Realm Makers 2019 was one of the best experiences of my entire life.
Let me back up a couple steps. I had never been to a writer's conference prior to this. I'd wanted to go last year, but that didn't work out, thanks to my purchase of my very own car. I knew going would jeopardize my bank account, and I wasn't going to risk it. So I passed, disheartened by the fact that I had to stay behind, but also hoping to attend the following year.
As the new year rolled around and it was time to to file income tax, I calculated that I would have more than enough with my return to pay for RM. Sure enough, when I got that check, it covered my expenses. (Though perhaps not entirely, considering how many books I bought . . .)
I decided 2019 was my year. I had started rewriting the first book of the Portal Chronicles, now called
Shattered, back in November for NaNo. That meant I actually had something to talk about and get critiqued. I was ready to learn, to hang out with like-minded people, and to have a blast. So I did it.
I signed up. Three simple words, but ones with such a profound impact on me.
The date drew nearer, and while I was definitely excited, I wasn't all that nervous. See, I'd also never flown on a jet before. I took preparatory measures, such as buying some earplugs that help with the adjusting air pressure. I also brought some Gravol along, so I figured I'd be all right. It's a good thing I didn't know how the flights would end up being; otherwise, I would've been a lot more nervous . . .
Disclaimer before I continue: I'm not going to do a play-by-play recap of the conference . . . at least, I'm gonna try not to. And even if I don't, I suspect this post will become a bit of a monster, so hang tight, I guess.
Wednesday - Day 1
The first day turned out to be such a gong show, it was unbelievable. It started off fine.
Tracey and I got to the airport way ahead of time, booked our seats with no problem, checked in, and chilled for a couple of hours. We had a lunch of sorts and chatted with a delightful older couple. Nothing too crazy . . . yet.
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| This was taken before the chaos started. You can still see the naive innocence on my face. |
It started with our flight being delayed by half an hour. Doesn't sound like much, but when you're going through customs at your next stop, every minute counts. Then it continued with our descent into Toronto. I hadn't worn my earplugs properly, and the pressure began to seriously affect my ears, hammering my skull as well. My hearing was muffled for a while afterward.
The madness didn't stop there. We had forty minutes to go through customs and get to our gate, which we just barely managed to do. But then they stopped Tracey at the gate and told her she wasn't on the flight. They managed to get her a seat, while saying that her luggage may not arrive in St. Louis. Swell.
And THEN it gets even crazier. A massive thunderstorm was hitting our destination. Our pilot dipped below the clouds to land, but all that resulted in was some hefty turbulence. I was seriously beginning to wonder how fast I could pull my books out of my plastic bag so I could use it for vomiting. We ascended above the storm and circled for a bit to no avail. We were forced to land in a private airstrip in Indiana or something to refuel. The facility was so small with so few staff that we could only get off the plane five at a time to use the bathroom.
By the time we were able to land in St. Louis, it was after nine, three hours past our scheduled time. Tracey and I had been planning to meet up with some people for supper, but we told them earlier to go by themselves, since we had no idea when we'd land, and it's a good thing we did. But this wasn't the worst part.
We go to the carousel for our luggage. We wait . . . and we wait . . . and we wait. To quote VeggieTales, "Nothing." "Zilch." "Nada." As if the day couldn't get any worse! We headed over to claims, and they told that we were supposed to have taken our luggage through customs in Toronto, but NOBODY INFORMED US OF THAT TINY, INSIGNIFICANT DETAIL. Plus, we wouldn't have had the time.
Thankfully, our luggage had been located in Toronto and would be sent to our hotel. With that, we grabbed the next shuttle and headed over to the Sheraton Westport Chalet. It was here that I got to meet the wonderful
Deborah O'Carroll and
Mary Horton in person, but with me being as tired as I was, all I could manage was a tired "Hello" and a handshake. What a lame way to meet, but what can you do?
One of my roommates and I went out in search of supper, but nothing nearby was open. So we ordered a pizza and shared it before being joined by our other roomie. I headed downstairs and stayed up until midnight waiting for my suitcase to arrive, but Tracey and I found out it wouldn't show up until four or five in the morning. With that, I went to bed in my street clothes and ended that circus of a day.
Moral of the day: don't fly if you can help it. But if you have to, hope for the best and prepare for the worst.
Thursday - Day 2
Waking up at seven and going down to the lobby to find that my suitcase had indeed safely arrived was the best way to start the day. After a delicious chocolate chip bagel with strawberry cream cheese at Panera, I was ready to have some fun!
