How to Choose Your Classes at a Writing Conference

by Tammy Karasek @TickledPinkTam

Writing conference information has entered our social media feeds for 2024. There are so many to choose from, which is a good thing. With so many offered, there’s a better chance one will be close to where you live or offer what you are looking to learn about. Although, there are times that a little bit of travel to a conference that is larger or has more years of experience is worth the extra time and money to attend. Do the research on as many as you can, and don’t forget to reach out to those who may have attended before you. 

You’ve picked the conference you want and have registered. Then you click on the list of classes you must pick to fill your schedule. Hold up a minute … here’s a tip for you from someone else’s experience—that would be me. When I attended my first large writing conference, the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference, I thought I had to fill in all the squares of classes and also the two extra classes for back-ups. And I tried to attend them all. Every. One. Of. Them. Hear me on this, you most certainly can attend all of them, but don’t pressure yourself to do that if you are the type of person who needs to go at a slow and steady pace. Some of us want every moment filled, others like to take in a couple of classes and the information from them, and then go somewhere quiet and process that information. Know your information download style. 

But, how do we choose which classes to take? Some classes might be obvious and should be on the top of your list. If you are a fiction writer and eager to hone your craft of writing fiction, look for those first and mark them for ease to find later. Next go through and look for classes that will be necessary in the future, such as marketing classes or social media classes for you to gain insight on how to grow your audience reach. 

However, before you skip over classes you may think aren’t for you, take a moment and read the description the class instructor has provided. For instance, one year I skipped over screenwriting because I didn’t have thoughts of doing that type of writing. Then to my surprise, a fellow fiction writer attended and shared how it was geared to teaching the fiction writer to write better description scenes in their novels for the reader to see the words you are writing. 

To help you out as you prepare to attend a writing conference—any conference you choose to attend—here are some suggestions.  

Top 5 Tips on Choosing Classes at a Writing Conference

1. Pray about what help you are seeking at this time for your writing. For fiction, are you struggling with story world, plotting, or dialogue—look for those classes. For nonfiction, maybe you want to write devotionals or self-help books that encourage and give people the tools to see God at work—watch for classes that take your nonfiction to the next level. 

2. Do your best to look through the class offerings before you get to the conference if at all possible. Many conferences do post the class offerings. Create a blank schedule for yourself so you can plug in the classes you’d like to attend. I know the BRMCWC I spoke about above gives you a handy blank schedule for to download and use for your classes. Print out a couple copies and do a preliminary one before you go. As you meet the faculty on the first day as they are introduced at most conferences, make the decision between two classes you were unsure of which was a better fit for this year. 

3. The night before your classes start at the conference, use one of those schedules you’ve downloaded or made on your own and make a new one for yourself. Also, put those #2 and #3 choices below the class you think you want. I have sat in a class and within the first minute, I realized it was either way over my head or I misunderstood what I read. I quietly got up and moved to the #2 choice on my schedule. Instructors are used to folks moving in and out of classes because of Agent/Editor appointments. Just be quick and quiet.

4. Be mindful of your energy level at learning so many new things at one time. I’m not kidding with this one. You will often hear at these conferences, that by the end of the week you will feel like you’ve been hit with a firehose of great information, but it came fast and lots of it. Build in a short coffee break—maybe even with a new writing friend.

5. Make sure you allow time to meet others in your classes. These may be your new writing buddies for years to come. They are also a great resource of asking about some of the classes you’ve chosen. Maybe they took the class before or have sat in that particular instructor’s class and share insight on their teaching style. 

Whatever you do, make sure you take the time to go through the list of class selections and have a general guide to follow for your conference. They move fast and you will be glad you took some time to think through your schedule before you arrive. 

How about any of you who have attended writing conferences before—can you offer more tips to help fellow writers make the most of their classes? Please share in the comments below and thanks for your help!

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Tammy Karasek uses humor and wit to bring joy and hope to every aspect in life. Her past, filled with bullying and criticism from family, drives her passion to encourage and inspire others and give them The Reason to smile. She’s gone from down and defeated to living a “Tickled Pink” life as she believes there’s always a giggle wanting to come out! A writer of Romance—with a splash of sass. She’s also The Launch Team Geek helping authors launch their books and also a Virtual Assistant for several best-selling authors. Don't miss her recent book, LAUNCH THAT BOOK, just released in November. 

Her work was also published in a Divine Moments Compilation Book—Cool-inary Moments. She’s also the Social Media Manager for the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference, Founding President and current Vice-President of ACFW Upstate SC, and Founding President of Word Weavers Upstate SC. She’s a writing team member for The Write Conversation Blog, Novel Academy, MBT Monday Devotions, The Write Editing and more. Connect with Tammy at HTTPS://WWW.TAMMYKARASEK.COM.