SCBWI Day 1

I'm here in my clean little room ten minutes from the Century Plaza in LA, taking in Day 1 of the SCBWI conference. It's a fun group of folks, especially when the women-to-men ratio is something like 7-to-1. Maybe even 8-to-1. I listened to five speakers, two of which were truly masterful presenters: Jon Scieszka and Loren Long. They were so good because they were funny, had smart things to say, and kept their presentation moving. M.T. Anderson was a little too stiff and wordy for my taste, though I did appreciate his performance of Delaware's state song. I attended two workshops, "How to Think Like a Publisher," by Stephanie Owens Lurie, which is very informative and well done, and "Think Like a Packager," by Claudia Gabel, who thus far wins the awards for cutest, qurkiest presenter. I like Claudia. I find it interesting that think tank creative types brainstorm franchises. For me, it works best when I'm the one doing the heavy creative lifting. Claudia's presentation was instructive and interesting. She gave us her email so I plan to send her a query and fan letter.

I met a few delightful writers. In the morning I sat next to Alison from Tennessee and Stephanie from Sacramento who now lives in L.A. I then had lunch with Jeanine from So. Cal. and Carla from Virginia. During the wine and cheese event, I met several writers at my table from Virginia and California. I've collected a few business cards and hope to keep up with them. I book 3 books at the book signing last night and would love to read them all before the conference ends, though I probably won't have the time.

More later...