Monday Meanderings - February 16th

In the US, it's a holiday here.

First Meandering ...

I like what Canda Mortensen does at the beginning of each of her blog posts where she comments a little on what she's currently reading. So here's what I'm listening to.

Every Day meets Cloud Atlas in this heart-racing, space- and time-bending, epic new trilogy from New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray.

What do I think? I'm really enjoying it. The time bending is a little mind blowing, and I love the characters.

This better not be a cliffhanger ...



Second Meandering ...

I got to review the next three chapters of the Torn Canvas audiobook.

I'm seriously holding back a squeee here. It's wonderful to hear someone, who gets your story, read it aloud.


Third Meandering ...

Brother in law returned home yesterday. I don't know about what he and my hubby think, but I'm thinking we're going to have to find bare land and build what we want. I don't know why it's so hard to find.


Fourth Meandering ...

I attended LTUE for three days last week. It was wonderful to be with my tribe.

Besides being energized and inspired, I also came away with some concrete goals to help me.

1. Calendaring my personal time for better use of my writing time. I've already got my first week up on Google Calendar and it's synced to my phone. *crosses fingers*
2. John D. Brown and Larry Correia did a fabulous job in showing how to plot an action story. 

Something John said that really struck me was that the author isn't just writing a book. S/he is providing a guided experience for the reader. You have to ask yourself what experience you want the reader to have.

Kind of brilliant, isn't it?

So, what did you do this weekend?

Monday Meandering - February 2nd

Sometimes I hate Blogger. I had a post mostly all done and tried to undo a link. Well, it deleted everything I'd posted, and I lost it all.

*sigh*

First Meandering ...

It's Goundhog Day AND the birthday of one of my granddaughters. I wish I could be there to help them celebrate it.

This is her. Happy Birthday, sweetie!

And speaking of Groundhog Day ...

Punxatawney Phil should fired. Just sayin'. In 120 years of doing the whole 'will he see his shadow' thing, he's seen it 101 times. Epic fail. 

Can't tell I'm ready for spring, can you?

Second Meandering ...

Because of the increasing difficulty in being able to connect with readers on social media *coughFacebookespecially* I'm trying to increase the mailing list for my newsletter. 

Yes, the newsletter I've only sent out once. 

If you'd like to get updates on general publishing news and new releases, you can sign up by clicking here. I won't spam you. I promise.

Third Meandering ...

Next week is LTUE (that's Life, the Universe and Everything). I'm starting to get excited. They've got a great list of panel participants. 

Fourth Meandering with a smile ...

So what are your plans for this week? 

LTUE Blogfest

Anyone who's been following my blog knows that I love the LTUE (Life, the Universe and Everything) SciFi/fantasy symposium that's held every February. Well, to get folks excited about the upcoming event, they're holding the LTUE Contests Blogfest.

The 2014 conference is going to be amazing. Not only will they be having writing contests, but they'll be PUBLISHING the WINNERS! Woohoo! You can find details here.

Come and play and help get the word out. You can sign up at Robin Ambrose's blog here.

LTUE Thought

I know I've been having a lot of blog posts lately what with cover reveals and book launches this month and I even skipped my conference recap last Wednesday.

But I wanted to share one little thought from the class Character, Conflict and Plot by Craig Nybo, author of Allied Zombies for Peace--he was hilarious and energetic, by the way.

If you find yourself writing "he said" take a knife and stab yourself in the hand and then delete it [not your hand] and find a better way to show it.

That just made me smile.

But it does beg the question: are you a fan of dialogue tags?

LTUE Recap - Writing Memorable Characters

I wish I could credit this panel of authors, but I can't find description in my conference booklet.

Source: PowerPoint

The better we know our characters the better we can tell their stories.

1. Choose a name that fits. Don't give similar character names or only in a situation where there's no way they can be confused--an example might be a young male child and an old man. Last names suggest ethnicity--if that's not your intent, you may want to reconsider. Be careful of the baggage names can bring.

2. Know your characters in and out--you should know how they'd react in any given situation. What are their food likes and dislikes? Do they obsess about anything? What motivates them to do something? Be careful with speech patterns. A lot of heavy phonetic language is hard to edit and to read. Slang and colloquial terms go out of date quickly. Unique mannerisms, attitudes, abilities, and capabilities are options but be sure you provide good descriptions.

