Casper College held its 37th annual literary conference earlier this month, specifically from November 7th – through the 9th. The chosen theme for this year was the “wilderness.” Given the title of this column, it would be reasonable to surmise that I only attended out of scholastic obligation, and you would be correct in that assumption. Despite my preconceived notions though, I enjoyed the workshop that I sat through. I didn’t even open my energy drink. 

The presentation I observed was put on by Christine Peterson. Peterson is a journalist that’s written about the environment and outdoor recreation for over a decade. She has written about grizzly bears, wolves, elk, insects and more recently: chronic wasting disease. She started at the Casper Star Tribune, but she’s currently working full-time freelance. She has some impressive publishing credits under her belt, too. Namely National Geographic, which is where my interest piqued. 

I’m both a photographer and a journalism student, so I was interested in what she had to say. I’ve always wondered how people go about submitting to major publishers, and how the pay involved with that even works. Did you know that freelance writers are often paid in cents per word? I didn’t, and now I feel like a bit of a chump writing this for free. 

Anyway, she also showed us a few pieces of writing from her own body of work and from some other journalists. It was an exercise in creative writing essentially, and there was a fair amount of discussion between members of the audience about what worked for them and what didn’t. Particularly regarding chronic wasting disease. Words like viscous or moist have a certain connotation after all, and this is seen plainly in the way you just reacted to reading the word “moist.” 

Overall, the discussions that Peterson fostered were fun to observe. There were writers from several backgrounds who had traveled from all over to attend the conference. Poets, fiction writers, and wannabe journalists like me. Plenty of perspectives on display.

I won’t lie to you and say that I’d have attended this regardless of a teacher’s instructions, but what I will say is that I’m looking forward to something like this next year.