Some years, I hit the jackpot for what I need at the moment!
At Storymaker:
- An inspiring and uplifting keynote from Martine Leavitt - her intensive where she taught us (Cliff Notes version) what her MFA students learn.
- The Power of Deep Editing by Margie Lawson (I'd love to take one of her longer classes).
TAKE HOME: Emotional hits add power to your story and you do that by powering up the emotion. She compared emotional hits to drink sizes at your local Stop N Go. Save your Big Gulp for that important moment. No more than one or two in an entire book.
- Making the most of your writing time by Tracy Hunter Abramson.
TAKE HOME: Begin your day with writing something creative, even if it's only a few minutes. It will get your creativity going and fuel you for the rest of your day.At IAH (this was a much smaller and more intimate setting--it was fabulous!):
- Great keynote and classes by Michaelbrent Collings. He has a great sense of humor and really got into a game.
TAKE HOME: "Being an author is one of the hardest and most frightening jobs in the world." - Michaelbrent Collings
"If I was good at regular life, I wouldn't be a writer." - Michaelbrent Collings
- Christine Kiersey did a class on doing newsletters. I'm dreadful at them, so I found this very useful
TAKE HOME: Once you have enough books, use a permafree book as reward for signing up for your newsletter. Tell them about it in the front of your other books and then remind them about it at the end.
- The Power of Four by J. Scott Savage. Oh, my heck! This was a class about pacing and just what I needed.
TAKE HOME: You can take your story and break it into four parts. He reviewed what should be included in each of those four parts. I came home and immediately implemented it in the ghost story I was editing.I gleaned a lot more at the conferences, but those are a few of the highlights. I feel so armed now and ready to battle on!
I've been critiquing and getting ready for family who will be moving in with us. What did you do for the weekend?
sounds like you had great time there!
ReplyDeleteYes, I did, indeed.
DeleteOnly one Big Gulp - check!
ReplyDeleteHer list of ways to use words was wonderful too!
Deletehaha guess I'm not good an regular life either. Sounds like a great time.
ReplyDeletelol It really was.
DeleteSounds like you got a lot out of the entire conference. I'd love to go to it one of these days.
ReplyDeleteStorymaker is a large conference now, and they have so many education tracts to choose from.
DeleteI'd love to go to conferences. The few I've been able to attend have been educational and fun.
ReplyDeleteAren't they a great way to network?
DeleteLooks like quite the conference! I especially love the line "if I was good at regular life, I wouldn't be a writer"--made me laugh!
ReplyDeleteMe too. As much because it's so true!
DeleteOh I love writing conferences. This sounds like fun. And you get to learn and meet people who share the same passion. Good on you.
ReplyDeleteThe networking alone is worth it!
DeleteAwesome! Sounds like you had a good time:)
ReplyDeleteI love the nuggets of advice and inspiration from conferences.
ReplyDeletethanks for the conference teasers! sounds like they were ultra productive, and just being around all those different writers is an encouragement in itself! now i'm going nuts wondering - what are those 4 elements???
ReplyDelete