Realm Makers 2017 Recap

Greetings, fellow adventurers! As you've probably realized by now, I have returned! And boy, do I have stories to share about Realm Makers. I'll try not to make a novel out of this post, but no promises.

Day 1

My parents and I woke up at an unholy hour (3 am, to be precise) to get to the airport on time. I've never flown before, aside from a few times in tiny crop duster planes, so this was all new to me. Despite being a complete newbie, flying turned out to be pretty straightforward. Follow the signs, ask for directions if you need to, and be on time. Easy enough. And thanks to Gravol and air plugs (these little rubber ear plugs that help with the changing air pressure), I made it with zero nausea.

From home I flew to Vancouver; then to Santa Ana, California; and finally to Reno, Nevada. I had a window seat during two of those flights, so I got to watch the flat prairies turn into the Rockies, and the Rockies turn into the Sierra Nevada range. I've never seen brown mountains before! (And I can now write airport scenes more accurately, so yay for that!)

Riding the shuttle from the airport to the hotel, I overheard conversations behind me about vampires and fictional races and how to find critique groups, and I couldn't help but grin. It was so unlike anything you'd hear on a regular bus, I just knew I was in the company of writers. I was finally at Realm Makers.

When I arrived at the hotel (which was huge and had a casino on the main floor--it reeked of cigarette smoke there), I met Lisa Canfield, long-time friend, blogger, and one of my roommates! We had supper with an assortment of Realmies, then retreated to our room for an early night.

Day 2

Me and Lisa nipped across the parking lot for breakfast first thing in the morning.

Pre-conference day! I met a bunch more people, including Victoria Grace Howell! It was so surreal to be meeting online friends and fellow bloggers, and glimpsing familiar authors in the crowd.

Me and Tori! Apologies for the fuzziness in the photos. Hotel lighting isn't the greatest.

The first half of the day was David Farland's pre-conference workshop on creating a winning writing career. I learned SO. MUCH. Midlist authors vs. super lead authors, pen names, global markets, being a fast and consistent writer, growing my skills in concept/plot/prose, the neurobiology of readers, reaching a vast audience, writing beats . . . I scribbled a dozen pages of notes on this class alone!

David Farland, pre-conference workshop

Sometime that afternoon, I met my friend Mary Horton, who's just as sweet in person as she is online!

With Mary Horton

Later in the day, the conference officially began, kicking off with an agent and editor panel where they answered questions we wrote in. One thing I was reminded of is to write the story I am passionate about, rather than worrying about trends, and that's what will set me apart.

Ted Dekker's opening keynote was next. If you'll remember, he's one of my favorite authors, so I was massively excited to hear him in person! I found he was as dynamic and powerful in his speaking as he is in writing. He's been on an incredible journey and come to learn so much about who God is, what it means to be one with Him because of Jesus, and the power of our own perception. Much of what he talked about was similar to things he teaches in The Creative Way writing course, but it stirred my hunger for knowing God, clarified my vision, and provided a breath of fresh air and peace.

Ted Dekker

After that, Carla Hoch held a fight workshop. It was super informative, because she was teaching real fighting skills in order to help us write better fight scenes. It was also super hilarious, especially since she was demonstrating everything on the emcee, Ben Wolf! Some of the practical things I took away were: everything is a weapon, the deadliest person is the most willing person, and the first thing you should try to do when approached by someone aggressive is RUN.

Carla teaching us how to break Ben's wrist with nunchucks.

Day 3

I had a lovely breakfast in the lobby with Mary H. and her mom, and then hurried off to my first class of the day: Robert Liparulo's continuing session called "Embrace the Strange." Sadly, I missed about half of his teaching throughout the conference because, being a newbie, I scheduled all my appointments during class times. But what I did hear was so encouraging and inspiring. He talked about how to write strange stuff without chasing people away (hint: hide the weird among the ordinary, the familiar, and the universal, especially universal human emotion). But the biggest thing I took away from his classes was this: trust yourself as a writer. And don't hold back those good ideas you're saving for fear of emptying your bag of tricks. Write those twists, those amazing characters and plots and ideas, now. And trust God to give you more for the next novel.

In the middle of that first session, I slipped out for a mentor appointment with David Farland. I asked him for advice on getting from where I am now to where I'd like to be (writing as a career), and got some great tips for how to prepare myself and grow my skills.

My next class was one on networking by Mary Weber! I was expecting social media strategies and marketing platforms, but what she taught was so much better: publishing is relational. Networking is just making friends. Of course she went way more in depth than that, but it was a wonderful reminder and eye-opener.

At lunch, I sat with Mary, Jonathan Trout, and a whole group of teens, a few I know from Goodreads and whatnot. They're such a fun group, and I ended up hanging out with them a lot more during the conference.

Right after that, I had a class on plotting a bestselling series by David Farland (apparently I signed up for a lot of his classes, LOL). I know I'll definitely be referring to my notes whenever I get back to working on The Prophet's Quest and its sequels!