3. Flaws - life altering attributes

4. Strong sense of purpose - your main characters should have solid belief and value systems. Those can be flawed. Have to want/need something badly.

5. Smart, tenacious, perceptive, dedicated, and tough--but they need to be sympathetic when appropriate. Readers want the characters to be capable but not perfect so the reader can relate to them.

6. Characters should have emotional baggage so they'll have something to overcome. They have to grow.

7. Relationships - family, friends, acquaintances. Do their relationships drag them down or support them? How different do they act depending upon who they're with? Are the characters surprised when something new is foisted on them?

8. Give the characters something the readers can identify with. Whatever emotion the story is invoking should be relatable. What commonality could they all have? The character could be the readers' best friend, next door neighbor, etc. But your characters should also be uncommon enough to be interesting. Protagonist shouldn't be perfect and the antagonist shouldn't be perfectly evil.

9. Give your character a phobia and play on it.

10. A talent, definite tastes or knowledge--show this early on and play on it throughout the story. 

11. Work against stereotypes.

12.  Give habits or patterns that make your characters unique. Is your character a slob or a clean freak? Make sure you stay true to those characteristics throughout--unless the changes are part of the characters' growth.. If they deviate, it should be a sign that something's afoot.

13. Write what is going underneath--when the characters act out of sync, there should be a reason for it.

What do you do to help flesh out and make your characters three dimensional and believable?

LTUE Update - Writing Fantastic Description

I've never hidden the fact that writing description is hard for me. I think I'm getting better at it as I do it more and pay more attention to it as I'm reading. Hopefully, I will continue to improve the more I do it, and it won't be such an agonizing experience.

I'll be honest, though. I don't like too much description. I've been in bootcamp critique groups where some of the input I receive is they want more description. And it makes me feel . . . conflicted. Yes, there needs to be adequate description but since I tend to skip too much description in books, I don't want to write stuff people like me are going to skip.

As author Elmore Leonard said: I try to leave out the parts that people skip.

Um. Yeah.

So I was particularly interested in the LTUE panel on Writing Fantastic Description (and Knowing Where to Put It) with Amber Argyle, Michelle Davidson Argyle, Frank L. Cole, Chad Morris, Peter Orullian, and Andrea Pearson.

Following are some of the snippets I jotted down during the class:

• With epic fantasy, the world is important and must be described in detail - I was always amazed at the way Robert Jordan could describe clothing. In some books, the kind of detail he put into would be overdoing it, but he wrote epic fantasy and the clothing in many ways was part of his world building by how it represented the various cultures.

• Don't just describe the physical traits of characters--make what you describe say something about the character as well

• Be aware the attention span of the target audience--middle grade doesn't require as much detail as genres for older readers

• The words you use should set the tone - what your characters see when they enter a room or check out people says a lot about your characters. So don't just mention that the sofa was green unless the sofa being green means something to the character.

• Reveal information gradually so the reader has 'aha' moments along with the character

• Every word has a job--don't use words that aren't doing something for the story

• Using description tidbits in dialogue lets those words do double duty

• Metaphor and simile can be a great ways to describe

• Let your content mirror the action

• When you're writing a sentence you don't want to bury what you're describing, so list what you're describing at the end - oh, my heck. Some years ago I was reading a book aloud to my husband and one of our sons. It was Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury. Both hubby and son are great audio learners, but we were all getting lost in the excessive description  The point of the paragraphs was being lost. Without telling them, I started reading only the first and last sentences of each paragraph. After a few paragraphs, hubby and son looked at each other and said, "Wow. Why is it suddenly making sense?" 

• Some kinds of description are easier done in third person than first

During the iWriteNetwork Winter Workshop last month, I taught a class on writing a one-page synopsis. As I was reviewing my notes from the LTUE class, I realized that writing a short synopsis could be an excellent exercise is making sure that you don't have any lazy words. You have to give each one serious consideration to make sure it's doing that job you need it to do.

My oldest son's amazing at it--in seventh grade he knocked my socks off with his ability to paint a picture with words. I have no idea where that gift came from.

How about you? Is writing description your friend? Or are you more like me?

