One of the writer goals I set for this year was to attend more writers conferences. When I added this to my to-do list, I’d just begun querying my first novel (before taking a little sabbatical on that) and figured conferences would be a great way to get to know agents in the flesh. I pictured uncomfortably huge affairs where I’d kick into Extreme Introvert Mode, with lines, panels, book signings, name dropping, more lines, and hectic pitches of my not-super-pitchable book. A potentially lonely, but completely necessary affair.

Happily, the first conference I attended this year was a totally different bird. For one, it was technically a reteat rather than a conference. Second, it was intimate, with less than 100 participants. There were sessions and book signings, yes, but they were just about as casual as you could imagine. And there was the option, always, to find a cozy corner of the beautiful hotel and courtyard to write in instead.

The Women’s Fiction Writers Association retreat, held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, last week, was crazy inspiring. I’m so grateful for the experience and the creative push. When I went, I’d stopped writing my second book at the halfway point, planning to focus on a new play and other projects for now. But in Albuquerque, I got so wrapped up in the collective creative energy that I decided to press forward with the book, and even had a little plot epiphany on the plane ride home. As writers know, book breakthroughs are like discovering you’ve received a small inheritance from a deceased Lord. Except that no one cares, besides other writers.

I learned a lot at the retreat, but here are the top five lessons I took away and will carry into my writing for the rest of 2015.

1. Rise & Shine. My roommate at the retreat, the amazing Christine Adler, was waking up around 5:30am to write as the sun rose in the hotel’s picturesque courtyard. As a rule, I hate to wake up before 9am, so this is not something I would have ever done if I’d been rooming alone. I’m SO glad I got up and got writing early. I’m trying to implement this at home now, though with 100% fewer motivated roommates and 100% more cat, it’s more of a challenge. But worth it!
2. No editing or backtracking until the first draft is complete. This is something I committed to before the retreat, after taking a leisurely five years to write my first book. But the retreat completely hammered this in, and made me proud of the progress I’ve made this year in writing faster and with less self-consciousness. I expect to finish the second book the same year I started it, which is about 4x faster than my first attempt. Boom.
3. Keep putting yourself out there. During a session on how we define “success” as writers, known rockstar Amy Impellizzeri noted that sometimes success is just putting your work out there again and again, even in the face of rejection or radio silence. It was a good reminder to keep querying, keep writing, keep researching agents and keep working toward your goals. Message received, Amy.
4. Keep readers from putting the book down. A self-editing workshop by my new hero Kathryn Craft yielded just under 1 million helpful tips to use in my writing. But the tip that resonates most with me (and speaks to my writing weaknesses) is to remember that your job is to keep agents from putting the book down once they start reading it. My endings to chapters tend to be a bit sleepy — sometimes literally involving going to sleep; I know, I know — and I struggle (a lot) with my “oh snap” factor. But I’m inspired to keep working on this, and to someday have readers hanging on my every word.
5. Bring more diversity to the table. This has always been a goal of mine. As a writer of color, I write characters of color. It comes very naturally — these are the people who inhabit my world anyway — and it will enrich fiction writing. Period. Thanks so much to Elizabeth Havey for leading a riveting session on diversity and POV at the retreat.

That’s just a snippet of what I’m taking away from the retreat, and I hate to think of what I missed when I skipped discussion sessions to write instead (but then again, that was also pretty crucial). Thanks to the organizers of the retreat, including rumored demigod Orly Konig-Lopez, and see you all next year!