my own site: www.ivaluelife.com soon. I hope that all of my followers here will continuously support me there. Notice that I removed the 'why' in the usual "Why I Value Life" in my blog title because I learned that declaring is another good way of making something happen. And that I would want to serve as an inspiration myself to others as I declare this. Moreover, I will feature articles about people, places, things and events that inspire me. It's basically the same niche. Lifestyle. So, see you there in 2017!!!

Related posts:

1. HAPPY HALLOWEEN! - my first ever blog post way back 2006 when it all started.
2. JUST A THOUGHT OF A LONELY GIRL - An excerpt from a novel I read entitled, "Einstein's Dreams" that moved me because of the power of time against all of us.
3. MY FAVORITE COLOR IS BLUE - this is one of the very first sentence prompters I used in writing. Read on and have a little back ground why Facebook had chosen this colour.

9 KEY POINTS EVERY FREQUENT FLYER SHOULD KNOW

Education is the best investment. And one of the best ways to get educated is thru travel. Sure there are easy ways on getting that much information online about a certain place, their food, their culture and their norms but it is more of getting educated about yourself: your reaction, how much awareness you have and how much of an understanding you allow yourself to gain when you personally get immersed.

Last weekend, I traveled 7,233 miles to attend a writing conference in pursuit of the education I heeded from the Writer's Digest Community. In addition to the phenomenal weekend that opened me to a breakthrough in writing, I figured out 9 KEY POINTS EVERY FREQUENT FLYER SHOULD KNOW for somebody to just get on a journey.

1. BE ON TIME - No matter if your Pontius Pilate or Donald Trump, no flight schedule will adjust to you. Understand that airports differ from one another. Sometimes they are too big you need to ride a train to get to your boarding gate just like in Hong Kong. There is a reason why they encourage you to arrive 3 hours before your flight and that is to anticipate long immigration lines, flight schedule adjustment (they might have moved your flight earlier) and traveling to your boarding gate. Anything could go wrong in between checking in up to going onboard so just anticipate anything that may happen.

2. KNOW WHAT TO EXPECT - Planning your vacation in terms of needed visas, weather, time difference and terminal fees will save you from a lot of hassle and wasted time.

3. HAVE ENOUGH MONEY CHANGED TO THE COUNTRY'S CURRENCY BEFORE STEPPING OUT OF THE AIRPORT - The answer to the question when is the best time to have your money changed is any time before stepping out of the airport of destination. Whether you will be picked up from the airport by your family or friends, you'll go in a tour or you'd be backpacking, it's better to be safe than sorry.

4. BRING THAT DOUGHNUT! - This may be much preferred by the people flying long flights and economy. This doughnut makes wonders man, it is a necessity. Unless you're flying or business class, then don't bother.

5. BRING A BOOK - Just so when the other forms of entertainment break down, at least you're covered. Writers bring their laptops, androids or pen and paper to put creative juices to work. But yeah, emphasis on the book, it would be of great help if you'd read something about the country you're going to visit. May I suggest the following:

a. Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code - for those who wants action and mystery (Italy)

b. Chinese Cinderella - if you are bound to somewhere in China

c. Happiness Project - for a motivational and humorous read

d. anything about Steve Jobs if you're on a business trip

e. Free Love - for those who are to visit Samoa in the Pacific

6. KNOW A LITTLE BIT OF THE LANGUAGE - It would be remarkably impressive and a lot helpful if you know how to communicate to a local of the country you're visiting to be able to maximise your trip. When a willful person tries to learn about a country's culture and ways thru communication, it may resonate to a local's soul and maybe reciprocated of genuine respect.

7. SAFETY - This could be an umbrella term for everything that pertains to the safety guidelines being introduced by the flight attendants in front of you by the isle. Pay close attention to these demonstrations because you'll never know what may happen. This is part of you being cautious and alert. Don't just see this off because every time you fly, it gives you an invisible privilege for being the nearest aid the person beside you would cry for when the time of need comes.

One of the initial heed for caution is when your flight order asks you if you want insurance to go with your ticket purchase. It's always better to have paid that minute amount of an insurance to assure the family you have left behind will be sufficed of the finances needed if ever you get into a possible critical moment. This is highly advised to the people who serve as the breadwinners of the family.

Have the sufficient vaccination before entry to any destination. Usually, travellers think of this the least but it is necessary. It wouldn't hurt as well if you'd know what weather to expect. Your hand carry can just hold as much so it's necessary to know what kind of jacket to bring.