A to Z - Map Making

Map from The Way of Kings

This is a post about a class I attended at LTUE that was taught by Isaac Stewart, who did the one above for Brandon Sanderson's The Way of Kings. Isaac reviewed a number of things that the writer/mapmaker would want to consider relating to geography, such as where and what kinds of mountains would have been formed (which makes a difference as to where your deserts are) and the locations of rivers and bodies of water. Communities tend to grow up where there are sources of water, building materials, arable land, and trade routes.

In my SciFi trilogy, I'm going to have to have maps for two continents, and I'd wondered how I was going to come up with a map. Isaac showed a number of photos of random objects that ended up being perfect for map coastline ideas.

Examples:

• chipped paint on a chair
• splattered water stain on concrete
• the blobby stuff on the lid of a guacamole tub when you first open it
• a messy pile of wet leaves after a storm
• stains on a ceiling.

Brilliant, I say!

But you know what else he said? It can take a HUGE amount of time to create a map. If you're the author, quit working on the map and write the dang book!

Have you ever had to create a map for a book?

Vacation . . . Again. Oh, and Self-Editing

Yep, I'm headed to paradise again.

I know. Rough life.

Robin Weeks posted an LTUE class update about self-editing. (I know! I've been a serious slacker/loser in this area myself, but repentance is coming. Someday). But it's an awesome recap of a class taught by the amazing Tristi Pinkston (author and editor).  It's definitely worth your time to check it out. 

When I find posts like this, I copy them and post the information in a document (with a link back to the original post), so I won't lose it. How do you keep track of useful information you find online?

LTUE

So, things are nuts, and I'm sick. This post will just have some pictures from the event. I took tons of notes and will rehash some of that information in subsequent posts.

Panel on Marketing

Authors Bree Despain, Lynn Hardy, Jenn Johansson, and Elana Johnson

Panel on Queries and Pitches

Lisa Mangum (author and acquisitions editor), Chris Schoebinger (Shadow Mountain), J Scott Savage (author), Kirk Lovell Shaw (Covenant Publishing), Donna Milakovic (moderator)

Panel on Making a Book Trailer

Heather Monson, Angela Corbett, Paul Genesse, Lani Woodland, Dan Wells

Author Michael Young on Avoiding Cliche

Author Andrea Pearson on Indie Publishing

Writing Excuses

Howard Tayler, Dan Wells, Larry Correia, Brandon's brother Jordy, Mary Robinette Kowal, Brandon Sanderson

Panel on Why We Love Horror

Nathan Shumate, Michael Brent Collings, Michael Collings, Robin Weeks (moderator), Jenn Johansson

Panel on What I Wish I'd Done Differently

Mette Ivie Harrison, Author Andrea Pearson, Brad R. Torgersen and Elana Johnson.

Panel on Plots, Subplots, and Foreshadowing

Brandon Sanderson, Stacy Whitman (editor), James A. Owen, J Scott Savage and Bree Despain

Panel on Urban Fantasy

Natalie Whipple, Bree Despain, Kasie West and James Dashner

Lotsa Peeps

Elizabeth Mueller, ?, Kasie West

The Schmidts

Leigh Covington, Brenda Sills, Me

Melony Pulley, Kenzie Pulley, Amy White, Me, Stephanie Kelly

Lotsa People

Peggy Eddleton, Leigh Covington, David Powers King

Heather Cole, Betsy Love, Theresa Sneed, Kari Pike

There were tons more classes and people. These were just a few of the ones I was able to attend or connect with.

Grammar Thursday and Life, the Universe and Everything

Ever get confused about which to use--who or whom? It's not as complicated as you might think. Ask yourself a simple question:

Who is doing what to whom?

The one doing the action is the subject: who.  The one being acted upon is the object: whom. 

This is where I am for three days. I'll chat about it in future posts. 

In the meantime, have a great weekend!

Book Review - Queen in Exile . . . Plus Awards & Querying

I've got a guest blogger today. Her name is Bobbie Staley, and she's one of my clerks at my day job. She's not an author or an aspiring author. She's one of those people we're all hoping to bring into our camps

She's a Reader.

All right. So am I. So are you. But you know what I mean.

