Prior Planning and Preparation?

Has an event ever “snuck up on you” and you did not feel prepared for it?

I have attended the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference for years. I normally spend weeks getting ready, but this year life happened in an extreme way.

On Friday, with two days left until departure, I realized I needed to get my clothes packed. It is a five-day event requiring semi-dressy duds for day-to-day, a crazy outfit for Genre Night, a fancy outfit (that I always pack but never wear) for the awards night, and more. It’s a pretty big deal.

Then there are snacks. The Ridgecrest staff feeds us well each year, but what if I need something to nibble in my room at night?

On Saturday I had a family event, and, when I got back, it hit me I had not printed my one-sheets and writing samples. When you have the potential to meet editors and publishers, you’d better have those copies.

I didn’t even have a big ol’ hardback binder to keep notes and handouts. Come to think of it, I have never taken a big ol’ hardback binder to keep notes and handouts, so I was good on that one.

For those of you out there who have never been to a writers conference but are considering it, THIS IS NOT THE WAY TO PREPARE.

I somehow managed to get everything together and made it to Ridgecrest on Sunday. As I rolled my luggage into the lodge, the wheels on my new suitcase went the wrong way forcing my snack cooler, which I had balanced on top, to fall, causing my water bottles and snacks to roll all over the hallway.

This is going to be some conference, I thought.

Wait, I learned some publishing houses don’t like that format. CORRECTION: This is going be some conference, I thought. (I would have added several exclamation points, but I hear publishers don’t like those either!)

I asked, “Lord, why am I here? What’s my purpose?”

I soon ran into a writer friend. And then another one. And another. I made some new friends. We talked, laughed, commiserated, and enjoyed each other’s company. I was back with my tribe, my people, my squad—it felt good. We encouraged each other through our disappointments, rejoiced over our triumphs, and made many silly jokes.

I asked the Lord for guidance on the right continuing class, and He led me to the perfect one for me at this point in my writing, gulp, career. The same thing happened with the workshops. I made a couple of editor/publisher appointments even though I didn’t have much to pitch. With that pressure off, I enjoyed easy conversations full of good advice.

Initially, I thought I wasn’t ready for BRMCWC ’19, but God had already gone before me, preparing the way for a bounty of blessings. Like He always does.

Carlton Hughes wears many hats. By day, he’s a professor of communication at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College. On Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings, he does object lessons and songs with motions as Children’s Pastor of Lynch Church of God. In his “spare time,” he is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in numerous publications, including Chicken Soup for the Soul and several devotional books from Worthy Publishing—Let the Earth Rejoice, Just Breathe, So God Made a Dog, and Everyday Grace for Men. Carlton and his wife Kathy have two sons, Noah and Ethan, both of whom recently flew out of the nest. He is on the planning committee for Kentucky Christian Writers Conference and is a year-round volunteer for Operation Christmas child. He is represented by Cyle Young of Hartline Literary Agency.