First on the agenda was Robert Liparulo's pre-conference class. He was teaching on how to write and market a series, and he had so many useful tips! I could've listened to him talk for hours--well, I suppose I kinda did. I added a few questions to my list for our critique session the next day; I felt that they weren't broad enough to merit asking in front of everyone, which is why I saved them for later. Anyway, I filled up several pages in my notebook with tons of notes from his session. I'm so glad I got to attend!
During the lunch break, some of us went over to Fuzzy's Taco Shop. If you've never had a shrimp burrito before, you really must try it! At least, if you happen to visit Fuzzy's somewhere. It was during this time that I also got to properly meet some more online acquaintances, such as the splendid
Savannah Grace and
Madeline Rose. I enjoyed hanging out with them and the others with us. It was really starting to make me feel like I belonged in the RM family.
We returned to finish Robert's class, which ended up going thirty minutes over schedule. (He finally stopped when lots of people had trickled out of the class.) I asked him to sign the first three Dreamhouse Kings books I'd brought along, and he remembered, based solely on my name, that we had an appointment together on Friday. This kinda shocked me, but he seemed to be really good with names and faces.
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| What an incredible, friendly guy! So happy I got to meet Bob. |
It was during this time that Tracey and I also met Jenneth Dyck, a super sweet girl who wanted to find us because we share the same last name. She’d been getting asked if we were related, so she just had to track down her “cousins.” We took a “family picture” together for fun. I’m glad I got to know her, because I feel like we clicked really well. Plus, it never hurts to make more friends, right?
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| The Dyck clan shall take over Realm Makers! (Photo courtesy of Tracey) |
It was time for the conference to actually start, so we made our way downstairs. This is where I met the absolutely fantastic
Christine Smith. I noticed her sitting in a row nearby, and she spotted me as well. We both kept glancing each other's way, but neither one of us did anything. Finally, when I was following Tracey through the row in front of Christine's, she let out a chipper, "Hi, Josiah!" Meeting her was one of my biggest highlights, and I’m so grateful that the opportunity was available. She’s been such a blessing and encouragement to me. Seeing her in person was a dream come to true.
After the conference opening segment and Brent Weeks's opening keynote, I was introduced to two really cool dudes: Joel Nelson (known more by his pen name, Charles Van Horn) and Nathan Veyon. These guys practically became my shadow during the con, which was both great and kinda hilarious. I'm so glad I got to meet them. We had a blast hanging out, and I hope we can meet up again next year.
I had supper over at Panera with a bunch of peeps, and it was a grand ol' time. The company was delightful, the food not so much. (My barbecue chicken mac and cheese was ruined by a horrendous amount of cilantro that ruined the entire dish, much like the conquistadors ruined the South American civilizations. Plus, the baguette was far too chewy.) I then attended the newcomers' orientation, which I probably didn't need to go to since I figured most everything they said by reading the booklet I'd gotten ahead of time.
Up next was a Q&A panel with agents and editors, but I didn't feel like sitting in on that one. I'd already been stuck in a chair for most of the day, and I'm not currently at a place in my writing where I need either one. So instead I wandered around the bookstore, purchasing a few novels and talking to some authors, such as Keith A. Robinson, Steve Rzasa, the Havok table, and the Phoenix Fiction Writers group. It was so fun and chill to just chat it up with other writers.
I eventually decided it was time for bed. I began walking down the hall that led to the stairwell I used to get to my room. Nathan was headed the opposite way, so naturally we stopped and talked for a bit. I didn't get much further before I crossed paths with Joel, and we also got to talking. Nathan came back and was like, "Hey, I thought you said you were tired." Turns out hanging with friends can make you feel less tired. All three of us ended up staying until 12:30, just sitting in the lobby and having some great conversation. Partway through, Joel ordered a pizza that he and I ate--Nathan didn't want any--but Joel refused to let me pay for any of it. I can say with certainty that our late-night discussion was another highlight from the whole conference.
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| One of the rare times you'll see Nathan give a half-smile on camera. |
Friday - Day 3
The rest of my night turned out to be a little weird. When I got back to my room, I didn't bother changing into my pajamas or brushing my teeth. I just wanted some sleep. As it turned out, my roommate who I was sharing a bed with had taken up most of the space. I attempted to get some shuteye for a couple hours on that sliver of mattress, but to no avail.
"Screw this," I thought. I got ready for the day and went down to the lobby with Wayne Thomas Batson's
War for the Waking World in hand. For the rest of the night, I read that entire book in one sitting. I know, I'm an absolute mad lad, but I might as well do something with my time than be restless for several hours.
