Takeaways and Next Steps from Write Now! 2022

By Maya Spikes

On April 30th more than 60 writers gathered in the McKimmon Center at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C. for Write Now! 2022, the annual writers conference put on by Triangle Association of Freelancers (TAF).

It’s been three years since we hosted Write Now! in person. After holding a virtual conference in 2020, and postponing the conference last year, it felt good to be back.

The planning committee spent months before the symposium trying to find the most interesting topics and the most inspiring speakers for you. This year’s sessions were especially helpful and engaging, engendering comments such as these:

“Thanks for including me in this year’s TAF conference. The whole affair was a big gift to all the writers who participated—well-organized and with really useful presentations and panels. I know I came home with a full notebook!”

~ Philip Gerard, keynote speaker
 
“After two years, we had the opportunity to attend this amazing event in person. Thanks to all the people who helped this conference to be what it was: most inspiring, educational, and above all, great fun.”

~ Ana Shapkaliska, attendee

3 Takeaways from Write Now!

Here are just three of the many lessons learned from Write Now! 2022:

1. Be open to changes.

Even spontaneous writers usually have a loose set of plans and/or expectations for their content. Be flexible and willing to adapt to changes that happen along the way. For example, accepting new information or research that might contradict your ideas or your readers’ current beliefs about a topic.

2. Storytelling isn’t just for fiction writers.

All writers must learn the basics of telling a good story. This seems obvious for fiction authors, but nonfiction authors need to sharpen their storytelling skills, too. Some of the most compelling interviews, blog posts, testimonials, and other nonfiction content share powerful stories and experiences that give readers an emotional connection to you and/or the people you’re writing about.

3. Writers need to connect with other writers.

The singer Barbra Streisand is right: We really are “people who need people.”

Writing can feel like an isolating activity, even before recent years. The global COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine has made many writers feel even more isolated. Throughout this year’s Write Now! conference, so many writers said they were happy to be out and to talk with other writers in person. It’s great to connect with writers by joining social media sites and online groups. Connecting online helps a lot when you can’t meet people in person. But there’s something about meeting other writers in real life. In-person conversations are more natural and spontaneous.

Important Next Steps

Gathering with other writers to learn new writing tips is great. Using these lessons is even better. Luckily, TAF offers a great opportunity for you to share your writing with others. TAF members can submit poetry and short fiction pieces for TAF’s upcoming anthology. The deadline for submissions is June 30, 2022. For more information, or for questions about anthology submissions, please email Project Editor Arlene Bice at arlenebice1633@gmail.com.

Final Thoughts on Our Writers Conference

So many people helped to make Write Now! 2022 a success!

Thanks to everyone who attended the conference. I hope the sessions motivated you to start or restart your writing, or to finish that manuscript, memoir, or screenplay.

I’m grateful to all of our guest speakers and panel discussion leaders for sharing their expertise, experiences, and advice during the conference sessions.

Special thanks to our guest speakers: Kelly Starling Lyons, Cat Warren, Sandra Gutierrez, Deanna Martinez-Bey, Brian Adornetto, Becket Royce, Lucinda Gainey, Scott Mason, A.G. Riddle, Mur Lafferty, Ursula Vernon, Dana Coen, and Philip Gerard.

As always, we appreciate TAF’s executive board, conference planning committee, and volunteers who worked behind the scenes before, during, and after Write Now! to make this a great event for our guest speakers and conference attendees.

Finally, congratulations to one of our members, Karin Wiberg, who received this year’s “Friend of TAF Award.” A longtime supporter of TAF, Karin acted as our Guest Liaison, regularly communicating with guest speakers and conference volunteers during the months leading up to the conference.

I wish you all the best of luck with your writing in 2022 and beyond. And I hope to see you next year at Write Now! 2023.

Maya Spikes

Executive Director