Skip to main content

Recap of the HWG Fall Writer's Conference

Welcome to the HWG Fall 2012 Writer's Conference in St. George, Utah. (Me giving the welcome speech to all attendees.)

Wow, is all I can say about my weekend long writing conference on October 12-13, 2012. I was not only busy as the HWG President in welcoming our attendees to our first ever writing conference, but also helped David Smith (HWG Conference Chair & Author of the Hidden Mickey series) with overseeing the details of the conference as well as presenting a workshop of my own about how to bring and use your 5 sense in your writing.

I would love to say when you host a writing conference that things don't get crazy until the day of the conference, but as you all might have guessed already...it starts weeks before, if not months. However, one of the highlights of the craziness going on around me was picking up our Friday night Keynote Speaker Johnny Tan. He not only flew out from Texas, but is also a dear friend I have known for a few years now. We have never met in-person until the conference!

Johnny flew in on Thursday night so the HWG board and myself all went out to dinner. It was a great evening and fun way to get the energy flowing the night before the conference.

I read a lot of positive feedback about the conference and even received some wonderful suggestions for next year. But enough about all that. Let me share some photos of speakers and authors at their event tables for when the community came for the book signing and free workshop portion of the conference.

You can see we all had a great time and enjoyed not only learning new tips or being reminded of things we often need to hear more than once, but also the networking.

I truly had a wonderful time and look forward to next year!
VS Grenier with David Smith







Popular posts from this blog

OWNING: Only One of You

Martha Graham, a famous dancer and choreographer in the early 20th century, wrote in a letter to one of her students: "There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique, and if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium; and be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is, not how it compares with other expression. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open." Graham's words ring true. There is only one of you in the world: The way you think, the way you see things, the way you respond, the way you nurture yourself and other people, the way you go about doing mundane things. The way you love, the way you express, the way you tell a story, the way you write. The world will know of and witness only one you . The totality of you -- talents, nuances, thought proc...

Unmasking Narcissism: Lessons on Healing, Boundaries, and the Human Condition

  When I first sat down with Dominick to interview Stuart Wood, neuroscientist and author of Escaping the Void: How to Support Victims Out of Emotionally Abusive Relationships , I thought I knew what to expect. I’ve been a victim advocate for years. I’ve sat with survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, and I’ve seen the way emotional abuse erodes someone from the inside out. But there was something about this conversation—something about tying narcissism not just to relationships, but to culture at large—that resonated with me on a personal and professional level. Stuart came to the topic of narcissism the way so many of us do—not through clinical theory at first, but through experience. He supported a friend through four years of leaving and healing after an abusive narcissistic marriage. And from there, he wrote a book that demystifies the confusing behaviors and manipulations so often minimized or dismissed, even by victims themselves. Why Narcissism Hits Home I come ...

The Comeback of 2D Animation: Why We’re Craving Realness Again

There’s something happening in animation right now that’s worth paying attention to—not because it’s simply nostalgic, but because it’s deeply human. As someone who works in the mental health and creative storytelling space, I can’t help but see these conversations about art, AI, and hand-drawn storytelling as part of a bigger theme: our collective hunger for authenticity. We live in a time where AI-generated content is everywhere—convenient, efficient, and often soulless. It’s not surprising that artists and audiences alike are looking back toward something that feels more tactile, more imperfect, more human. That brings us to 2D animation, an art form that has shaped generations and now, it seems, might just be making a comeback. Here’s what Language of the Soul podcast host, Dominick Domingo, had to say on this trend: There’s been a lot of industry talk lately speculating about 2D/traditional ANIMATION making a comeback. Recent articles confirm that although Disney has not greenlit...