My first con

No, I haven't cheated a little old lady out of her life savings, I've just finished attending Eastercon, the British National Science Fiction Convention. It was in Glasgow this year, which was handy for me as I could pop in on the train every day rather than shelling out for a hotel room.

I was pretty nervous, because I only knew one other person who was attending (the soon-to-be-published Susan Murray, more about her in future, I'm sure). A few folk I chatted to on Twitter would be there, but apart from that I would be walking into a mass of strangers. Urk.

What I found was this: lots of friendly, interesting people who were enthusiastic about a wide variety of aspects of science fiction. I've made new friendships, cemented older ones and made plans to see people at future conventions.

The weekend was packed with interesting talks and panels about science, fiction, and where the two meet. I learned a lot, thought a lot, had a number of new novel ideas, laughed a lot, fell more in love with the genre, met authors and publishers I admire, and genuinely had one of the most amazing weekends I can remember. This con will definitely be the first of many!

The benefit of writing events

Two weeks ago I went to the Writers' Workshop Getting Published event at Regent's College in London, and came back buzzing. I've been so busy since then, both with writing and the rest of life, that I've hardly had time to breathe, let alone blog! Now things have calmed a little, I thought I'd share my thoughts on why it's so important to go to writing events.

• Meeting other writers. This writing lark can be an incredibly lonely one, and it's great to meet others who are in the same position as yourself. You can discuss ideas, share submission woes and swap editing tips, as well as having someone to prop up the bar with at the end of the night.
• Advice. I've yet to go to a writing workshop or keynote address that I haven't gained something from, even if it was a lesson in what not to do. This particular event really got me thinking about a number of different aspects of my novel, and the plot is tighter now as a result. Events are especially wonderful if you get one-to-one advice included as part of your ticket.
• Networking. As long as you go about it the right way, writing events are a great place to meet agents, editors and published writers. Just don't leap out in front of them when they're on their way to give a talk, or pass them notes under the toilet door. Common sense, really.
• Inspiration. There's something about being in a room full of people who are all full of interesting stories that I find incredibly inspiring. We're all working away in our time, doing our best to get our stories out there, all committed to making them the best they can possibly be.

At the start of this year I made a resolution to spend time with other writers as often as work and finances would allow, and I'm already seeing the benefits. Don't spend all your time locked away in your writing cave - come out every so often, smile and shake hands, have a normal conversation with someone in the publishing business. It'll be great, I promise.

Post-NaNoWriMo tips #2 - Community

One of the best things that has come out of my personal journey as a writer so far is the community of other writers that I've met. Writing can be a very solitary pastime, so it's important to maintain contact with others who are going through the same process.

The forums on the NaNoWriMo site can get pretty quiet in the off season, but there are still plenty of people around to interact with on some of the boards. Personally, I love Twitter for interacting with other writers, and it's great for following a lot of published authors and finding out what they're up to. There are many other writing sites that have a community, including the Writers' Workshop.

For those who want to venture into the real world, most larger towns and cities will have a writing group who will meet regularly to share their writing or just to chat. Writing festivals and book festivals are also great places to meet fellow writers and book lovers, as well as to meet published authors and take part in workshops.

Find a way to get out there and spend time with other writers, whether it's in the real or the virtual world. You'll learn from them, you'll make friends, and you'll develop as a writer as a result.