I’m planning to go to a conference in Houston, Texas, and given that I just finished writing a book, I could, of course, cull a presentation out of it and spare myself the trouble. Many people would do exactly that (and then wonder why their jobs bore them and their careers are going nowhere).
I don’t do this kind of thing, though, because there is no intellectual or professional growth in it. I’ll be working with a novel that is completely new to me for this conference.
The number one secret of scholarly productivity is that the brain should constantly process new information and work on solving new problems. The reason why academics write less than they’d like is not that they have no time. It’s that they don’t know what to write about. And the only way never to run out of ideas is to read, think and analyze constantly.
Clarissa's Blog 
Yes! Always new work when speaking. Always stretching. Always synthesizing new things in a new way.
People who say they have no ideas… they do what you say here and they are also the ones who have 1 writing day a week.
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What is the conference and when is it? (I really think you should stay at the Modern BnB and visit the Ménil Collection & the library of MFAH.)
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It’s AILCFH. The best conferences I ever experienced are the ones they organize.
I’ll check out the BnB and the library!
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Yes, it is said to be really good. I see it is at hotel Zaza, you’ll have to stay there, it is right near MFAH & Hermann Park, v. nice place to walk. I wonder if I should go, I seem to work mostly on male authors so I never do, but it is so close.
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You should come! It will be lots of fun.
I’ve never been to Houston, so I’m looking forward to it.
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I am pretty much deciding to although I am not going to have anything brand new on the topic of conference. But it is so nearby & I like the work of this keynote speaker. Houston is fantastic, one of the great unknown cities of the US.
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Oh it’s at Hotel Zaza? I highly recommend that hotel. It has a lovely pool out back. I have warm and fuzzy feelings for Houston because of that hotel.
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