Authors Lawrence Hill, Miranda Hill, Claudia Long and John Scherber spent two full days sharing experiences, inspirations and practical tips with some 70 curious local scribes as guest presenters at the 10th Annual Lake Chapala Writers Conference, held February 26-28 at Ajijic’s Danza del Sol.
The quartet of invited pros revealed that their ideas for prose and poetry come from such varied sources as news stories, personal trials and triumphs, moments of sensory stimulation, eavesdropping on casual conversations, and even random words, lines or images that suddenly pop into the writer’s head.
Scherber, who has cranked out 19 books since overcoming 37 years of writer’s block, offered a favorable comparison between the lakeside event and the popular writer’s confab held in his adopted hometown of San Miguel de Allende. “Keynote addresses in San Miguel draw audiences as big as
300 to 900 people,” he observed. “I liked this encounter because it’s so much easier to connect with a smaller, more intimate group.”
Long, the author of sizzling historical novels, likewise raved about both her fellow speakers and the attentive folks in attendance in a string of upbeat tweets. Meanwhile the event’s coordinators left the conference as contented with the good turn-out as they were at getting plenty of positive feedback.