After grabbing a bagel from the hospitality suite and attending the welcome/announcements segment, it was time for the first class of the day. I chose Wayne's continuing session, and I'm very glad that I did! First off, he was super approachable and was a wonderful teacher. Secondly, the teaching material was so, SO good. I took a lot of notes from his three classes. He gave me a lot to ponder on, with some of his points feeling like they were meant for me. I think his three classes were my favorites.
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| Thanks again, Wayne, for the fantastic teaching! |
Next on the agenda was Morgan Busse's class on Christian worldview in your books. I enjoyed her class, but I had to leave partway through for my fifteen-minute mentor appointment with Bryan Davis. We ended up going on a rabbit trail with one of the questions, but it worked out great! He gave me some tips and ideas for strengthening some aspects of my first chapter, which I very much appreciated. I returned to Morgan's class before heading out to IMO's for pizza with some friends. I left earlier because it was time for my critique session with Robert Liparulo.
Before I delve into that, let me give some backstory. When I saw he was doing critiques of the first ten pages of people’s stories, I decided to go for it. I was both really excited and really nervous, since he’s one of my author heroes. In his critique, though, he had some very nice things to say. He liked how the prologue contrasted so much with the first chapter, because that would leave readers asking how the two scenarios fit and wanting to read more. He also apologized if anything he critiqued went against my voice, because he said that an author’s voice is the most important thing they bring to the table. You may have a great story, but if you don’t have a great voice, the story won’t go far. Even his critiques were all said in a way that left me feeling encouraged. So I was highly anticipating our appointment.
Well, he showed up ten to fifteen minutes late, which gave me a chance to finish asking my last question to Bryan. And I didn’t hold anything against Robert for arriving late. I figured someone had intercepted him in the halls, or he just lost track of time, or he read his schedule wrong. Whatever the case, I forgave him for being late.
Even though he wasn’t on time, we did get our full half an hour together. When our time was up, I looked at my list of questions and said, “Man, I still have so many things to ask you!”
He went over his schedule and said, “I’ve got nothing up for a while. Let’s keep talking.”
So even though I’d paid for only thirty minutes with him, we ended up talking for almost an hour and a half. I even missed CJ Redwine’s class, Cinderella 2.0, because of how long I stayed with Robert. (Joel and Nathan had even asked Tracey where I was, and assumed I’d crashed on my bed due to the poor night.)
It was so encouraging to talk with Robert. He had pretty much nothing but praises for my story. He told me that he loved the story, and that he loved the characters even more. He thought my character arcs were great, and he thought how I was setting up Chapters of Kythe as a trilogy of trilogies was cool. At a few points in our appointment, I’d explain some plot stuff to help him answer my questions, and he’d just say, “Wow.” It blew my mind that a great author like Robert would even say “Wow” about MY STORY. Even now, I can’t fully comprehend it.
We talked about so many story things, it was fantastic! When he did list elements that needed working on, it was always said so that I never felt disheartened. The coolest part happened at the end of the appointment. He signed my last three Dreamhouse Kings books; in one, he wrote, “Wishing you the best of success for ‘Shattered’!” In the other, he said, “Keep in touch,” and gave his email address. Even though he’d done so at the pre-con, the fact that he specifically wrote it for me touched me. I could hardly believe my eyes. What an amazing man he is!
I arrived for Wayne's second class a bit late due to how long my appointment with Robert went, but that was fine. Once the session was finished, it was finally time to get ready for the awards dinner! I think I was the only video game character there--gotta represent my love for the Ace Attorney games--and I think I wanna keep doing game-related cosplays. I won't show you all the pictures here, but I have been slowly uploading them to Facebook, if you're interested in seeing more. It was such a fun, nerdy time! (Joel acted as a stand-in for the judge, overruling my "Objection!" or threatening to hold someone in contempt of court.)
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| Left to right: me with Mary; me with Deb; me with Tracey; me with Madeline; me with Savannah; and me with Joel and Christine. |
The dinner and ceremony went on for a while. When it was getting late, I went to the hospitality suite to grab a snack, but I didn't stay long. This is where my tiredness truly shone, since I was going on forty hours of no sleep. Plus, I'll preface by saying that the hotel is weirdly built, what with them probably adding new parts to the original layout.
