A Fun and Inspiring Writers' Weekend

                                       Please click this link for author and book information

I'm still recovering from my hectic long weekend at Calgary's When Words Collide Festival for Readers and Writers. After three years of attending the festival online, it was great to see familiar faces in-person, make new connections, and participate in panels in front of live audiences. I also enjoyed spreading the word about BWL and Bouchercon Calgary 2026 at their Merchants' Room tables, which were conveniently located next to each other.  

BWL authors Astrid Theilgaard, Vicki Chatham, and me at the BWL table. 

As usual I especially enjoyed WWC's opening evening keynote addresses. The four Festival Guest Authors were each given twenty minutes to talk about anything they wanted. This year's speeches were intensely personal and brave. Writing coach and international speaker Angela Ackerman shared her struggle with imposter syndrome despite selling almost a million books in ten languages. I'm sure every writer in the room could relate. Stacey Kondla spoke about her stroke, which prompted her successful new career as a literary agent. Nicole Baart, author of "race-to-the finish family dramas," discussed how her need for multiple surgeries during childhood led her to becoming a writer. 

On my seven panels I discussed such topics such as creating characters, writing mental health, fiction in a world with COVID-19, putting your characters in danger, and how to write a series without losing your way (or your mind). About the latter, I confessed my method of combing through my notes and earlier series novels to recall a character's eye colour, age, or divorce date wasn't the most efficient way of keeping track of continuing series characters and suggested authors use a spreadsheet. Fellow panelist Cathy Ace prefers a series bible, which she described as a word document that she searches for a character's pertinent details. Whatever works for each writer. 

At the keynote event, WWC chair Randy McCharles passed the torch (a dragon statue) to the festival's new management, the Alexandra Writers' Centre Society. The AWCS was busy taking registrations for next year's festival in the Merchants' Room. WWC 2024 is already 70 % sold out. AWCS has put together an interesting lineup of Guests of Honour and Special Guest authors. Check their website for updates and to register for When Words Collide Volume Two: Every Chapter Has Another Great Story.

        

Thanks to Diane Bator (above) for organizing the BWL table. Author Layton Park stopped by to chat with Diane and do a table shift. Diane went home with ideas for sprucing up the BWL table next year. Even the Merchants' Room can be inspiring. 

WWC panel with mystery writers PD Workman, BWL author Joan Donaldson-Yarmey, Jonathan Whitelaw, and Cathy Ace. 

                  

BWL Publishing and Escape With a Writer are Heading to When Words Collide August 4 to 6! by Diane Bator

https://bwlpublishing.ca/bator-diane/

For anyone new to my blog, Escape with a Writer is the name of my blog where I have promoted fellow authors since 2018. I actually started it because while raising three kids, working all day, and writing, I never had time to figure out what to blog about! I started doing blogs every Sunday. Lucky for me, I have a lot of great friends who have been happy to share their books and their stories and I soon found myself posting twice a week.

Flash forward to 2022 and I teamed up with a public relations guy who sends me even more authors to share. Currently, Escape with a Writer is up to three days a week and may become a podcast as well! One step at a time, right? After all, I just moved!

Just when things have slowed down and the dust began to settle, I'm facing a whole new challenge. Attending one of the largest writing conferences I've ever been to! As a publisher!

Deep breath. I've got this. It's only When Words Collide, which has been sold out for months. How big could it be?

I started with the website and found the venue. Easy enough to get to. Seems to be lots of parking. One big breath out. Did I mention traffic makes me a bit anxious? Yes, I drove across Canada, but that was pretty much a straight shot. This is me driving in a city and... Taking one highway and one main street. No big deal!

When I get there, I need to set up the table for BWL Publishing. Another deep breath before I find THE VENUE MAP! Whew! No big. I'll keep it handy. This is why I love paper.

So what do I do when I'm not looking after the store? Did I mention it's a conference? I checked out the sessions available and had to sit down. Friday alone there are over 40 sessions! Saturday and Sunday there are about the same. Wow! How on earth is someone supposed to figure out what to attend? I don't see a cloning station on that map!

