Writing.com's Convention

"A convention? An actual convention?" I squeaked as I read the email again.

"But it's bloody January!" Janice grossed as she craned her neck to see the notice I was pointing at.

There it was with glittering purple animation flashing on my screen. It was hard to ignore.

"So they're expecting us to venture out in the middle of winter...."

"You know it. What? You don't want to go?" I looked over at her as if she was the one that was nuts.

"If I was going to take a holiday, it would be to some Caribbean fantasy get away, not some Pennsylvanian backwater..."

"You don't have to come." I told her as I let my mind surge ahead to planning. I'd have to take a few days off. Maybe take the train so I could get in some extra writing time and arrive in time to take in all the festivities. I could hardly wait to see everyone. To be able to put a face to name had me grinning wildly.

Janice threw up her hands and, with a frustrated growl, stomped out of my office.

I could use the time away from her, anyway.

A quaint part of the States would be worthy of exploring and I was almost positive it would be an amazing get away.

I dashed off an acceptance, then sat back to compose a list of things I would need.

I also made sure to enter some of the contests that would be awarded during the conference itself. I could hardly wait.

**

When I arrived at the convention, I was overjoyed to meet Writing.com's founding couple - The ScaryMaster and The StoryWitchress . I finally got a chance to thank them in person for all the wonderful things Writing.com had been to me over the years. They are truly as fabulous as I had imagined.

I was pleased to see our name tags provide our Writing.com handle and our real names. The chance to put a name and handle to a face connects each of them in my memory, making it easier to recognize my fellow writers. It is so great to get to meet the people that join me on so many of the challenges over the years.

Getting to meet all the judges of The Writer's Cramp, past and present is also lovely. I feel a real camaraderie and kinship with everyone here. This is my place.

The chance to spend a week celebrating and writing with everyone is almost beyond words. Not only do we get time to write in alcoves and cafes together, we get a chance to share our writing with each other. These small group sessions are intimate and I feel my confidence growing. I know the friendships I have made here will last a lifetime.
Over the week we also get a chance to discuss our process, our hopes and our writing dreams.

The last night of the convention is a grand event. The contest winners are announced and those people are given the opportunity to read those pieces in front of a loving audience. I am overjoyed to find one of my pieces has been selected and despite my nerves, I get on the stage and read.

This experience has been amazing. A real bolster to my confidence. I can hardly wait for the the next convention.

Word Count = 559.

Notes ▼

The Writer's Cramp:
NEW PROMPT DUE: 11:59 am January 26, 2022.
Today's prompt comes from our regular Tuesday judge - who could not be online at noon today so I'm posting for her.
In the early days of this site there were a few annual writing.com and stories.com conventions where people on the site got together in person.
Write a story or poem about what you imagine might happen at a 20th Anniversary Writer's Cramp Convention in 2022 and who you might enjoy meeting there. (host? writers? judges? - it's up to you)
Please select "Writing.Com" as one of your genres and have fun!