I had wanted to take the elevator down to the lobby level so I could take my normal stairwell up to my room. My brain did not seem to realize I could just take the elevator directly to my floor. The elevator stopped on a different floor on the way down, and as people entered and I exited, I realized this was not where I wanted to be. I didn’t want to look like an idiot by calling the elevator back, so I went down a couple of long hallways in search of a staircase. I found one, but when I reached the bottom, it was blocked off/the door was inaccessible. My lightning-fast mind did not think about getting out on one of the other floors; instead, I went all the way back up to where I’d first entered the stairwell.
While I headed back to the elevator, I realized that some of the long corridors and sharp turns would make for a great horror game setting. Thankfully, I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to spook myself. I got to the elevator, went down to the lobby level, walked over to my regular stairs, and ascended to my room. Once I was ready for bed, I crashed.
Morning came, and I awoke with more vim and vigor than I'd ended off the night with. I toasted myself an English muffin in the hospitality suite, grabbed a Starbucks frap, and headed off for the announcements, followed by a Q&A between Brent Weeks and the guest of honor, Terry Brooks. It ended up being both really insightful and super funny. Those two guys bounced off and ribbed each other so much, it was hilarious. One of my favorite parts was when they were asked who their author or what their favorite book was. After Terry gave a bit of a longer spiel, Brent piped up, "Well, my favorite book is the Bible." That had everyone in stitches, with Terry proclaiming that that wasn't fair.
Wayne's final class was next, and he still was able to provide so much insight and wisdom. I hope I'll never forget what I learned from him. He finished off with a Kahoot! quiz. I named myself Phoenix Wright--obviously--and would've most likely stayed in the top five if I hadn't listened to Joel for one of the last questions. An unfortunate loss, but whatcha gonna do?
He ended a bit early for lunch, which gave Joel, Nathan, and me more time to drive to Chick-fil-A for our meal. I'd never been before, but I thoroughly enjoyed their chicken sandwich, especially with their special honey mustard, and their fries. We had some really great conversation, and it made me appreciate my friendship with the two guys even more.
I had a couple more classes and a final mentor appointment in the afternoon. The first class was with Jill Williamson, who had taken over for Patrick Carr in the worldbuilding session. I definitely got a lot of good things to think about for my projects, especially since the one I'm currently working on is so huge.
Ronie Kendig's class on capturing your readers followed. It was all right, and I got some good notes, but I found it hard to follow along sometimes. Close to the end, I left for my thirty-minute appointment with someone I'm choosing not to name. They seemed to shoot down some of my key ideas, approaching it from the sci-fi perspective of needing everything to make sense scientifically, when I'm writing fantasy that allows for a bit more suspension of disbelief. I did get, again, a few decent notes, but I would've done things differently had I known the results ahead of time.
Brent's closing keynote was immediately after my appointment, but I managed to get a nice seat with Joel. Now, Brent's first speech was fantastic, but this second one was even better. He started off by telling us that he wasn't going to encourage us, but rather, tell us the truth. He shared so many fantastic pointers, and his storytelling shone even more than it had before. He left off with a powerful statement that's stuck with me since then:
He got a standing ovation for what had to have been close to half a minute. What an empowering speech it was. I couldn't have thought of a better send-off for the conference attendees. It was just really inspiring.
Once Scott and Becky Minor talked for a bit about RM 2020, we performed a final raid on Panera. I got myself French onion soup and a turkey or ham sandwich (both of which were good, but not great), and ended up discussing writing projects with Nathan and Joel for a while. I then got a chance to talk with Deb, which I hadn't really done yet. I'm glad we got the chance, because I enjoyed chatting with her.
Then it was the long-awaited book festival! I grabbed all my books that I wanted to be signed and went to the tables where the authors were. I first was in line for Wayne Thomas Batson, who was seated next to Robert Liparulo’s table. When Robert didn’t have anyone at his spot, I stepped out of the queue to talk with Robert a little more. I thanked him very much for our appointment and expressed that I felt like the reason I couldn’t come to Realm Makers last year was because I was supposed to meet him this year. I told him it seemed like a God appointment.
He gave a thoughtful “Hmm,” then said words I do not ever want to forget. Looking straight at me, he said, “You are a very good author, and you have no reason to doubt yourself.”
I thanked him again, but it was only with telling the story afterward did the emotion and tears really hit. How I had needed to hear those words. They were, and still are, so encouraging to me. He added that he really meant it when he said he wanted to stay in contact. He threatened to hunt me down if I didn’t email him. Honestly, he was such a thoughtful, caring guy.
