I'm always ready, yet sad to see the last day of the conference arrive. Today was no exception. But I'll state here, I'm really excited that I don't have to wake up at 6 a.m. in the morning.
There were only two sessions today. The first one was How to Plot a Novel with Jo-Ann Mapson. I'll admit, anytime I can take a workshop with Jo-Ann, I do. She's a great teacher. In fact, each of her workshops stick out even years later. We were given handouts that honestly, include everything any writer needs to outline/plot a novel. It's so simple, it's amazing. It's exactly what I've been looking for. Since it's her creation and she does workshops on this, I'm not comfortable reproducing it here, even if I could.
Basically, it's a blank sheet of paper turned sideways. Draw three lines. On the top line, all you need is the novels start, the midpoint and the ending. The next line is where the author fills out a few things that's happening in the real world during the time frame of the novel. Let these world or political events help carry your story and characters forward.
The bottom line is the emotional landscape of your characters. The backstory. Most of it will be stuff that doesn't make it into the novel, but it's what the author needs to give your characters more depth.
She also has a character review sheet that is better than any I've ever seen. It's a one page sheet. One twist she uses is to actually have a passage from your character's POV. That passage might or might not make it into the actual book, but it helps to get into the character's head.
The next and last workshop was a very appropriate title...All Tied up with a Big Bow? Strategies for Closures and Endings by Gerri Brightwell. Without having the handouts and discussion, it's also hard to explain what all was covered, but I'll give a brief overview.
Endings are when there aren't anymore words. Closures are when the tension of the story has been resolved. Big difference when you think about it. It's also interesting if you pay attention to how stories are closed. Did the author leave us with an image? Or dialogue? Or action? Or a narrative summary? When you write your own closure, what if you tried closing it with each method?
Next was the conference closing lunch. Once again we had a slice of bread, rice pilaf and a different type of whatdafucisdis?. This time the whatdafucisdis? was vegatarian blend. I'm thinking yesterday's was, too. Jerah Chadwick gave the ending speech.
I'll admit it, I was tired and he had a few humorous comments, some serious stuff and I didn't take notes and I remember nothing, except he needs to paint his house.
Maybe in a day or two or three, I'll have my mind back and I'll write a summary or last thoughts. If any attendees would like to guest blog, let me know. It can either be anonymous or with full credit. I do hope I can get one or two guest bloggers to give their thoughts on the conference.
Overall, it was beneficial. Informative.
There were a lot of new faces in the audience. I believe some of those faces belong to relatively new writers. Because of some of the harshness of the business that was presented this year, I saw more dejected/defeated faces than I've ever seen in the past. I heard comments from new attendees that while they didn't mind hearing the negative, they wished there had been more workshops so they could have learned how to make their weaknesses stronger. After listening to these people talk, I believe they have a very legit concern. In other words, they were saying, "Yes, tell us the truth, but then please offer enough workshops for us to learn knew skills." That's a very fair request.
Good morning, John.
posted by Jody @ 6/14/2005 09:49:00 PM 1 comments
Monday, Monday.
First panel was Righting Alaska. Every year we have one variation or another on this same theme. The concept is, as Alaskans do we owe the world more than just books about the mountains, trees, glaciers, water, etc., or do we owe them the truth about Alaska? You know what I mean, those social problems. Alcoholism, domestic abuse, child abuse, substance abuse, etc., etc., etc.
Well, actually, I try to show some of the not so pretty in my writing. Let me just say this, from my experience, NYC isn't all that keen on their image of Alaska being blown to hell.
But that's beside the point. No matter what issue was brought up, it turned to politics. I'd love to see a motto at a writers' conference...just say no to political discussions. Why? Because the chances are very high that after you've shared your political view with me, any doubt I had about your IQ will have been removed. Instead of thinking you might be somewhat of an idiot, now I know it for a fact. The reason I don't laugh with you is simple. Because you've laughed at those who aren't just like you and shown your condensending ways, you've proven to me that you don't have any intention of carrying on a reasonable discussion. You have an agenda and God help the first person who questions your take on the world.
Guess what else happens? When I have an extra forty bucks to spend on books, chances are pretty high I won't be buying yours. Instead, I'll opt to buy the books of someone who hasn't let me know beyond a reasonable doubt that they think my political views are beneath them.
Enough of that panel. I didn't pay my money to attend a political rally. I paid it to attend a writers' conference. Honestly, there is a way to discuss political writing without getting on a soapbox and letting everyone know only one side has the brain cells to write their policital ideals. If writers can't figure that one out, then this world is so fucked.