Next I had another of Robert Liparulo's sessions. I missed part of it again for my first ever appointment with an agent. I was a bit nervous, but no more than I've been for job interviews, and the pitch went decently well. I was told my writing was good, so that's a plus!

That evening was the awards banquet, where almost everyone showed up in costume, and I dressed as Emma Swan from Once Upon a Time! Aaaaand here comes the onslaught of pictures.

With Mary (as Bilbo), and roommates Brianna da Silva (as medieval peasant) and Lisa (as Arwen) // photo courtesy of Mary's camera



Will all my roomies: Liv K. Fisher (as a fairy), Lisa, and Brianna

With Cassia Schaar (as Annabeth) and Olivia Hofer (as herself)

With Tori (as a fem Graham)

With Jonathan Trout (as Robin Hood, minus a bow)

With Hann R. (as herself)

With Keturah Lamb (as herself)

I didn't catch their names, but when I asked Flynn Rider and Rapunzel for a picture,
Flynn said, "As long as you get my nose right," to which I replied, "As long
as you give me the smolder." This is the result.

Snow White and the cutest dwarf I have ever seen!

Author Jill Williamson (as Gamora) and her husband (as Star Lord)

With Jill

I met so many others too--I just don't have room for all the pictures! There were characters from Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Doctor Who, Disney, and more. I saw Dr. Strange and the Ancient One (actually Scott and Becky Minor, who run the conference!), Katniss Everdeen, Belle, Gandalf, Wolverine, people in steampunk costumes, and so many others I either recognized or had never seen in my life. I've never been a part of any cosplay event before, but it was really fun to strike up conversations with perfect strangers based solely on the fandoms they represented!


As the banquet wound down, I got a chance to meet and talk to author James L. Rubart. He's a super nice guy. We had a great conversation and I walked away encouraged!

Day 4

First thing in the morning I had a half-hour session with editor/author Lindsay A. Franklin for my ten-page critique. It was amazing. She was so encouraging and supportive, offered awesome advice, and was just really fun to talk to! (And her first novel is coming out in 2018, you guys! Be on the lookout!) Based on her comments and ideas, I'll be reworking at least part of The Brightest Thread. Improvement is an exciting thing!


Afterwards, I had another pitching appointment. This one went very differently than planned, because as it turned out, TBT isn't the right fit for this agent. But we had a good discussion in which he asked questions to stir my creativity and help point me in the right direction, so it was still a helpful learning experience!


I then caught the tail end of Robert Liparulo's final session. Following that was a class on character motivations by Lisa Mangum, which offered practical tips for defining characters' values, goals, and ambitions, and thrusting them into conflict and growth.


That afternoon, I sat in on a panel about reaching readers. The advice was aimed more for already-published authors (always keep copies of your books in your trunk; never be without a Sharpie for signing them; etc.), but it was still informative.


My final class that day was another one by David Farland, this one about building a magic system! One of the best things I took away was the idea of using magic to explore morality--what is the right use of all that power?


Then we had some free time! I hung out with friends in the vendor hall/bookstore and agonized over which books to buy. With limited room in my suitcase, deciding was hard. And then for supper, my teen friends kidnapped me right out of the hotel for deep dish pizza and deep conversation to match. I had so much fun with them! (They were fascinated by my Canadian currency. 'Twas hilarious.)

picture provided by Jonathan Trout

Then it was back to the hotel for Ted's closing keynote and Q&A (so good!) . . . and then, the reason I had packed probably ten pounds of books along: the book signing!

I got Storm Siren signed by Mary Weber! She's like the nicest human bean ever.

Ted Dekker! I got Mortals signed by him. (Most of the Dekker books in my
house belong to my dad. I actually own very few of them myself.)

I didn't have any of Robert Liparulo's books with me, nor did I have room in my luggage to buy one, so he signed my notebook for me. XD

I also got a couple of books signed by Jill Williamson (she's so friendly) and Kyle Robert Schulz (fellow Silmarillion Awards host), though I didn't get pictures.


And then, to close it all off: the NERF WAR. I didn't stay for nearly all of it, because I had a ridiculously early flight the next morning, but I stuck around long enough to play several rounds of zombies vs. survivors. Despite being tired, it was hilariously fun! (Seriously, when do you get to see a whole roomful of mostly adults running around shooting foam darts at each other? And having serious strategy huddles before each round of the game?)

Liv and I, happy assassins

Day 5

I got four hours of sleep and woke up at 4 am to catch my flight to Salt Lake City. I was exhausted and threw up once, but my next two flights went smoothly. By suppertime I was home again.

* * *

And that was Realm Makers 2017! Sorry for the beastly length of this post. There was just so much I wanted to share with you. Realm Makers was encouraging, inspiring, jam-packed, worth the money, and so. much. fun. I learned a lot and met so many awesome people. When others ask me what the highlight of my trip was, I've been telling them it's the people. It's being around so many other writers. The energy of a huge room full of individuals who love story, speculative fiction, and Jesus. People who get me. People amongst whom small talk consists of more than just "Where are you from?" and "What do you do?" but "What do you write?" It was an amazing conference, and I hope I get to go again next year!