Virtual reality, algorithms, blockchain, metadata, going wide, artificial intelligence and machine learning––doesn’t sound like the lineup for an authors’ conference, does it? Maybe not ten years ago, or even five, but if you stand still, WHOOSH, you’ll see the world changing so fast
Bellingham lilacs
the faces blur. I recently spent a spring weekend at the Chanticleer Authors’ Conference in beautiful Bellingham, Washington. The presenters did their best to bring us right-brain types up to speed in skills and concepts common in the digital world, while admitting that the details (and we know where the devil lives) were morphing into new shapes even as they spoke.
Bellingham bayside boardwalk
I loved coming home to meet readers face-to-face, in person at North Soles (my favorite shoe store in the world) on Bend’s First Friday May Art Walk. Stimulating and useful as all that digital information is, in the end, what matters is the connection between writer/creator and reader/viewer/listener/experiencer of story. That’s what makes doing my work worthwhile.
Thanks to all of you who let me tell you stories!
At North Soles with Margaux http://www.northsoles.com