THE WRITERS CONFERENCE
The “Quill & Quaver” mystery writers group in Los Delitos held their last-before summer meeting at the end of March. When the suggestion was made that they, together with the Sangfroid Writers from Los Calidos, should host a joint Writers Conference the following year, it received hearty support. When presented to the Sangfroids, they were just as enthused.
A committee was chosen to do the ground work, choosing a suitable date and seeing which speakers and venues might be available for that time. Someone suggested that this event be held in early April, before folks started to spend time at their cottages and outdoor sports were getting underway. A vote was held and a date chosen; a joint committee of four was selected to orchestrate the event.
The venue was spoken for and the committee found a plenary speaker available during that time. Workshop topics were suggested and voted on. Chosen were:
— “Crime Scene Details You Need to Know”
— “Combining Crime & Romance”
— “Red Herrings and Other Plotting Devices”
— “Compelling Writing”
— “Tie Up Those Loose Ends”
— “Setting Up Your Author Website.”
When club members heard that Jarrold Heppner had agreed to be the plenary speaker they were overjoyed. An author with 45 novels under his belt, he’d be the perfect “Rah-rah, get out there and write!” motivator. Various other published authors were contacted find those who’d be willing to conduct a workshop on each topic; half a dozen of these were selected as presenters.
Finally the details fell into place. The Writers Conference would take place April 10th-11th at the Ice Palace Hotel in Los Calidos. Catering was all arranged. At the last meeting there were some worried souls who feared some detail may have been missed, or some other, bigger crowd-drawing event might overshadow theirs, but everyone came away from the meeting reassured that all precautions had been taken and the event would be a success.
As the date approached, everyone took up their roles with enthusiasm. A few months ahead, advertising leaflets were printed; these were distributed around both cities. The club secretaries e-mailed hundreds of different groups and organizations that might be interested. Registrations began coming in. Last minute changes were made to the menu to accommodate particular dietary needs. Name tags were printed and assembled.
And then Covid-19 reared its ugly head.
The Ragtag Daily Prompt today is FINALLY
The Discover writing prompt is: ORCHESTRATE
This story is fiction, though I do know about organizing writers conferences. And I’m categorizing this as HUMOR. May as well, right? 😉
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