Writers’ Summer Camp with 13 Strangers

Lori Twining ~ Camp Zeke

Several decades ago, before I even had a steady boyfriend, I had this weird habit of flipping through bridal magazines, dreaming about the perfect wedding, the over-the-top Royal Princess taffeta ballgown, the jovial bridal party, and spending the most romantic honeymoon hiking through the Poconos Mountains in Pennsylvania. 

That never happened for me. 

I mean, I did have a wedding–in fact, I had TWO beautiful weddings to two different people, with incredible velvet and satin dresses, and cool-but-not-that-funny bridal parties, but I never experienced the thrill of hiking through the Poconos Mountains… until this past weekend. A part of my old daydream finally did come true, slightly skewed from the original fantasy. 

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7 Tips on “Putting Yourself Out There” at Writing Conferences

#5amwritersclub at Thrillerfest ~ Christine Clemetson, Ralph Walker & Lori Twining

In June, I had the opportunity to attend the Thrillerfest Conference in New York City for the first time in three years. At this point in the pandemic game, I don’t have to tell you that booking the hotel and airfare were scary enough, but traveling via plane and subway with thousands of other people rubbing up against your ribs would be a nightmare. So, I will skip the conversation about risking my health and tell you that it was time to be brave. With three vaccinations in my arm and over a dozen N95 masks in my book bag, I knew I would be well protected while traveling to the U.S. conference for a week.

I, like most writers, am considered an introvert. So, attending a writing conference to start conversations with strangers face-to-face is not only intimidating but also terrifying. So, to appear like the extrovert that I wanted to be, I decided to take it easy, relax and be stress-free. I only concentrated on one goal for the conference: To make new friends and connect again with my old ones.

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