It seems as though the drive in might be the least of my worries!

Lucky for me, they provide a complete list that tells attendees about EVERY one of the sessions as well as who is leading them. Wait a sec! I know some of these people. Or at least I know their virtual versions from all the Zoom meetings I've attended since 2020. Maybe one solution to my problem is to find all the ones people I know are teaching and start from there. Then I can read the summaries and chose things I'd really like to learn about.

Would I prefer to learn about "Writing Short Mysteries that Sell" or "Murder, Mayhem, or Natural Causes? Inventive Ways to Kill of Characters"? Okay, bad example. I'm a mystery writer!

How about "Protagonists Under Pressure: Putting Your Characters in Danger" or "Why are Zombies Essential to a Writer's Group?" I think I may need to find out the answer to that one! 

Ooh! "Finding Time as a Writer" is on Saturday, but at the same time as "Troubleshooting Your Manuscript." Time for some serious coin flipping!

Back to more urgent matters. I need to pack my books and load the car. 

Now I need to decide which books I should bring.

Next month, I'll let you know how this conference went and fill you in on my next adventure in writing conferences! 

Keep Writing

Diane

When Word Collide Grand Finale

 

 

Please click this link for author and book information

I've attended Calgary's When Words Collide Festival for Readers and Writers every year since it began in 2011. That was the year I published my first novel, A Deadly Fall, but I didn't attend to promote the book. I went as a fan of one of their special guest authors Robert J. Sawyer and because a friend coaxed me into going and WWC was an inexpensive, local event. When I arrived at the host hotel, I was amazed at the festival's energy. The founders largely came from the science fiction and fantasy community and they know how to party. While WWC included all genres, it helped to understand the numerous Star Trek references. I attended several dynamic panels and presentations and did a shift at the book sale table, where I met some interesting people and sold copies of my new novel. 

The following year, I volunteered to lead a dialogue workshop, which had a huge turnout. Buoyed by this success, the next year I volunteered to sit on a few panels. WWC is entirely volunteer-run and presented, although the special guest authors receive expense money. The relative equality between authors and fans creates a democratic atmosphere. A highlight for me every year is the opening night's two-hour keynote addresses, where the five or six guest authors each introduce themselves and speak on whatever topic they want. Often the speeches are funny and/or thought provoking.  

My involvement increased when I joined the WWC board and helped develop ideas for panels. We aimed for topics that would appeal to readers of all genres and writers at every stage of the process, from learning the craft to finding a publisher to promoting their books. I met BWL publisher Jude Pittman at WWC 2017 when we chatted in the Merchants' Room. After the festival, I sent her a query and soon became part of the BWL family. 

 

                                 BWL's Nancy Bell and Jude Pittman at When Words Collide 

Connections also occur at WWC social gatherings. The Saturday evening banquet has sold out quickly since the festival started encouraging costumes. Here I am (left hand side) with two other ladies in red at the Roaring Twenties theme banquet.  

      

Then COVID-19 hit. WWC went online in August 2020 and continued with virtual conferences the following two years. I still participated in panels and attended some virtual social events, but not as many as I had previously. Staring at a computer screen wasn't the same as meeting in person. I left the board, feeling I didn't have the tech skills to contribute much of value. Other board members dropped off and the festival's main organizers ran out of steam. They decided to return to the in-person festival in 2023, but this will be the final year for When Words Collide. 

Registration for WWC 2023 has reached its cap of 780 attendees, but this is due to 2020 and later registrations being carried forward to 2023. Spots are expected to open up, so it's worth  putting your name on the waitlist if you're interested in attending.

I'm looking forward to the WWC finale on August 4-6 with bittersweet feelings, but this might not be a complete ending. Rumour has it another group is thinking of reviving the festival or creating something similar next year. This hope in the wings is all the more reason to celebrate When Words Collide's wildly successful thirteen year run this summer. Hats off to you, WWC! It's been grand. 

