This was my first time attending the AWP Conference (Association of Writers and Writing Programs) and despite the apprehension that it was going to be cancelled and then the diminished attendance, I'm still glad I went. It was something I've always heard that "you must do at least once." But... what did I learn? A
When I set out to write (yes, it was a conscious decision after growing tired of my own excuses as to why I wasn’t) I read everything I could find on it and in doing that, read a lot about rejection. So in some ways, I was prepared, or at least forewarned, as to what
I always imagined that workshopping writing in person would be akin to walking into a room full of strangers, dropping your pants, and asking them to point out all the pimples on your butt. Writing is like that—intimate. Something you do in private. You’re exposed, but you can’t see your own issues. It wasn’t like
