Improve your writing this weekend

Have you toyed with the idea of writing a book? Don’t miss the Annual Idaho Writer’s Conference this weekend.

Three published authors from Bingham County met Tuesday to put the finishing touches on the event. Thirteen speakers will teach everything from creating a killer first page to building a character. Among the speakers is nationally known writer J.D. Boggs, who has 50 novels to his name.

Wally Swenson, who has written 12 books, said it’s imperative we don’t lose the ability to write a story.

“If people don’t communicate verbally, which extends into the written word, that history is lost,” said Swenson. “You have to put it on paper so that it runs forever (and) never deteriorates. And that’s primary the reason I write — because I want my children to learn and understand some of the things that my grandparents and my parents taught me and things that I learned over the course of a very long and fruitful, happy life.”

Gerry Mathias, author of three books and retired Idaho State University English teacher, said she fears writing could become a dying art.

“I used to have students come in and tell me they’d been in honors English class in high school, and they didn’t know what a subject and a verb was, didn’t know the parts of speech, couldn’t tell how things worked in a sentence,” she said. “And that’s just crucial to good writing. If you can’t construct a sentence, you can’t write a book.”

The conference begins Friday morning at the Shilo Inn in Idaho Falls. If you’re not registered, be there at 7 a.m. to sign up. It’s $150 dollars for Idaho Writer’s League members and $170 dollars for nonmembers. The price includes two lunches and a banquet.

For a look at the speakers and more details about the conference, click here.