Any Time for a Conference or Workshop?

By Regina Allen

Working full time, going to school full time and attending clinical rotations, the time to write shortened from Saturday mornings to whenever I remembered to take a break at work or had time before classes. Attending conferences also diminished. One day, I sat down at my kitchen table and asked myself:  Can I attend a conference? This question prompted me to do some research and planning. After reviewing my conference list, I settled on a writer’s retreat that took place out of state. For me, it’s a chance to totally immerse myself in writing, reconnect with my work and have it critiqued by other authors. However, I worried about school and my clinical rotation. Will I miss a quiz or test? And what about homework? How could I get all the homework done and attend the conference? Also, I had to make sure my clinical rotation hours were current. If I took several days off, how would I be able to meet my quota?

First, I checked the conference dates against my class schedule and noticed I’d miss one class. I gave the teacher four weeks notice and asked if she scheduled a test for that week. She said yes and I could take the test the week before the retreat. The teacher gave me the chapters and study questions that comprised the homework. After that, it was just a matter of finding time to finish homework in all my classes before attending the conference. Once accomplished, I checked my clinical rotation hours to see how much I had left. To keep up with the hours, I put in for time off from my full time job to make up the hours I’d lose while attending the retreat.

Because the retreat was held out of state, yet close to home, I took the train. For me, taking the train created a physical transition from my harried daily routine to a world of words, writers and stories.

At the retreat, homework, classes, and work immediately disappeared. Four days immersed me in writing and critiquing manuscripts. On the return trip, I read the critiques on my manuscripts and jotted notes along the margins for passages that needed a second look.

Being a full-time student temporarily limits how many conferences you attend; however, attending at least one conference will keep you connected with the writing community and provide a mental vacation away from school and work.

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Regina Allen is a fiction writer who lives in Exeter, Rhode Island. She is a member of the Speculative Literature Foundation, www.speculativeliterature.org and the Carl Brandon Society. Currently, Regina is working on a science fiction novella and collaborating on a medical thriller with suspense author, Joel Ross (www.joelross.net). You can send information on conferences, retreats or workshops with two months’ advance notice at regall649@msn.com.

As always, for more conferences, check Shaw Guides (www.shawguides.com), Poets & Writers, Asimov’s Science Fiction magazine and Writers Market. Here is a list of upcoming retreats, workshops and conferences:

National

The 16th Annual Environmental Writing Institute
University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, May 25-27, 2005
Includes writing field trips, workshops and individual conferences.
Registration fee:  $250. Submit book proposal or three to five pages of creative nonfiction
by March 31, 2005.
For more information, contact:  Phil Condon, Director, Environmental Writing Institute, Environmental Studies Program, University of Montana, Missoula, MT 9812
Telephone:  (406) 243-2905
Email:  phil.condon@mso.umt.edu
Website:  http://www.umt.edu/ewi

Second Annual Summer Writers' Institute and Retreat

North Country Institute and Retreat for Writers of Color
Lake Champlain, New York, June 19-25, 2005
Deadline to apply:  March 4, 2005
Residents work with faculty members in poetry, fiction and memoirs. For more information please contact:  Center for Black Literature, Dr. Brenda M. Greene
Medgar Evers College, CUNY, 1650 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11225
Telephone:  718-270-6976/4941
Email: bgreene@mec.cuny.edu

OR Plattsburgh State, Jose L. Torres-Padilla
Beaumont Hall 418A, 101 Broad Street, Plattsburgh, N.Y. 12901
Telephone: 518-564-2412/2413
Email: torresjl@plattsburgh.edu
Website: http://webdev.plattsburgh.edu/offices/academic/writersofcolor/valcourretreat.php

International

The Muses Poetry Workshop
Spetses, Greece, June 19-July 9, 2005
Sessions include studies in myth and poetry with A. E. Stallings
For more information contact:  Poetry, The Athens Centre, 48 Archimidous Str., Athens 11636, Greece
Email:  athenscr@ath.forthnet.gr
Website:  http://www.athenscentre.gr/poetry_workshop.htm