Benefiting from Writing Conferences

 

Networking is a part of benefiting from a conference

         Writing is a profession, and attending writing conferences and festivals are a necessary part of staying professional. Conferences allow a writer to gain new ideas to improve his work, to reinforce good writing practices, and to learn other aspects needed for his writing business. Networking allows writers to know they are not alone in the wilderness. So, how can writers benefit from writing conferences?

         Best selling author William Bernhardt gives a few ways an author can benefit from a writing conference:
 1. Come prepared. Research speakers to know what they offer that will help you. Research editors and agents to know which will provide insight into what you write or who want what you write.
 2. Listen more than you talk. "...a person gets a few minutes alone with someone who might have some good advice for them, but they use the entire time to talk about themselves or their project." Bill continues, "My advice has always been to go for the 20/80 talk rule...talk being the twenty percent."
 3. Relax and learn. "The best favor you can do for yourself is come with the expectation of learning not selling. If you're able to absorb the information, you're going to be a better and better writer. The time will come when you'll find yourself in front of the right people at the right time. And because you've been educating yourself, you'll be ready.

         Attending conferences to learn should be the first objective for attending a conference. I don't always learn something every session I attend, but, even though I taught writing for nearly 30 years, I always learn something that helps my writing improve every conference I attend.

         If you have completed a manuscript, attend a conference prepared to pitch to an editor or agent. That means you learn how to make a pitch, prepare your pitch, and practice your pitch before the conference.

         Listen to those who have been in this business for years. Gain from their experiences. Will everything you hear work for you? No, but at least you can learn what to try. If something works, you gain. If it doesn't work, you also gain the knowledge that idea won't work for you. We are made with two ears and one mouth for a reason. We need to listen more than talk.

         Absorb what you hear and see. I retain more if I write it down than if I just hear it. Therefore, I take notes so that what I hear is absorbed into my mind.

         One of the biggest reasons I attend conferences any more is to meet and greet other authors, to network with writers and publishing gurus. I become more energized and recharged after attending a conference and networking with others in the same business.

          As Bill Bernhardt says, "Go to learn. Prepare to pitch. Listen. Absorb. Meet and greet." Conferences are needed to build a writer's professionalism.

 

 

Stop Whining, Already!

by Suzanne Cordatos

www.suzannecordatos.blogspot.com


Are your characters a bunch of whiners? Characters who whine are like static blizzards on TV. The white stuff adds a lot of noise, but it sure isn't entertaining.

My critique partners pointed out the static in my work-in-progress after reading a scene with a typical brother-sister spat. The dialogue? Believable. The action? Lifted from life. Well then, I opened my mouth to debate their thumbs-down verdict. What’s the problem? A total lack of value to the story. Ouch!

Look at these similar scenes:

            “Give it back,” demanded Jon. “It’s mine.”

            Julie ran around the room, the key dancing from her fingers. “You’ll have to catch me.”

            “Give it back OR ELSE!” Jon grabbed at her hand and got a fistful of long hair.

            “MOM, Jon pulled my hair!”

            Mom came to the door, an angry expression denting her brow. “What’s going on?”

OR

            “Give it back.”

            Julie danced the key out of reach from Jon’s grabbing fingers. “Only if you show me.”

            “If I open the box,” said Jon, “can you keep a secret? Can you handle the truth?”

            Jon and Julie shook hands. Mom came to the door, eyebrows raised. “What’s going on?”

           

Which story would you keep reading? In the first example, I wanted to tell the kids to settle down--The End. The scene contains “loud” action. Running, grabbing, pulling hair. Yet what does it add but a sibling relationship scene that is already familiar to just about everybody? No surprises. No story.

The quieter example propels the reader into a story filled with conflict and tension. Conflict does not have to involve spectacular car chases and fist fights. I want to turn the page to discover answers: What’s in the box? Can Jon trust Julie? Can Julie keep a secret? Can she handle the truth? What truth? How will they answer Mom? All of that in fewer words than the first example!

The more surprise and tension, the faster readers will turn your pages. Check scenes for these points:

            Is the dialogue a time filler?

            Would it change or harm the story if cut?

            Is there tension on every page? In every paragraph? In every sentence?
            Can the action or dialogue be blended with another scene?

            Does the scene add value on multiple levels? Characterization? Plot? Setting? Mood?

            Does the scene conjure questions that compel readers to turn pages?

Questions for you: 1) Did you ever cut a major scene for the sake of a story? Were you glad you did?
                             2) Any guesses what's in Jon's box? 

Reading to Improve Writing

by Vivian Zabel 

    Anyone who has attended classes about writing or who has been in sessions at conferences or who has read books or magazines about writing came across the adage at least once: "To be a good writer, read, read, read, read."

   I know what at least one reader thinks, "How can I learn anything if what I'm reading isn't worth reading?" Good question. However, reading bad writing can help a person become a better writer IF he realizes the writing isn't good. He can learn what or how not to write.

       Now, back to reading helping people become better writers.   When I took composition classes in college, I often became frustrated with all the reading I had to do, story after story after story, many times thousands of pages per assignment. Yet, as we discussed the stories and what made them interesting, or what didn’t, I was learning how to write. Even today, as I read and review on Writing.Com and for NovelSpot, I learn more about what makes a good story and what doesn’t. In fact every time I read someone else's work, I learn and share.

         I used the reading, discussion, and then writing idea when I taught, too. I tried to highlight one or two concepts per story, then had the students write something using those concepts and any others we had already covered. First, however, came reading and reading and reading.

        As I read the September, 2005, issue of The Writer, I discovered an article by Erika Dreifus titled “Learning short-story writing by example." She agrees with my university professors and me: “We learn by reading closely and reading as writers – attending to the ways others employ the elements of fiction: setting, plot, character, theme, and so on.”

        So where can a person find short stories to study, ones that will help him or her learn correct story writing? Of course books of short stories are found in all book stores. In fact, Holly Jahangiri and I have a collection of short stories for sale on the 4RV Bookstore, Amazon, and through brick 'n mortar stores, Hidden Lies and Other Stories. Plus many bookstores connected to colleges have anthologies for sale. If someone couldn’t afford to buy a new anthology or collection, used bookstores or libraries carry them. Using the library's copy is free.
 

      The best help found in reading to learn to write is to read well-written stories, and read, read, read. Reading well-written novels helps one to learn to write, too, for developing longer plots and sub-plots, for building consistency for longer works. As I stated above, reading even bad material gives ideas of how not to write. 

        Any writer who doesn't find time to read is hurting his writing craft and short-changing his readers.

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