On Saturday March 6, nearly 350 people attended the Women on Writing (WOW) conference at Skyline College that featured lectures, workshops, and entertainment throughout the day, giving attendees a closer look into the mysterious world of professional writers, published authors, agents, and entertainers.The conference transformed the normally sleepy weekend campus into a hub of activity designed to give attendees the knowledge and confidence to fulfill their creative desires. Although the event was billed for men and women, it was obvious that the event attracted mostly women-outnumbering the men in attendance by more than 10 – to -1. General sessions in the main theater by accomplished authors were followed by smaller workshops on everything from writing for books and magazines, to writing your life, to how to get published. There were nearly 20 workshops held throughout the day, all of them well attended.Carmella Granado of San Jose heard about the conference from a friend who is a Skyline student. She seemed to typify the desires of many of the attendees:”My expectation [for the conference] is to get inspired to go forward on some ideas that I’ve had about writing.” Granado is interested in recording the personal histories of hospice patients and was looking to the conference for both inspiration and practical techniques that would help her achieve her writing goals.Maria and Victoria Goldavini were one of many mother and daughter couples present. Maria heard about the conference from a coworker and decided to enroll with her daughter, a junior interested in journalism at Mills High School in Millbrae. “I want to be a writer later on so I’m figuring some of the workshops here will help me build my skills in that,” Victoria said. Although the goals of people attending the conference varied, Dr. Frances White, Skyline College president, opened the conference summing up most people’s hopes: “I know that you will come away [from WOW] with new friendships, new ideas, and a new inspiration to write and read,” White said. Certainly the conference offered insights into the minds of authors. Morning keynote speaker Cristina Garcia, author of two books, expressed her vision of what writing is to her.”My favorite part of writing is along the border between what is remotely possible and what is strictly impossible,” Garcia said. “Really pushing the edges of perception and reality-that to me is a very fun place to be.”Cuban born Garcia is an inspiration to many women in Skyline’s Puente program who are studying her book “Dreaming in Cuban” through instructor Karen Wong and presented Garcia with a gift after she spoke. Puente Student Lizeth Herrera, 41, is one of those students. She moved here from Honduras in 1986 and summed up her feelings about Garcia’s writing and being Latino. “The power of the Latino will come through voice, and that is what Christina Garcia is doing, showing that Latino’s are not only for washing floors and dishes, Herrera said. “We can do something better. We are smart and we can get ahead.” Herrera is fearful of cuts to the Puente program because of budget conditions, acknowledging that Puente is crucial to help educate Latino’s and overcome societal barriers. The workshops varied from technical to inspirational. One workshop featured the story of how two women (Susan Hagen and Mary Carouba) with no contacts, and no plan, felt a need to tell the stories of the women heroes of Sept. 11, 2001, and went to New York to find those women. Their inspiring book, “Women at Ground Zero” was a direct result of them overcoming all the writing and publishing obstacles.Another workshop featured author and literary agent Arielle Eckstut of the Levine Greenberg Literary Agency in New York. Her practical insights on how to get published captivated the audience in the afternoon session. She pointed out how authors must also be willing to act as their own marketers in order to attract prospective publishers and widen their readership.Those who stayed for the afternoon general session were treated to two powerhouse presentations. Firoozeh Dumas, author of “Funny in Farsi” had the audience laughing throughout her presentation with her family stories about the humorous side of growing up in America in a family of Iranian immigrants. Playwright and performing artist Rhodessa Jones awed the audience with her music and performance to close the conference.Margie Boyle of Pacifica is a business administration student at Skyline who also discovered a love for writing, but thought she couldn’t develop it until she attended last year’s WOW conference. She summed up her thoughts about this year’s conference: “This conference leaves me inspired and I have cleared my entire evening, so when I go home tonight, I am going to write.”