Four Reasons: Guest Post

This post is the second in a series from former Kentucky Christian Writers Conference attendees reflecting on their experiences at the event. Visit www.kychristianwriters.com for more information or to register for this year's KCWC.

This will be my sixth year to attend the Kentucky Christian Writer’s Conference. That first year I knew I needed something to help me get started in the publishing world, so I started surfing the net looking for writing conferences. KCWC popped up by what some might call an “accident,” but I believe it was God-planned.

The first year I walked in not knowing a soul, way out of my comfort zone. However, it did not take long for me to realize that I was among friends. As the old saying goes, “Birds of a feather flock together,” and I knew this bird had found her flock. Now, I would like to share four reasons why I keep coming back year after year.

1. Validation: at KCWC, I was accepted as a real writer. At the conference you are just as much a writer if you write a blurb for your church newsletter as you are if you write a novel.

2. Information: KCWC staff members pray hard and work hard to get top-notch people in the industry to be the keynote speakers and to lead the workshops. They are true professionals who want to share their wealth of knowledge to help new writers succeed.

3. Encouragement: writing is not always easy. It gets discouraging when you pour your time and your heart into something only to get a rejection letter for your effort. Family and friends don’t always understand the life of a writer. KCWC provides like-minded people who have been there, just to encourage you to keep on writing.

4. Friends: one of the most important things I have gained from KCWC is a new set of friends. This is the only time of the year that I see some of them, but I know I can email or message them on Facebook if I have a writing question or a prayer request or if I just want to chat. Of all the things I have gained from coming to KCWC, the friends I have made are what I treasure the most.

I hope to see you at the conference this year as I pray for all of us, “May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us—yes, establish the work of our hands”. Psalm 90:17 (NIV)

--Sue Potts
(Sue lives and writes in Huntingdon, Tennessee. She has been a faithful attendee of KCWC for several years.)