When I laid out my goals for this year, Rutgers One-on-One Conference topped the list. With my son studying in a Masters/PhD program at RU, it only made sense that I was supposed to be there. When the acceptance notice came I was out of town and my husband said, "The note came. Should I read it to you?" Me: "Yeah, really fast. Just read it really fast." That angst of not knowing was worse than the answer.

It read "yes." Best day ever. My debut YA novel First Break has been a work in progress for four years and here was a chance to get a fresh eyes on the millionth revision. To make it that much better, I got to hang out with my son and his friends for a solid week in the RU playground.

The night before the conference, writer friend Sheri Dillard organized a dinner for writers. About 20 "Blueboarders" (referring to the Verla Kay writer scene) showed up, along with Andrea Brown agent Jennifer Laughran. Having some down time to talk with other writers about what they're working on, where they live and sharing in the joys and pains of writing topped my list of R 1-1 take aways.

The actual conference went down the next day. Best tip: get there early and study the folder. I had five wishlist picks for my mentor and thanks to the genius of the RUCCL, I got one: Stacey Barney of Putnam. All the writers sitting at my table seemed very happy with their matches as well so I'm pretty sure somewhere in the matching department is psychic.

A look through this blog will let you know I frequent the conference scene, but R1-1 is like no other conference. Conference starter Vivian Grey says I won't find one. The combination of having a session with a mentor, a session with 4 other mentor/mentee pairs, experienced writers excited about their craft and editors/agents excited to hear what you're working on make this a one of kind venue.

I leave NJ so happy to have spent a week in my son's world and to have survived my first R 1-1. I take back many new friendships and so many ideas--along with an inexplicable urge to open a Muscle Maker Grill in California.

Me: inspired, well-networked and ready to get to work on my next novel.

Thank you, Tiaras.

I recently returned from SCBWI Orange County Agent’s Day where one of the agents who shall remain nameless said it was “creepy” when writers blog only occasionally.

Just before that speech started, the woman behind me and I struck up a conversation about our writing. She’s mainly a blogger, a weekly blogger, and informed me that she had to arrange her flight schedule around her blog entry which she put out every Monday for—her cat. At that point, she whipped a Popsicle stick with a cat’s photo pasted to it out of her purse and told me her cat had over 4,000 followers that got very cranky if the feline didn’t blog first thing Monday morning.

You decide which one’s creepier.

The topic on my once-in-awhile blogging mind is critique groups.

Writers are like only children. They work alone. They create worlds which they can control. They interact with others when they have to, but mainly they’re happy in their writing caves.

But as an only child myself, I know that friends can replace siblings you don’t have. And as a writer, I know that critique partners can bring perspective and inspiration that is so vital to the writing process. A little company to the cave, if you will.

And we always hear, “Get in a critique group.” But it’s not that easy. You need to find a good fit. You need to trust each other and to feel assured your darlings won’t be abused by your new clan. It helps if the writers are at similar writing levels, but short of an entry exam, how do you figure that out exactly? How do you find your critique home?

This is where the synchronicity that envelops writing comes in. It’s as if the writing Gods shine down upon you and give you just what you need for the project you are working on right then. It’s pretty magic how it works. And for that, Tiaras, I am grateful.