Today is the 39th in a series of posts by San-Diego-based writer Thomas Shess, who has decided to keep a journal on his journey to find a publisher for his novel.

All Good Stuff-Months have passed since I attended the San Diego Writers Conference. Many of the hot tips have faded from memory. And, why do I bother to take such copious notes when a week later I can't read my writing. Scribbling is an addiction, I'm told. But the good stuff somehow sticks between the ears such as: make your first paragraph the most memorable fiction of your career. Grab the reader by being the character and never let go once you have their attention.

Memorable-But the best line I heard at the SDWC came from non-fiction author Maralys Wills (A Circus Without Elephants and Higher than Eagles), She spoke to a sea of strangers urging us to "move out writing to a higher level." She focused on imagery. She was also speaking from the heart. Three months later, her words still haunt me. The scene she described took place in a hospital waiting area near the Emergency Room. She did not know whether her injured son would survive a terrible accident. Her answer came when from across the room she could see a doctor speaking to her husband. "And, when I saw my husband's face collapse, I knew-I knew everything I needed to know."

The image of seeing a mother's angst at that moment she knew her son was dead riveting enough on its own, but Wills compounds the scene by describing her husband's agony at hearing the tragic news. Talk about getting hit with a two by four in the gut. We all walked out of that class understanding imagery. And, that folks is why I go to writer's conferences.

** Because it's a jungle out there.