SCBWI | Cathy C. Hall Writes

I really meant to drop in here a few days ago. Day before yesterday, it was circled on my Things To Do list. Yesterday, I actually had my computer on and humming for a couple hours. But I didn’t quite get around to the Hall of Fame. How can anyone write when those crazy skiers and snowboarders and skaters are zipping by so fast, if you blink, you miss ’em?

So, I’m late. But for a good cause. Which brings me to the topic today. What writing organizations do you belong to, and why? Or what conferences will you pay to attend? In other words, what writing cause is good enough to justify the expenses?

Over at Finders and Keepers, where I write about all things in my children’s lit related world, I asked about SCBWI (my membership is coming due!). And the responses convinced me that I hadn’t really been using my SCBWI membership to its fullest benefit.

Mostly, I joined SCBWI in order to meet like-minded writers. I attend my regional conferences, too. But perhaps there’s more out there that I’m missing. Kind of like what I found with SCBWI. So, how about you? Share with us where you hang out, writing-wise, (organizations, conferences, associations, memberships) and why you spend the money to do so. Inquiring minds really want to know what you think is valuable out there, when it comes to writing.

And I promise I’ll look into your recommendations. As soon as the Winter Olympics swoosh out of town!

I’ve got to get my little old self to the Springmingle Conference in Atlanta this evening, but I wanted to leave you something before I go. Something Southern, sort of like Southern Breeze, which is the SCBWI chapter sponsoring Springmingle. (Am I the only one that thinks Springmingle is a little, I don’t know, rushing the season, for a conference in February???)

So, here’s a call for submissions from “Sweet Tea and Afternoon Tales,” which is sponsored by the Gulf Coast Writers Association. And according to their info sheet, they’re “eager to include voices from many southern states.”

And that could mean little old me, from Georgia. Or you, if you’re from Mississippi, Alabama, Caroline-anywhere below the Mason Dixon Line (okay, I just flashed back to eighth grade cheerleading and one of my favorite cheers. Now, I’m flashing back to how I didn’t make the squad. A perfectly good flashback ruined.)

Anyway, the GCWA will accept most genres, except the usual genres relegated to the Island Of Misfit Fiction (erotica, graphic violence, etc.). BUT, stories must be set in the South and capture a Southern tone (how convenient for little old me!) AND, they’ll consider previously published stories. There’s no entry fee, but you’ve got to work fast! Deadline is March 15, 2009!

You can get all the little old details here. And now, I’m gone like the wind. (Um, I couldn’t help that one. It’s better than another cheer, though, right?)