HopeWords is a writing conference in Bluefield, West Virginia. Its purpose is to show people how to bring hope to others through their writing. I’m honestly not sure what I expected. I’d never been to a writing conference before, and was mostly just excited to meet authors that I admire. S.D. Smith and Gary D. Schmidt to name a few. Driving into Bluefield in the early afternoon on Friday, I was a little surprised at how small and empty it felt. Bluefield is a historic mining town, but after the mines closed years ago, many people moved away to bigger cities, often in other states. As one of the speakers said, “No one comes to southern West Virginia to impress people.” The purpose of this conference was not to launch your book or use your elevator pitch. HopeWords is a safe place to gain inspiration for your writing, bask in the historic, quiet glow of Bluefield, and meet some truly incredible people.

The first lecture was Friday night, Mitali Perkins. She is the author of Bamboo People, Tiger Boy, Rickshaw Girl, and Hope in the Valley. She spoke about how stories changed her life, and how we can use them to change others lives too. Stories give people courage and show them what love, loyalty, honesty, and compassion look like. She also said that we need to ‘hide virtues’ in our books. Many non-christians will not read a book if there is a specific ‘God element’ or if you say ‘this is a book about courage’. The reader needs to sense the courage without you telling them what it is.

The next lecture was early Saturday morning. Alexandra Davis spoke about picture books and how they teach kids how to cope with hard things. Picture books can help kids with emotion regulation. She also spoke about some good strategies for reading picture books to children. For instance, asking questions, and calling attention to important details and emotions in the story.

After that, we rolled right into the next speaker, Gary D. Schmidt. Some of his books are: The Wednesday Wars, Okay For Now, Pay Attention Carter Jones, The Labors of Hercules Beal, and Just Like That. He is truly a phenomenal writer and speaker with not only amazing books, but also the ability to teach and hold a crowd’s attention. He asked us whether writing is a calling, or a profession for us. If it’s only a profession, this is a terrible time to choose writing as a job. Many states no longer require a course in children’s literature in elementary schools. There are also 91 million functionally illiterate adults in America. If this is true, writing must be a calling for people to choose it. So then why are we called to write? He said that this world is a difficult place–that’s undeniable–and books show kids how to deal with that. How to cope. Stories are complex, just like the world, and yet so many of us love and cherish them. The job of a writer is to bring knowledge, beauty, wisdom, and understanding to the world. We show kids how people are supposed to act in a fallen world. How to be their best when so many others are at their worst.

Some of my main takeaways from the conference are:

• Give people ‘hero stories’. Show them a hero who always tries, even when it seems hopeless.
• Write to bring beauty to the world.
• Let everything in your story have purpose. Don’t let any detail or side story get dropped.

I truly enjoyed meeting other people passionate about writing–of all ages–and hearing such incredible speakers. What are some of the things you have learned lately? Have you read any books by these authors? What is your calling? I would love to hear from you in the comments section!

Your friend,

Isla