She's highlighting Queen in Exile by Donna Hatch.

Isn't this a great cover?

Book Description:
Rumors of War hang over Princess Jeniah's peaceful country of Arden, a land that shuns both magic and warfare. Following a lifelong dream, Jeniah forms a telepahtic bond with a revered creature called a chayim, who is prophesied to save her kingdom. But when a Darborian knight comes upon Jeniah with her chayim, he sees only a vicious monster about to devour a maiden, and he slays the beast.

Devastated by the loss of her chayim, and fearing that her own magic is evil, Jeniah doubts her destiny. When an enemy invades Arden City, they slaughter the people, storm the castle, and execute the entire royal family except the princess. Rescued by the knight who slew her chayim, Jeniah is now heir to the throne of Arden and the only hope for freeing her people from tyranny.

On the run and hunted by enemy soldiers, Jeniah must place her life and the fate of her kingdom in the hands of this trained killer. Torn between embracing her destiny as queen af Arden, and her love for a mere knight, she must ultimately rely on her magic to save herself and her people from death and tyranny. 

What does Bobbie think?

As I began to read yet another book about magic I was skeptical since I have read a few lately.  I was pleasantly surprised to find this one caught my  attention right away with the bond that Jeniah has with her Sacred animal.

I was taken with the tale of trials and love and anger and tears and oh-my-gosh moments that kept me wanting to read till the weee hours of the night.  I love this book, and I would recommend it to all ages.  I am going to have my 13-year-old read it because I know she would love this book.

Awards

I want to acknowledge the kind ladies who gave me a couple of awards this week:

• Robin Weeks granted me the Kreative Blogger Award.
• April Plumber over at If This Doesn't Scare You gave me a different Versatile Blogger Award. 

 You can check out the charmers here.

Querying

I hope you all had a great weekend. On Saturday I clicked the "send" button for the second time. It was harder in some ways because this one was unsolicited. I'm surprisingly calm about everything.

Hubby and I are going to go out to dinner every time I hit 10 rejections. I got my inspiration from author James Dashner as he mentioned in LTUE last year that that's what he did. The hard part will be those unofficial rejections because the agency has a "no reply" policy. You just tick off the time, and when you haven't heard anything just assume it's a "not interested".

*Rubs hands together*

Where shall we go out to eat?

A New Year . . . and Resolutions

I'm going to the iWriteNetwork Workshop on January 21st. 

Anybody else coming?

It's that time of year to first look back and then ahead.

Definitions
resolution - A firm decision to do or not to do something 
goal - The result or achievement toward which effort is directed; aim; end.

I know a lot of people hate the idea of New Years resolutions. I don't have a problem with them. I'm a goal-setting person and a list checker offer. I love the list I made for myself for the last part of December and the feeling of focus and accomplishment I felt as I've been marking things off.

I'm also realistic. No way will I always be able to achieve the goals I set. But if I don't strive for something--and keep a reminder of it in front of me--I'm guaranteed to do nothing.

And the "keep it in front of you" is important. One year on New Year's Day, I wrote a list of goals for myself for the year in my journal. One included writing in my journal every day.

Um . . . the following year on New Year's Day I opened that journal again for the first first time in a year and saw those goals again.

Epic fail!

Whether I call them resolutions or goals, these are mine for 2012:

• Query A Change of Plans
• Make changes suggested by editor
• Go to Kaua'i for 10 days in January -- I know, this is a tough one, but I gotta visit the grandkids! *sigh* It's such a terrible sacrifice. NOT!
• Finalize the cover  for A Change of Plans in case I self-publish
• In February attend Life, the Universe, and Everything (LTUE)
• In March go back to Kaua'i for grandson's baptism
• In May attend Storymaker
• Finish my 2011 NaNo project in time to give the published book to my granddaughter for her  birthday in July (she's the main character).
• Work through issues with my SciFi project, including doing a simple outline for turning it into a trilogy
• Attend League of Utah Writers Roundup
• Get a basic outline for my 2012 NaNo project (sequel to A Change of Plans)
• Attend the Authors Incognito retreat for NaNo
• Be glad it's not an election year . . . for me.

What about you? Are you a resolution / goal person? Do you have some things you'd like to accomplish in 2012?

