I have to tell you how funny it is to throw a party and invite writers. Writers do conferences and three-day retreats and virtual-Facebook-book-launches. They do not do parties, and it shows. The questions I got were so cute.
Does the party cost money?
Do I stay the night? (Um . . . .)
What . . . well, I mean . . . what will we DO at the party?
I breezed through these question-answer sessions with a hearty chuckle. Oh, writers. We need to relax!
On the day of the party, though? Um, I was a bit stressed. Like, couldn’t eat beforehand. Like, had to make up for calorie-loss by eating M&M’s the entire night. I have witnesses. All night. “Are we ready to vote on which party-goer to lynch?” “No, Nikki’s at the M&M station.” “What? Again?”
You can’t blame me. The day before the party, my only three IRL friends (in-real life friends, to spare you from having to google that) who planned to come to the party got 1. strep throat, 2. invited to go boating, and 3. roped into being a parent (like, where are your priorities?). I was about to be all alone with strangers!
I tried to remind myself expanding my social writing-web was the entire point of the party, but I was scared. And if I was scared, I figured real introverts would be so terrified they’d never come. Maybe no one would come. Would that be a relief? Or would that just send me into the misery of partying for three hours by myself to save face? “Oh, hahaha. I sure am having fun at my party of one!”
I mean, I was holding my breath there for a while. Water balloons are apparently very intimidating. But eventually, we played our get-to-know-you-game. Dived into the water guns. Faced off in a mean game of Werewolf and managed to kill, via committee, many, many innocent victims. Do not get on Robin King’s bad side. I’m telling you.
I ended up nearly tackling Charlie to the ground with my party-enthusiasm and was reminded of the whole point of networking.
Cool parties help you find like-minded friends. Learn about different groups and opportunities.
Hello, we even had the president of the League of Utah Writers in attendance, the lovely Amanda. I should have made her wear a crown. (Not to mention Candace Thomas, head of Utah Speculative Fiction Writers, pictured in the joker’s hat above. Plus, you know, lots of other cool people who should have their websites mentioned, too. Here’s another link, this one to LDStorymakers. If I leave out the organization I’m outreach coordinator for, they’ll feel jipped!)
We talked about all things writing, and when I got this great idea to link anyone who wanted a critique group, guess who already has a free FB page dedicated to that? Mike Bacera. Here’s the silliest picture I have of him. 🙂
So, in sum. Thank you, thank you for playing my cheesy games and making me enjoy the evening and helping me feel all warm and friendshipy inside. Awwww.
Writers Rock!
Before I let you go, some business. The name of our awesome party/parties needs to be Writers Invited. You’ve seen me using that name all over the place now. We had branded it Authors’ Party Tank, a spin off of Authors’ Think Tank, but their leadership shifted with regard to the feasibly of hosting parties, handling newsletter mailing lists, etc, so we have decided a new name will work best.
Also, should we do it again? I’m leaning toward yes because so many people wanted to come but were unable to. What do you think about September 11 or 12? Oh, my personal goal for these parties is not about professional development or networking. It’s just making real friendships with people who may turn out to be useful for professional development or networking. Or who are just cool.
Finally, Heather Clark and I are hosting another free #50FirstChapters webinar. July 21st at 7 p.m. Be there or be . . . a viewer who catches it later on YouTube. Catch up on old webinars here. We will do a first-chapter critique give-away for everyone who shows up live. More details coming. Whoot!
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