The Writers' Block: Headed to Gatlinburg

It’s finally about to happen! Almost ten months after we started as a small channel in the Hive account@minnowsupport Discord, The Writers’ Block is about to have our first real-life meetup. We’ve picked Gatlinburg, Tennessee, as the place to make it happen, because it’s a fun family resort area and easily within driving distance of several Block leaders, as well as the developer who’s coming in to present what very well may be the future of both TWB and Steemhouse Publishing. This came about as a direct result of the recent Alliance meetup in Nashville, concurrent with the filming of several # hotsorshots episodes with Hive account@jonny-clearwater. It just goes to show what active networking can accomplish!

My co-admin for The Writers’ Block, Hive account@gmuxx, has booked a flight into Knoxville for this event. It will be his first trip into the U.S. Read more about that HERE. This whole idea of world travel is so new to us that getting a VISA waiver took him a bit by surprise, although he definitely succeeded in getting one. As for me, I’m wondering if any electrical appliances he might happen to bring along would even work with our outlets. Ah, well … # firstworldproblems.

If you had asked me eight months ago if I envisioned this type of possibility for The Writers’ Block, I would have said YES! Absolutely. We’ve known from almost the beginning that we have something special. In fact, we’re right on schedule with my predictions about how we’d grow and evolve. Granted, I didn’t know all the “hows” at the time, but I did know the “whats,” “whens,” and “whos.” Now, the technology has arrived to give us exactly what we need for success as the industry’s first crypto-backed publishing house. This dovetails with recent announcements from Steemit, Inc., and pending hardforks. We couldn’t have planned it better if we tried.

As of now, the cabin is filled to capacity, with a few of our Block members planning to stay in local hotels. However, this doesn’t mean we won’t welcome anyone who wishes to hang out with us during the trip. If you live within travel range, by all means come and join us. You’ll have to find accommodations, but that’s not very difficult in a busy tourist town like Gatlinburg.

For anyone unfamiliar with this part of Tennessee, the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge/Sevierville/Cove area has a very broad spectrum of attractions. Those who enjoy unplugged nature and history will enjoy features like The Cove. Adventure lovers will find amusement parks like Dollywood to be right up their alley. Shoppers will enjoy downtown Gatlinburg and the outlet malls in Sevierville. Mini golf and go-cart tracks abound. But one of the best parts of all is the scenic beauty that’s everywhere in that area. I would love to see a whole group of our Writers’ Block folks to show up and enjoy the weekend with us.