                                               Me with Special Guest Author Will Ferguson

 

                                    

WWC Festival For Readers and Writers - Online again and free

                                Please click this link for book and purchase information

My favourite writing festival, When Words Collide will be happening August 13-15, 2021. This year's online event will feature a full program with up to ten options every hour from Friday to Sunday. Most events will take place on Zoom. The festival is free, but you have to register in advance to prevent Zoom bombers from disrupting the panels and presentations. 

This year I'll be participating in six events, the most I've done since I attended the inaugural WWC ten years ago. A few of my panels were carried over from last year's cancelled in-person festival. The others are topics that appealed to me and needed volunteers to fill remaining spots. WWC is entirely organized and presented by volunteers, which contributes to its atmosphere of equality among writers and readers. 

  

"Roaring Twenties" banquet: me with author Will Ferguson at WWC - this year's socials will be online 

Friday, August 13th, I'll be driving back to Calgary from a hiking holiday in Jasper, Alberta. I hope to get home in time for the keynote speeches by the festival's five special guest authors. These are often thought provoking, hilarious, or both. 

My first panel, Chapter One: Your Debut Book, is scheduled for Saturday at noon. I'll moderate a group discussion on the experience of publishing a first book and how to attract readers. This is a timely topic for me, since my new novel will be released in August. Much has changed since my first book appeared ten years ago, but I hope to apply what I've learned to our increasingly digital world. 

            Signing Ten Days in Summer, book # 2 of my Paula Savard mystery series, at my book launch

Next on tap is Killer Dialogue, a panel about how to make your evil characters sound evil but real. My contribution to this topic might be different from that of my fellow panelists, since my bad guys tend to be regular people who do bad things and simply talk like themselves. Some of the other panelists write 'noir' books with heavier lingo. I'll probably learn as much from them as the viewers who tune into the discussion. 

Then, for something completely different, is a panel called Prophet and Loss: Cults and Extreme Beliefs in Fiction. My last novel, To Catch a Fox, was primarily set at a cult-like retreat in California. Despite the costumes, life at the story's New Dawn Retreat is a touch more mainstream than the experience of one of my fellow panelists, a former member of the Unification Church, colloquially called the "Moonies."   

I enjoyed dressing my characters in costumes like these at the retreat in To Catch a Fox 

Saturday night features social activities on Zoom. I skipped these last year, but people said they were almost like the real live thing. Especially popular were break-out rooms, where attendees got to know others in small groups. I hope to get involved this year, dressed in my pajamas from the waist down. 

Sunday I'm back at ten a.m. on a panel called Book Clubs for Readers. I've belonged to the same book club for 25 years, although the membership has changed through time. We all met though a group organized by the Calgary Public Library and used to meet at the Fish Creek branch. Since last September we've been getting together on Zoom. The online platform has worked well to keep our group going, but we look forward to discussing books in person next fall. 

The last minute addition to my schedule is a panel titled Imagery, Theme and Titles Aren't So Tough. I find all three of these tough at times, but interesting. My first writing instructors taught me to start each story with an image. While I can't say I've continued to do this all or most of the time, it was a good way to learn fiction writing. What makes the perfect title? I think it's often one that ties imagery and theme together on multiple levels. For instance, the title "A Red Balloon" (I made this up) might be a story with an actual red balloon. As the story progresses, the balloon and its colour signify meanings of increasing depth.    

Finally, this year I'll be doing my first WWC presentation: In the Beginning is the Sentence. Editor Tania Therien and I will geek-out on sentences. We'll talk about opening sentences, sentence length and type, sentences we've loved and hated, what makes a sentence a sing? We both feel out of our comfort zones, but trust we'll pull each other through. We also secretly hope that by our time slot - four p.m. Sunday afternoon - listeners will be too tired from the busy weekend to notice our goofs.  

My presentation and five panels are a small portion of the hundreds of offerings at When Words Collide next month. This online year is a chance for non-Calgarians to check the program out.  There's bound to be something for anyone interested in writing or reading books. In 2022 WWC hopes to return to its usual Calgary hotel, but  probably with online components.