Next was a workshop titled Making it Through...From Owner of the Secret Heap to Novelist. The presenter was Seth Kantner. Chances are very high I'll be buying his book. Why? I have a real good idea what his politics happen to be, but he hasn't forced them down my throat. Nor has he made fun of those of us who don't hold to his political views. Also, his presentation and image is one of the best I've ever seen. Honestly. He puts on this show of someone stumbling around and just happened to make it. He has some of the best one liners I've ever heard. The one thing I keep taking away from his talks is simply: if you believe in the book, stick with it. Writing a novel isn't easy. It's hard work, but if it's important, then you have to stick with your book.
Next was lunch. What was for lunch? Bread and pasta something or another. In fact, a buddy of mine created a word...I think just for me, but it really applied to today's lunch...whatdafucisdis?
During our lunch break we had two editors and one agent explain what publishers, editors and agents do. Honestly, if the attendees don't know, they have a lot of research ahead of them. I'm not going to spend my time here explaining it.
I didn't go to the first panel of the afternoon. I was very busy watching an attendee getting the shaft. And another one who had received a golden dumping. But during the afternoon, another attendee had her writing validated. Way to go, T. I was sorry to see the dumping K took and seeing N just getting the shaft. Publishing is a small world. I was shocked at the way two of the people were treated. One got her ass chewed out, the other was just ignored. He had an appointment and he was totally ignored. Meaning his appointment wasn't even acknowledged. I've been around the writing world for several years. I've talked to a lot of conference attendees. This is the first time I've ever heard of people being treated this way.
The last panel was Writing Naked: How Much of Yourself Are You Willing to Expose? It was an interesting discussion. I think the main thing to remember, if you aren't writing the truth, if you aren't digging deep, the reader knows. They'll lose faith in you. But honest writing shines.
With that said, there's always the question of how much do I expose? We still have to live with our families.
It was suggested that writers make a list of all the things that scare the shit out of you. Those are the things we should be writing about, or including in our writing.
Another test is if someone asks if this is really true, the writer should be able to answer, yes, it's true. And if asked, did it really happen, the answer is usually no.
Tomorrow is the last day. There's been some interesting things this year. Some of them are things I'm not comfortable blogging about. Others won't mean anything to those who aren't here.
Overall, the energy is different yet again. Each year the conference is very different. A lot of old faces are missing this year. Which means we have new faces, too. It does appear that off election years have more political grandstanding than election years. Maybe it's because we get enough political bashing on our television sets during an election year, we don't need to talk about it at a writers' conference. I'm not sure.
There are things I really like about this year, too. There are things I could have done without. I think in the end, I'll decide it was worth the money. And after four years, I guess I'm curious enough to want to come back next year. After all, it's pretty neat to have NYC come to us in Alaska.
Good morning, John.
posted by Jody @ 6/13/2005 08:39:00 PM 0 comments
After yesterday, today was anti-climatic. The conference didn't start until 11:00 a.m.
The truth? It didn't start until 4:45 p.m.
The first session was Write Your Book in 20 Minutes. No, not the actual book, but the outline. Most of that workshop was spent on nonfiction and self-promotion, by the presenter. The last 15 or so minutes was spent on fiction.
Then we broke for lunch. Today's meal was halibut Petersburg, salad with cream dressing, slice of bread with butter.
After lunch there was a Q & A session with the keynote speaker. While he's a nice guy and all that, it was pretty dull.
Next was A Comedy Tonight: Humor in Writing. Oops. Three of the five panelists said they don't use humor. In fact, they appear to not like humor all that much. I believe one even said that humor books should be tossed. Considering there was at least one humor writer there, I can state, it wasn't met with a warm reception.
So, here we are again...degrading one type of writer. Why? What is the purpose? Every type of writing that the large publishers publish serves a function. The truth? The commercial books make money. That allows publishers to publish some books that don't make money, but are still important. And maybe, just maybe, todays genre reader might actually try a more literary book tomorrow. Most nonreaders don't start with a literary book. They start with books that entertain them. So, please writers, can we stop this us versus them? I don't know of any writer who sits down to write crap. It's hard enough getting a book published without this stupid bickering. My bookshelves are filled with very light books to very literary books. There are times I want something light and other times, I want to stretch myself.
Last up today was First Pages.
Oh. My. God. I wish every unpublished writer could attend such a discussion. They, one agent, two editors and one MFA instructor, reviewed five or six first pages. We had handouts of most of the samples. At least two of them lost two of the four with the first sentence. Yes, agents and editors do stop after one sentence. They don't owe us a damned thing. We have to prove to them what we've written is worth their time.
One editor said that at least half of what she sees stops her before she's off the first page. These are submissions that come through agents. They've been vetted, yet half of what she sees is rejected in less than one page.
