2 Lessons I Learned at My First Writers’ Conference

I recently attended my first writers’ conference. I had considered going to a writers’ conference for a while but hadn’t felt ready to “pull the trigger” and actually register for one—until I contacted several authors to ask for their writing advice and almost all of them told me that I should go to a writers’ conference.

So I did.

Though I had some preconceived notions about the writers’ conference, it turned out to be much different than I had expected. It helped me realize (or re-realize) a few important things about my writing craft and my relationship with God. So whether or not you’re a writer, here are two lessons I learned at my first writers’ conference that apply to anyone who belongs to Christ and wants to use his or her talents for His kingdom:

1. We need each other.

Honestly, my expectations about the conference were pretty low. I didn’t expect to grow as a writer; I simply expected to listen to keynote speeches, attend classes, and participate in critique and mentoring sessions. But now that the conference is over and I’ve had time to reflect on my experience, I can confidently say I’m glad I went. I left the conference feeling truly inspired.

Writing is often stereotyped as a “solo sport” that introverts can master because they can do it without the help or support of other people, but that’s simply not an accurate way to view writing—or life! As I met and conversed with different people throughout the conference, I was reminded of this truth: We need each other. Not only do writers need other writers, but they also need readers! The same is true for Christians. We need other Christians (from a variety of life stages) to grow in our faith.

2. God was, is, and will be with us.

The keynote speaker on the last day of the conference shared an incredibly powerful message. Using Judges 6, he reminded us that God was, is, and will be with us on our writing journeys. As we remember this truth—in our writing journeys and in life in general—we can release the regrets that we have about the past, the concerns that we have in the present, and the fears that we have about the future.  

Then the angel of the Lord came and sat under the oak that was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite as his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press in order to save it from the Midianites. The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, O valiant warrior.” Then Gideon said to him, “O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.” The Lord looked at him and said, “Go in this your strength and deliver Israel from the hand of Midian. Have I not sent you?” He said to Him, “O Lord, how shall I deliver Israel? Behold, my family is the least in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house.” But the Lord said to him, “Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat Midian as one man.” (Judges 6:11-16 NASB1995, emphasis mine)