Reflections on NaNoWriMo 2011

After my epic fail attempt at NaNo last year I wrote this post. At that time I did not expect to try NaNo again.

Um, I so did NaNo this year and whupped its sorry arse. Can't tell I'm proud of myself, can you?

So, what was the difference between last year and this?

1. I joined an online critique group full of some pretty amazing people with lots of insight. They've taught me a lot.
2. I've attended writing conferences and critique bootcamps (LTUE, Storymaker, UVU Book Academy).
3. I've joined associations for writers (iWriteNetwork, ANWA, Authors Incognito, LUW)
4. Through blogging and conference attendance, I've met and become friends with lots of other writers, many of whom I've met in real life.
5. After attending my second critique bootcamp, some of us formed a local in-person critique group. We range in age from a 15-year-old boy (he's amazing, btw) to grandmothers older even than I am.
6. I learned how to use sprint writing and the pomodoro technique to help me focus and really crank out the words. I love using their timer and will continue to do so when writing and editing.
7. I forced myself to keep writing even when I wasn't sure where to take the story, knowing it was going to change some in the editing process anyway.

When I did NaNo last year, I was very much alone. I had no cheerleader or people with whom to bounce ideas off (except for my sons, who are wonderful but not writers). This year, if I ran into a snag I had three different sprint writing locations  and social groups via Facebook and Yahoo Groups I could go and there'd be writers I could bounce ideas off or get ideas from.

I hear often that writing is a solitary business. It can be, as it was for my first year. But methinks times they are achangin'. I know that not all writers/authors are made of sweetness and light, and I realize many find themselves on different sides of the debate about where the future of publishing will end.

Overall, however, I've found this community to be full of helpful, giving people who are happy to share from their experience. Rather than feeling threatened by potential rivals they are out there cheering us on and more than willing to give us a helping hand.

I think that's why NaNo was such a different experience for me this year. Next year? Real life will determine that but I'm hopeful. I had a tight schedule what with putting on a municipal election that I won't have to worry about next year (I'll be able to attend the writing retreat--squeee!).

What about you? Have you found the writing community to be as friendly as I have? Did you attempt NaNo this year? If so, how are you doing?

And a humorous note, I stole this from Stina Lindenblatt over at Seeing Creative. It made me laugh.

Self-Publishing .... Decisions, Decisions

I've talked about self-publishing before (here), so this isn't a new topic for me. But I've been thinking about it a lot more seriously lately, especially after Marsha Ward's blog post here. She raises some issues that, for me, are compelling.

• I'm kind of old to have started on this journey, and I sincerely worry that I could die before I have a chance to publish traditionally.
• I'm not in this for a new career. Because I'm older, I've already got one I like just fine, and I can retire in less than ten years.
• This is supposed to be fun for me. I worry that the whole query/rejection process will suck all the joy out of what I'm learning and doing--recognizing that if I put my stuff out there before it's ready, there will be plenty of people who will be happy to help suck all the joy out of what I'm doing--but that's true even of people who publish traditionally.
• A lot of people believe self-publication is the way to go, including David Farland, who's spoken to this issue in several of his Daily Kicks.

On the other hand, there are some compelling reasons not to self-publish.

• You have to do all your own marketing. I can't tell you how much I hate sales. I realize authors are the true salespeople for their work. Readers don't come to book signings to meet the publisher or the agent or the printer; they come to meet the author. It's just hard for me to consider trying to pimp my own work.
• At LTUE, self-published author Anna del C. cautioned writers considering self-publication to get a lot of books written before beginning. She said she spends so much time now marketing her books that she has little time to write. Considering I have a full-time job and limited time available for writing already, this is a huge concern for me.
• As Marsha mentions in her blog, she thinks she's had success so far without marketing because she has so many finished works and could get them out there quickly, that having several books for readers to select from is a big advantage. I don't have a bunch of books to throw out there. I have one WIP close to being "ready" (I know, define ready), two partial WIPs, and lots of ideas. I've spent a ton of time on this first book because it's my on-the-job training, so to speak.
• Many people who, for good reason, haven't made it out of the slush pile are now publishing and flooding the ebook market with dross. Readers could become jaded about the quality of self-published books, and (assuming my book is not just more dross) mine could get lost in the trash.

