By Julie Lavender @JLavenderWrites

I’m writing this column the evening before heading to a writers’ conference, and I’m not sure what I’m most excited about. The teaching .. the learning … the new books to explore (the published ones and the ones that are just a dream at the moment) … the chance to share creative ideas with those humans “who get it” … or the fellow writers in attendance.

Favorite writers’ conferences feel like family reunions. They offer a chance to catch up on professional levels, but perhaps more importantly, on personal levels with those peeps whom we often only see once or maybe twice a year.

And if you’re like me, even though we’re only in each other’s company a couple of times a year, when we get together in person, something magical happens and it’s like we’ve never even been apart.

“How’s the hubby’s job?”

“What are your children doing these days?”

“Tell me about your grandkids!”

[tweet_box design=”default” float=”none” inject=”#BRMCWC #Writing #Writinglife”]On My Way to a Writing Conference … by @JLanenderWrites on @BRMCWC[/tweet_box]

“What project are you working on right now?”

“Did you take that vacation you told me about the last time we were together?”

“Has your mom adjusted to assisted living yet?”

It’s amazing to me how we can know friends so intimately and passionately we sparingly see face to face! That’s one reason I’m so grateful for social media, despite its flaws. When I initiate a relationship with a fellow writer while face to face, social media helps me stay in touch with that person during the lapse of time we’re not together.

But even those I only make a connection with once a year at a conference become dear friends, and I’m just as excited to see them when another year rolls around! There’s just something about being together in a conference setting that solidifies relationships and creates lasting bonds.

If you’re getting ready for a conference in the near future, I hope you’ll go with the attitude of initiating writing bonds with other attendees. The support and encouragement are hard to top, because you just get each other.

Plan to glean as much writing wisdom as possible and set up those editor and agent appointments. But be intentional to forge bonds with fellow writers with the expectation that those relationships will be long-lasting, encouraging, and supportive.

Yeah, I’m thinking the people I’ll see at the conference tomorrow and in the days ahead are what I’m most excited about. I can’t wait to hug some necks and catch up …. Maybe yours will be one I get to hug?

Julie Lavender worked on the computer for many nights until the wee hours of the morning to complete her newest book, Raising Good Sons: Christian Parenting Principles for Nurturing Boys of Faith and Character that releases the second week of April. Julie co-authored the book, published by Penguin Random House, with her hubby, David. It’s their first faith-based collaborative effort, though they’ve also recently written twenty-two books for the children’s educational market. Julie is also the author of A Gingerbread House, published by End Game Press.