Nonfiction Now wrap-up

I just got back from spending three days in Iowa City at the Nonfiction Now conference. It was the second annual conference, but the first time I attended. I had a great time. It wasn't really a "how-to" writing conference. Many of the attendees are in the world of academia. Therefore, some of the presentations were a little esoteric and self-indulgent. But there was usually at least one presentation on each panel that held a nugget or two.

I think maybe the most important part of the conference was the networking. To my knowledge, this conference is the biggest gathering of nonfiction practitioners in the country. The heavy-hitters of the nonfiction world were there -- editors of journals, directors of creative writing programs, premier writers.

I came away with two major things:

1) I have renewed faith in my writing. So much of what I heard was validating. As I listened to other nonfiction writers, I often found myself nodding my head or thinking, "Me too." I came away with some new ideas for my memoir. It was great to see what everyone else was doing, what their books look like, how they approached their topics, etc.

2) A renewed love for nonfiction. I have always loved nonfiction, but this conference gave me a chance to examine it from all angles. I appreciate the genre more, and the idea of straying from it doesn't interest me at all. I have been thinking the in the past few weeks about how I tend to spread myself too thin in all things -- I want to do it all! But writing nonfiction is one thing I can commit myself to and try to become the best I can be at it.