My friend Laura Josephsen just bravely self-published her book Confessions from the Realm of the Underworld (Also Known as High School  (I read it this weekend and loved it, but I'll write more about it on Friday).  She's already published traditionally and had a publisher interested in this book, and she opted to self publish. Does it help that she's already published and has a fan base? Is it better for someone like Laura than it is for fledgling beginners?

A comment from the LDSStorymaker conference really struck me. Someone reported that author Larry Brooks said writers are too worried about getting published. What we should be worrying about is getting read. When I heard that, it gave me pause.

So what's a girl to do? 

• What are your thoughts on self publication? 
• Have you ever considered it? If so, what did you decide and why? 
• Do you feel like you'll be taken more seriously as a writer if you have the endorsement of the gatekeepers and stick with traditional publishing? 
• Or do you think self-publication is the wave of the future?

Querying

I've been dreading the process of writing a query letter almost since I first heard of it. Some of it is because I've never done one. I've tried to get prepared and been following Query Shark and BookEnds, LLC, who post real queries and break them apart to discuss what works and what doesn't (thanks, you guys). I've even joined QueryTracker.net, assuming that I will at one point know who to send the query letter to.

But my worry also goes back to my ms. It took me a year to come up with a title, because it has three distinct parts, and what title would fit the whole story? So how the heck am I going to write a query (in 250 words) for the dang thing?

So, I'm not there yet, not ready to write a query letter. Or so I thought until I read this post by Robin Weeks, and it got me thinking. Perhaps, as Robin suggests, the exercise of writing the query will help improve my final work. *sigh* Be sure to check her post because she makes some excellent points and because she includes a link to Elana Johnson's ebook called From the Query to the Call. I took a wonderful class from Elana at LTUE. She must be a nerdfighter because they are made up of sheer awesome.

Seems querying is on the mind of lots of folks. Ian Bontems posted about it today, too. He has some great suggestions as well.

Now that I finished Edit 8 and am ready to begin proofing (using a process Ian suggested, btw), perhaps I should consider writing a query.

For the experience.

You know. Just in case.

LDS StoryMakers Conference

What a season this is to have so many writerly conferences and symposiums happening. It's exciting because there's so much to learn out there, and as I discovered at Life, the Universe and Everything there's a wonderful world of writerly folks all around me.

When I attended the UVU Book Academy last September I saw just a bit of it and was surprised that it wasn't just writers who attended the conference but book reviewers, publishers, animators, agents, and editors. So much networking going on and new friends to make.

If you're one of these folks and you love the world of books, in whatever capacity, you might want to consider checking out their schedule. You can click here or on the LDS StoryMakers Conference logo at the top of the blog.

I signed up to attend a couple of months ago, when I first heard about it from Robin Weeks. I added the Bootcamp session at her suggestion.

Anybody planning to attend?

Life, the Universe and Everything (LTUE)

What a fun three days! I can definitely say that I enjoyed this conference (symposium) better than any I've attended for my work. Hmmm. How can learning about writing and getting to hear some of your favorite authors talking about their craft be more fun than, say, taking minutes ... or annexations ... or (heaven forbid) records management?

But seriously, I enjoy my work related conferences because they help me do my day job. And LTUE did that, too, though for a different job, my part-time job.

Robin Weeks drove down and stayed with me, and we worked as "Gophers" for the conference--the staging room for the Gophers was called ... yes, the Gopher Hole. The head Gopher was named Toad.

Really.

He's a great guy. Gophering wasn't an onerous job. We signed up for different sessions (so many more options than we provide for my work conferences--my education committee would literally die if they had to get speakers for that many breakout sessions). We were responsible for making sure there was water and cups for the presenters/panelists, taking roll, and giving the 5-minute warning. It gave us an opportunity to chat with the panelists, though Robin's a lot more confident than I am about approaching them. I'm certainly not shy, but I haven't got the chutzpah she has.

