Each year the SCWC*SD holds a writing contest in which all conferees are invited to participate. The rules are simple: Write a piece in any form you wish of no more than 250 words based on the topic announced Friday night. The topic for the 25th annual San Diego conference was “Any Spelling of the Word ‘No.'”
Wes Knows Best
by
Gayle Carline
Michael paced, from the kitchen to the multi-media room, of the spacious penthouse suite.
“I’m not sure about this, Wes,” he said.
“I know.”
“I’ve never scheduled a speaker I haven’t at least talked to.”
“I know.”
“But his website looks so cool and he has twenty thousand followers on his blog.” Michael picked up his tumbler of bourbon and took a sip. “And he’s the one who wanted to be my friend on Facebook.”
“I know.”
“Maybe asking the conferees to tweet who they wanted to hear wasn’t our best idea. They’re a great group, but I think some of them let their sense of humor cloud their judgment. I mean, his Amazon rankings are good, I just wish I knew whether he’s a good speaker. Our attendees are hungry for information about the publishing world. Does he have anything useful to tell them?” Michael took another gulp of his drink. “Plus, I don’t even know how to say his name.”
“Ngo.”
“No, I don’t. Do you know how it’s pronounced?”
“Ngo.”
“Well, then, how am I supposed to introduce him?”
“It’s pronounced ‘No.'” Wes’ mustache twitched his annoyance. “He’ll either be good or he’ll suck. Either he’ll give the audience great information or he’ll show them how to give a sucky talk.”
“You’re right. You always know how to put things in perspective.” Michael finished his drink. “What would I do without your voice of reason?”
“I don’t know.”
The End.
