I've been meaning to post about the LDS Storymakers Conference ever since I got back, but I had reviews to catch up on, then I couldn't find my camera, and, suddenly, a whole week had flown past. All the clever things I planned to say seem to have flown away as well. A summary, then:

Boot Camp: Since my favorite part of last year's conference was attending Boot Camp, I knew I wanted to participate again. This year, the event got a whole day to itself, which I liked, even though it turned into a very, very long day. Still, I enjoyed my group, which was led by Lisa Mangum, author of The Hourglass Door trilogy. Even though I didn't love The Hourglass Door, I really liked Lisa. She was fun, upbeat, down-to-Earth and right on in her advice to all of us wannabe writers.

Although everyone in my group was writing YA, the mishmash of genres provided some interesting reading. My fellow groupies were very kind and complimentary about the chapter I shared. I got some good suggestions from them. I also came away from the experience feeling encouraged and excited to keep writing this story.

(A funny: After seeing an IM chat between me and my friend Robin, in which we discussed Boot Camp, my 9-year-old daughter asked, "What's Booty Camp?" She didn't understand why I snickered or why my husband said, "Aha! So THAT's what you're really up to!")

Classes: Since I attended the conference with Robin, who fully intends to be a published author within the next year or so, we took lots of classes on finding agents, writing query letters, self-editing, and managing all the millions we'll be making when our books finally see the light. I could have used a You've Finished Chapter One, Now What? class, but my loyalty (not to mention the fact that I have no sense of direction and would have gotten completely lost without my "cruise director") kept me close to my soon-to-be-a-bestselling-author friend. We both enjoyed the classes we took. My favorite, I think, was Lisa Mangum's on writing killer first pages.

One of the query classes Robin and I took was taught by YA novelists James Dashner and J. Scott Savage. The former was pretty quiet, while the latter was ... not. As Savage explained, "We make a good team because James can write and I can teach." True, that. Needless to say, the class was very entertaining.

Attendees were supposed to bring query letters to be workshopped by Team Dashner/Savage. I haven't written a second chapter to my novel, let alone a query letter, but Robin and I spent the week before the conference working on hers. When our teachers asked for someone to volunteer their query letter, Robin made sure hers was the first hand in the air. She's fearless like that. Considering how much we'd worked on her query, I figured the men wouldn't have much for us except their highest praise. Yeah, not so much. Really, though, they were kind and offered Robin some good advice.

The picture below cracks me up since it shows my always intrepid friend looking a little intimidated while James Dashner reads her query letter out loud to the class.

The videos: Not only does Sarah M. Eden write sweet, fun romance novels, but she also makes the funniest videos. Since she emceed the whole conference, we got to see several of her productions. This one - in which her daughter defines different book genres - is hysterical:

The authors: Lots of fun authors were milling around the conference. I chatted with some I've met before, like Angela Morrison, Elana Johnson and Janette Rallison, but I also met a bunch of new ones, like Kimberley Griffiths Little, Becca Wilhite, Lani Woodland, Tyler Whitesides, Jaclyn M. Hawkes, and more. All of them were very friendly and fun to talk to.

Me and Kimberley Griffiths Little, who won a Whitney Award for The Healing Spell, a book I adored.

Me and the very sweet Lani Woodland, whose first book, Intrinsical, came out last August.

Everybody else: Not only did I get to meet tons of new people, but I also got to see a whole bunch of people I previously only knew online. It was a pleasure, Chantele Sedgwick, Donna Weaver, Christy Dorrity, Karlene Browning, etc.

To top it all off, I sat next to two fantastic ladies on the airplane ride home to Arizona. I had fun visiting with Valerie and Tamara, both of whom live near me. They were even gracious enough to invite me to join their writing critique group. Thanks, girls!

The First Chapter contest: Let me make this clear right up front - I had no grand illusions of winning with the first chapter I turned in for the contest. However, I was really looking forward to getting some "professional" feedback on my writing. Imagine, then, my disappointment when I discovered that not only did my submission not win anything, but it had never even made it into the judges' hands. Apparently, I mistyped the email address to which my submission was supposed to go. Oops. Another duh moment.

Moving on ...

The Door Prizes: I didn't go home empty-handed, though. Like last year, I was lucky enough to snag an awesome door prize. This year, I took home Seeing Japan by Charles T. Whipple and Winning Mr. Wrong by Marie Higgins. Thanks to those authors for their generosity.

A Summary of the Summary: All in all, I had a fabulous time at the conference. It's always a good time hanging out with other people who love books and writing. I love the boost I get from this event - it's refreshing to hear that my writing does not, in fact, suck as badly as I think it does.

A Summary of the Summary of the Summary: If you haven't gone to the LDS Storymakers Conference, do. It's totally worth it. And note to self: Let's invest in some fat-sucking and face-lifting this year, shall we?

I haven't done a Mormon Mention in awhile, so let me quickly explain the concept: When a non-LDS author mentions Mormonism in a book, I highlight the comment here. Then, I explain my thoughts on it. Complex, I know. Really, it's just a fun way to look at how we Mormons are perceived out in the world. It also allows me to clear up any misconceptions about my religion, to defend myself, if needed, and to laugh about the (sometimes crazy) impressions Mormons make on other people.

In Skinny by Diana Spechler (reviewed here), one of the characters writes:

"And don't blame your fat on your religion. Yes, thirty percent of Southern Baptists are obese, and the Mormons deploy "wellness missionaries," and sure, I know the Jewish jokes - the jokes with no edge; the soft, plump, low muscle-tone jokes about Jewish mothers overfeeding their children and Jewish holidays revolving around food. But these are not excuses. Excuses are worthless" (84).

Frankly, I don't understand this line. Not the Mormon part, anyway. I think it's a joke. At any rate, I've never heard of "wellness missionaries." Has anyone else?

I will say that members of the LDS Church abide by a (fairly) strict health code known as the "Word of Wisdom." It prohibits us from taking harmful substances - coffee, tea, tobacco, alcohol, lots of red meat, etc. - into our bodies. Although the code says nothing specific about soda (the "Word of Wisdom" was given in 1833), most church members abstain from drinking any caffeine at all. Naturally, we also stay away from illegal drugs, overuse of prescription medications, and anything else that might lead to addiction or damage to our physical/mental/emotional health.

Breaking this health code does not mean excommunication from the church, but most of us live it rather strictly, especially the coffee/tea/tobacco/alcohol part. Caffeine is another issue. For some of us, anyway. Not naming any names. Ahem. Maybe that's what the "wellness missionaries" are - a secret police force that storms Mormon pantries in search of Coke products. Let's hope not :)