I went back to Wayne’s table, where he signed books for me yet again. We got to talking about music, since we both love soundtracks and orchestral/instrumental music. We both gave each other music recommendations, which I had never thought would happen when I met him. He asked me, “Are we friends on Facebook?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
He then said I should send him a request so that we could message each other our recommendations. It was a really cool chat! Never in a million years did I think I would be nerding out about music with Wayne. That's the beauty of RM, I suppose.
I went to several other tables afterward. I ended up talking to Jason Joyner, Jill Williamson, Morgan Busse, and possibly a few other people (I don’t quite remember). By the end of the day, pretty much all of my books were signed.
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| It was great to see the marvelous Bryan Davis again! |
I ended up first chatting with Nathan and Jenneth about physics (which bored Joel) and Nathan's books. Then I got to talking with Cadi Murphy, the most delightful real-life hobbit you'll ever meet, and Mary. Again, it was nice to be able have some one-on-one conversations, as I was normally with at least a few people a time.
Eventually, it was just me, Tracey, Nathan, Joel, Mary, Deb, and Jenneth. That was one of the best moments of the whole conference, as we talked together and laughed. At one point, I was even on the floor, I was laughing so hard. Wouldn't have traded that time for anything else.
Sometime around midnight or so, we decided we should get some sleep. We parted ways (I unfortunately didn't get a proper chance to say goodbye to Nathan and Joel), and I got ready for bed. As I lay in bed that night before I fell asleep, I thought about the conference: how great of a time it’d been, how I was sad to have to leave it all behind soon. I remembered Wayne talking about us thanking God more often, and so that’s what I decided to do. I thanked God for the opportunity to attend the conference and for how much He blessed me throughout the event. And you know what? It felt really, really good. It felt . . . right. I fell asleep with a heart that was content and at peace.
Sunday - Day 5
I awoke at three or four in the morning, due to one of my roommates leaving early for his plane. Not long after, I woke up a second time due to someone knocking on our door and saying in a loud voice, "Security!" It took a moment to process this, and I wondered what I'd done wrong and how I would respond. As it turned out, the security officer was there simply because my roomie forgot his laptop or something, which I quickly found and gave to the officer.
I managed to get a bit more sleep before preparing myself for the day at seven. I brought my suitcase to the receptionists and had them hold it for me there until later. Tracey and I went over to Starbucks for breakfast, and when we got back, there was some people preparing to leave. I also missed my opportunity to say goodbye to Deb, as she left during the post-con.
I sat with Christine and Tracey for the last session of the conference, which was Jill Williamson teaching on how to launch your book. I'm nowhere near that point yet, but it was good info to have on hand for later. Some fun ideas were passed around, several of which I would enjoy using.
Lunchtime arrived faster than I wanted. I bid Jenneth farewell before I went out with the group--consisting of Mary, Christine, her dad, Tracey, Savannah, Hannah, and Millie--to Fuzzy's. It was a great time, but also really sad. I mean, I wasn't going to see virtually all of these people for another year. Saying goodbye to some of them wasn't easy.
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| The final lunch, where you put on a brave face and smile when you're really crying on the inside because you don't wanna return to normalcy. |
I won't bore you with too many travel details. Things went a lot better this go-around; even though our first flight was delayed, we managed to get to our second gate with time to spare. I could hardly keep my eyes open to read my book on that last flight, I was so tired. We touched down past midnight, grabbed our luggage, paid for valet parking, and drove home. We arrived around two or so, and I crashed, sleeping until close to eleven.
Conclusion
Attending Realm Makers 2019 was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. The God appointments, the friends I made, the stuff I learned . . . it was all worth it. No, it was more than worth it. The books were a great bonus, too. (I ended up purchasing twenty-one books, with two free ones on top of that.)
Not only did I connect with an uplifting, positive writing community, but I also became part of what feels like a second family. Even writing this last section now, over a month later, my heart still aches to return. I felt like I belonged there, and it felt right.
I’m so honored that God gave me this opportunity. It has encouraged and strengthened me. I already long for next year’s conference, and I hope and pray I’ll be able to go again. It’s something that I need in my life, something to anticipate every year. Until then, I will do my best to patiently wait. At the same, I also want to strive to stay in contact with my newfound friends and my old ones. I want to keep writing, and keep growing in my craft. I want my relationship with Jesus to become even more personal. I want my life to be in a better place.
So long, Realm Makers 2019. You were tons of fun, and what you gave me was invaluable.
Hello, Realm Makers 2020. Let’s make new memories, more memories, better memories.
When it’s time, we will bloom together in our short season, and it will be beautiful.
