Western Reserve Writers Conference 2023
Introduction
I attended the 38th annual Western Reserve Writers Conference 2025 on March 25, 2023. They held the Conference at the South Euclid-Lyndhurst branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library at the William N. Skirball writer’s center at the branch. It was a one-day event with an introduction, a keynote speaker, three breakout sessions, and one first-page critique panel.
This is the link to the Cuyahoga County Library.
https://www.cuyahogalibrary.org
This is the link to the writer’s center at the library branch.
https://www.cuyahogalibrary.org/Services/William-N-Skirball-Writers-Center.aspx
Summary
Saturday, March 25th at 9:30 AM
Welcome and Conference Overview
Deanna R. Adams is the conference coordinator and Laurie Kincer is the librarian in charge of the writer’s center.
Laurie explained how they set up the library, where the three meeting rooms were located, and about the door prizes available at 4 PM. Deanna introduced the keynote speaker, justin a. reynolds.
They held the welcome and conference overview in the meeting room A/B/C with about 134 attendees.
Saturday, March 25th at 9:40 AM
Keynote Speaker Topic: Building a Writing Community.
The keynote speaker was Abby L. Vandiver. She is a self-published author of twenty novels plus several other books traditionally published.
Abby worked at Cleveland Clinic but lost her job and decided to write a book. She is a hybrid author publishing both self and traditionally. The way to success is when you tell yourself that I am a writer.
She learned certain truths of writing life. We have doubts and that’s ok. We strive for perfection even though that is impossible. Staring at the computer is part of your job. We are reluctant to show our work until it is just right, but that is the wrong way. Get it out there, share your work.
Find out what you need to get you in the mood to write and do that.
Find your reason why you write. Sharing is important to finding your tribe of like-minded readers and writers. Find a challenge partner and your community.
They held the talk in the meeting room A/B/C with about 134 attendees.
Saturday, March 25th at 3:00 PM
Breakout Session: Writing a Book in 30 Days.
The presenter was Abby L. Vandiver. She is a self-published and traditionally published author.
Abby writes mysteries (dead bodies) and trillers (potential dead bodies). There’s nothing new under the sun, so you need to find a hook. Writing is hard but NANOWRIMO could help kickstart you with the goal of writing 50 thousand words in a month.
Are you a plotter or a pantser? Find your balance. What aspects do you need to write a novel? Think about story, research, characters, plot, setting, and point of view.
Main reasons that novels are left unfinished are unsure of direction to go, missing character motivation, lack of self-motivation, and seeking perfection. Get that first draft written, then you will have something to edit.
Reread a book you like and think about its construction as a writer to help you in your writing journey. Know your ending so you know where you are going.
They held the talk in the writer’s center meeting room with about 40 attendees.
Recommendation – Conclusion
I enjoyed attending the Western Reserve Writers Conference 2023. I also attended the conference in 2019, 2022, 2023 (they canceled the conference in 2020 and 2021 because of COVID-19), 2024, and 2025. My Star of the Con was Abby L. Vandiver. Both of her talks were well thought out and inspiring.
Links
I attended the 40th annual Western Reserve Writers Conference on March 22, 2025. They held the Conference at the South Euclid-Lyndhurst branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library at the William N. Skirball writer’s center at the branch. It was a one-day event with an introduction, a keynote speaker, three breakout sessions, and one first-page critique panel.
I enjoyed attending the Western Reserve Writers Conference 2024. I also attended the conference in 2019, 2022, 2023 (they canceled the conference in 2020 and 2021 because of COVID-19), and 2024. My Star of the Con was J. Thorn. He had some brilliant advice for beginning writers.
This is my Recap for the Western Reserve Writers Conference on March 23, 2024, where I attended the introduction, the keynote speaker presentation and a breakout session. The Cuyahoga County Public Library held the conference at the South Euclid-Lyndhurst branch.
This is my Recap for the Western Reserve Writers Conference on March 26, 2022, where I attended the introduction, a keynote speaker, and two breakout sessions. The Cuyahoga County Public Library held the conference at the South Euclid-Lyndhurst branch.
More Links
I attended the 36th annual Western Reserve Writers Conference on April 27, 2019. They held the Conference at the South Euclid-Lyndhurst branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library at the William N. Skirball writer’s center at the branch. It was a one-day event with an introduction, a keynote speaker, three breakout sessions, and one first-page critique panel. I attended the introduction, a keynote speaker, and two breakout sessions. I thought The Western Reserve Writers Conference was well run, diverse in the presentations offered, and informative. My Star of the Con was Bree Barton. Her presentation was fun, the exercises were useful, and I liked her personality.
I attended the 34th annual Western Reserve Writers Conference on September 23, 2017. I could not attend last year. This is a link to my review of the 2017 conference.