Why can they do it one page or less? If there isn't a hint of a story, or something unique, why bother reading any further? Or if the author uses sloppy language, why bother to continue reading. They want to work with professionals. They expect to work with professionals.
So, that first sentence that you aren't feeling real good about? Dump it. Reword it, if it's almost there. If you don't think it's strong enough to open your book, get rid of it. Now. You'll save yourself a lot of heartache in the future.
There were a lot of fallen faces after that panel. Dejected writers streamed out of the conference room. People were asking what the hell do they want? They want professional writers. And in this day and age, where anyone and everyone thinks they have a book in them, they'll find enough books to fill their slots each year. Books that have story and control of language already there. They don't need to take any of us under their wing. They want us to come to them as professionals.
If you're going to accept good enough, that's fine, but it's not.
It was an eye opener. So, what are my thoughts? Okay, I'm pretty pleased. The editor read all the pages I gave her. She told me to keep working on it and finish it, because it's a story and she feels there's a market for it.
No, I haven't told a lot of people about our conversation, because I know what most of the writers who talked to her heard. Usually what happens when people are told their baby is ugly is they get jealous if they hear someone else has a pretty baby. Or they think the person with the pretty baby has all the answers. Uh, no. How did I manage to write a few pages that held her interest? Years of practice. Writing it wrong first. Writing it wrong, a lot. There's no secret. It takes hard work. It takes a lot of hours with your ass in a chair and your fingers on a keyboard. There aren't any shortcuts. At the most, reading a lot is the easiest shortcut. Read, read, read and write, write, write.
But there are a couple people who have an idea what happened in my meeting and they're happy with me. Those are friends. Plus, I didn't get those pages in shape by myself. I had some great feedback. Thanks to those who gave me the feedback I needed.
Good morning, John.
posted by Jody @ 6/12/2005 08:02:00 PM 0 comments
Last night was the kick off of the 2005 Kachemak Bay Writers' Conference. I went in way too early, but I wanted to make sure I was able to get one of the slots to meet with either an agent or publisher. I opted for the publisher. I picked the 4:30 time for today.
We had the meal. It was a little different this year. It started with a salad and a creamy dressing. Then the main meal was halibut and salmon with rice pilaf and asperagus. Desert was the same as the first three years, cheesecake topped with strawberries. By the time we finished eating it was almost 9 p.m. I didn't stick around for the keynote speaker because I wanted to come home and fine tune my pages for the editor.
Today the first session was...well, pretty boring. Okay, there was a little bit of the us vs them. Meaning one type of writing is better than another type. I agree with MJ Rose over at her blog. It's an older entry, but it basically asks a very good question. With the number of readers dwindling each year, why are we writers bickering among ourselves over what type of book is better than the other? Shouldn't we be more concerned about the shrinking number of readers. And as the same old thing was being discussed today...what is worthy of reading and what is trash, I kept thinking...who cares. Don't we need new readers? Shouldn't we be happy if they pick one type of book to read? Maybe they'll enjoy reading enough that they'll actually read other works too.
I'm never impressed with commercial writers degrade literary writers or vice versa.
The next panel I attended was Courting the Muse. The main thing I took away from that was ideas are best for nonfiction or essays. Fiction is best if it starts with either a character, scene or image, but not an idea. Interesting concept. I'm still not sure if I buy into it or not.
Then we broke for lunch. Let's not go there. Okay, real men do eat quiche, but not with a smile.
Then Seth Kantner and his editor gave a talk after we finished eating. It was about the birth of Seth's first novel, Oridinary Wolves. While it was interesting, the path Seth took is a rare path. He worked on his novel for 12 years. When Milkweed contracted it, it wasn't publishable. It's a rare book that will find a home based on the promise of the voice and story. While it's great to hear a story of one who actually had their hand held during the whole process (okay, not really, but in the literary world, yes it was hand holding) it's very much the minority where this happens. I did get the feeling he realizes how fortunate he is.
The next panel was Teaching the Unteachable: Can Writing be Taught? Since three on the panel and the moderator teach creative writing, they hope it can be taught. The main thing I took away from the discussion is the importance of trusting your gut. Each of us needs to be able to know when some critique rings a bell and another needs to be ignored. I'm much better with this than I used to be.
I didn't attend any of the last sessions today. There was one that sounded interesting, but I had my editor meeting. It went very well. I was pleased during all of it. As I told the man who allows me to wash his dirty dishes, it was so nice to have a professional talk to me as another professional. The last time that happened on such a level, I might have had the talent to go with it, but not the writerly maturity to trust my own work.
All in all, today was a good day and worth the trip into town.
© 2005 Jody Pryor