At the end of the three days, they have a Gopher Bash and awarded a prize to the most helpful Gopher. The young man who won the prize (a size 5X T-shirt donated by Howard Tayler [comedic webcomic known for Schlock Mercenery] or Dan Wells [best known for writing I Am Not a Serial Killer] and who both cohost Writing Excuses with Brandon Sanderson [not able to attend]--can't remember if Howard or Dan donated the shirt). Anyway, the winner was a very slender young man, and the young Gophers decided to see how many of them could fit in the shirt:

The Symposium

There were so many attendees! I heard they had 1,300 people. It's held on the BYU campus, and students can attend for free, so it's a wonderful opportunity. The cost is minimal at $20 if paid in advance or $25 at the door. (that's for all 3 days).

James Dashner of the Maze Runner trilogy fame was one of the two keynote speakers. Hilarous man. He was on many panels and brought a lot to the discussions as he talked about his journey to being published. What really struck me was how dreadful his first book signing went. It made me think of Natalie Palmer's experience, though she's already learned how to make those go better. It was funny, when James gave Brodi Ashton a shout out but then teased her about needing help deciding which agent to go with (yes, she had several wanting to represent her).

What would that be like?

There were so many great sessions. Following are some of the words of advice I wrote down:

• Critique groups can be wonderful, but they can also be crippling. Put your work in the hands of people you trust. -- James Dashner
• Let yourself be jealous because it makes you ambitious. -- James Dashner
• Don't write just what's hot in the market. -- Tyler Whiteside
• Attend writers conferences -- Tyler Whiteside and James Dashner (and others)
• Critique groups should include people who like and read your genre. -- Mette Ivie Harrison
• Write more than one book before trying to publish because once you start marketing you have so little time to write. -- Anna Del C Dye
• The average number of books sold by self-publishing authors is 16.
• For a killer opening you need a first sentence that makes the reader want to read the first paragraph which makes the reader want to read the first chapter.
• When writing strong women, they don't have to 'kick butt' in a physical sense but can be strong as problem solvers, be proactive, stand up for what they believe, act with strength in spite of their weaknesses.
• Pay it Forward -- be supportive of other fledgling writers. Don't say negatives things about other writers' works. If you don't like them, don't say anything.
• If you write a childrens' book and schedule school visits, it's good to to plan a book signing in a location in the area of the school within a week of the visit.
• Romance works when the reader buys into the characters and believes in them as a couple. In a sense, the reader needs to fall in love, too.
• Don't sacrifice your story for reality.
• Don't quit.
• Don't think you've got it made when you start selling.
• Don't let rejections get you down. Go out to dinner with every 10th rejection.
• Finish that first manuscript.
• The best way to get out of the Slush Pile is to get into it in the first place.
• Network - be nice to everybody
• There's no one right way to write a story.
• The writer's job is to write the best story ever; let the editor fix the punctuation.
• Favorite new word: "suckify" by Elana Johnson
• A pitch to an agent is short, emotionally driven, interesting, full of conflict, about someone, your book in bullet points. It is NOT rambling, every plot point, bland, without conflict, about the 40,000 people who live in the world you've created.

And the best word of advice from James Dashner: The first thing you have to do to be published is be born.

ETA:

A quote by author Dave Farland that I posted on Facebook got a response from a college professor friend of mine:

"You can learn a lot of bad habits in college writing classes." --Dave Farland

Bert commented (bolding is mine):

as a college writing instructor, I agree...

Academic writing is suitable for the academic world, just as legal or business or military writing is suitable for a particular audience. The beginning lesson for any writing class OUGHT to be understanding audience and purpose.

There's a time to express oneself and a time to realize "This isn't about me," but there is never a time to forget the audience.

I thought that was brilliant.

Anatomy of a Tale 2

Well, here it is. This is WIP #1 -- all mapped out. Once I'm finished with LTUE tomorrow, I'll be ready to start moving these nifty little scenes around and see how this flashback thing works.

Revision Technique

As I was brousing around the blogosphere this morning before heading out to the Life, The Universe and Everything (LTUE) conference again this morning, I read Rachel Morgan's post from yesterday that links to IndieHorrors' post from Wednesday that talks about how to revise your ms by character.

Just to start it out, here's what he says about the first item on his list, Character arc:

 1. Character arcA novel is a coalescence of the stories of various characters. The character-by-character revision method helps me attend to these characters and their stories individually, giving me a clearer picture of their lives—how they manage their demons, weaknesses, values etc.