Region	Recommended Vaccination
Central America	Hepatitis A, Typhoid, Hepatitis B, Malaria
Mexico/Carribean	Hepatitis A, Typhoid, Hepatitis B, Malaria
South America	Hepatitis A, Typhoid, Hepatitis B, Malaria, Yellow Fever
Europe	Hepatitis A, Typhoid, Hepatitis B, Malaria,
Australia	Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Japanese Encephalitis
Asia	Hepatitis A, Typhoid, Hepatitis B , Japanese Encephalitis, Malaria,
Africa	Hepatitis A, Typhoid, Hepatitis B, Malaria, Yellow Fever, Meningitis

http://preparemymission.com/vaccinations

If you need to be with a trusted local in visiting a foreign country for the first time and you have minimal understanding of how is the living situation there,  (because sometimes tourist books could be deceiving), by all means do that. Most especially with third world countries. I came from one and undeniably, the city could get a little bit too much to somebody whose new to traveling.

Be careful with your identification documents. NEVER entrust to anybody your passport, identification cards and anything alike. If you see somebody else had left his or her identification documents, point it to a staff from the airport or an official avoiding any messy accusation that may later involve you on how it became lost in the first place. You don't know if it may be a planted modus operandi. So as much as you can, do not touch it. In addition, your luggage should be directly checked in with a  lock. Your hand carry also needs protection from shoplifters.

Lastly, KEEP THE DAMN SEATBELT ON when the secure belt light is on. Go back to your seat as soon as you finish doing your business in the toilet.

8. SHOW RESPECT - Consider yourself in need of an aisle seat if you are the kind of person who wants caffeine and booze. These drinks produce not just water but toxins that your body may choose to eliminate, hence, the need to always go to the lieu. So, politely ask if the ground attendant could book you for this seat. When you are at the window seat, make sure you leave space for others to see thru it and don't block the window with your entire head with high belting enthusiastic exclaim because of excitement. Learn how to share and be considerate of other people.

Also, there are rules in shutting those windows and opening. Usually, when taking off and landing, it's encouraged to be put open to get a better view when doing touchdowns or upon taking off. This is exhilarating to do in the evenings most especially when you are flying out of the city of lights and Hong Kong because of its beautiful skyline.

If you have food that you would want to eat along your meal, make sure it wouldn't be too stinky, smelly or odorous that may affect the entire airbus. Again, just be considerate. 

9. KNOW YOUR SEAT

Recheck your seat with the help of the flight attendant that expects your by the entrance before alighting on the airbus. So many people go to a seat that was not assigned to them in the first place thinking that they can get away with it. Emphasis was put on this but yet again, don't give away your identity. Your seat is your address while you're in the airplane. Once a seat is assigned to you, that's your identity to be tracked of the meal you requested, the comfort you requested for (whether along the isle or beside the window) and if worse comes to worst, a crash would happen, figuring out whether it's you or not who were affected by the crash will have to be based on your seat.

When you wanted to recline your seat, please don't go all the way to show consideration to the person behind you unless it is an empty seat. Don't forget to put it back to the original position in taking off and landing.

When you put hand carry baggage up in the overhead bins, make sure it's properly placed. Because chances are, if it weren't, the person under it would suffer from a head or neck injury once the luggage would fall.

Some of the economy seats limit your ability to stretch. Long flights make you tired of not doing so. The problem comes with the one in front of you stretching like crazy with their seats down too much. Well, just politely go out and walk around. Drink coffee by the flight attendant station at the back or stretch those calves with that much space by chatting over peanuts.

There are still a lot that may have not been included here so, that being said, please shout out the 10th item that should be included in this post thru the comment box.

Wrapping it up, leave the glass half empty. Open up yourself to opportunities that you may find beneficial to your learning while traveling. You are a limitless entity. Safe travels and get lost! You don't have an idea where to go next? Mark August 18-20 2017 in your calendar. This is another Writer's Digest Novel Writing Conference which will happen in New York!

Related posts:

1. CHINA EASTERN AIRLINES - you might be wondering why they give out the cheapest flight.

2. HOLIDAY TRAVEL - a set of ensembles that you may want to check out in flying with style.

3. 10 THINGS TO DO IN HONG KONG - if you are planning to visit Hong Kong, check out this guide if you must.