SCWC: World-Building

My notes from the Southern California Writers' Conference.

• Applies to memoirs and nonfiction, too!

• The more abstract the idea is, the more world building you have to do

• Difficult to go against known laws of physics unless you come up with a damn good reason

• Top-down (big picture, create world around larger concept) or bottom-up world building (world built around a specific character)

• Non-fiction—build the world for people that have never been to the locale. Show what is different and new.

• If you’re not familiar with it, be general unless you want to do the research.

• Manipulate the world into pushing the character where you want

• History doesn't have to be a large component, but helps establish the world

• Real-world influence helps

• Even in fantasy, it still needs to be consistent (rules/laws)

SCWC: What to Expect from Your Agent—And What She Expects from You!

My notes from the Southern California Writers' Conference.

• Main thing—look for authenticity (on the part of both author and agent)

• Passion—important for agent to be passionate about your work. Crucial for their pitching.

• Honesty in author/agent relationship. Editorial feedback, valuable critiques

• Ethics—agent should be following AAR guidelines. How do they earn their profits? You shouldn’t have to pay to get your work evaluated! Follow your instinct, avoid red flags.

• Communication—sometimes writers are afraid to ask questions about their work. Ask your agents questions, you have a right to know! Follow-up with agent and make sure they follow-up with you.

• Agent should have a plan (proposal package), should know editors/people that would be interested in your work.

• Agents can secure advance for you, negotiate contracts, review royalties, make sure publisher sticks to their deadlines. Handles foreign rights. Works as a middle man to resolve issues between writer/publisher

• Agent should be open-minded, creative, and flexible. Be open to new possibilities/change and grow with the times since the publishing industry is always changing.

• Is agent committed to your work? How persistent and dedicated are they? Do they know when to cut their losses and move to Plan B?

• Make query letter short/brief. Give an idea of command of language.

• What is author’s plan? Do you want to have a career? Do book tours?

• Contract red flag—excessive bias/favor towards publisher, publisher tries to take all the rights

• Ask agent for references, check to see who they have published, what books they represent

• 10%-15% commission for agents

SCWC: The Road to Publication—Theme and Genre

My notes from the Southern California Writers' Conference.

·         Publishing vs publishing a best-seller—1 in 300 becomes a bestseller.

·         Exercise—write down your daydreams

·         Secrets (theme/hook gets you word-of-mouth, gets readers to share your book)

o   What is your favorite genre?

o   The “what’s it about” question.

o   What secrets have been buried on your journey?

o   Does your hook connect with your theme?

·         What compels people to share a story?

·         Entertainment

o   Theme and entertainment (the book needs to be entertaining!)

o   Readers want romance, mystery, thrillers, YA, and sci-fi

o   Formulas (rules) of genre fiction can stretch/flow free

§  They have a positive and negative energy

§  They inspire character (flawed), plot, depth, interest

·         Read other writers in your genre to get ideas.

·         Challenge is to give publishers what they want to sell.  Stretch the rules!

·         Goals

o   Do your stories have a moral?

o   Exercise: write one sentence that would make someone buy your book (keep it simple, create emotional appeal)

o   The pre-eminent theme of great literature is the human heart in conflict with itself. – William Faulkner

·         What is different and unique about your book?

·         Wisdom is based on doubt, don’t be too full of certainty.

·         Voice

o   Theme links voice/imperfection.  You find the voice through imperfection (idiosyncrasies).  Let a little imperfection in, it’s a good thing.

o   Why do you write?  To kill old enemies?  Without an emotional desire to write, it will be difficult to sustain for the long-haul.  What drives you?

o   Repressed emotions/dominant emotions (you can edit your own life!)

o   Writing helps us understand and rewrite

o   Themes are universal stories with appeal

·         Stick to the point, don’t meander.

·         Tone

o   Theme in your tone?

o   “If writing has a morality it is expressed through tone.” – Philip Gerard

o   Word choice, what’s between the lines, insight, not easy judgment and “a great humanity.”

o   Steinbeck—“Then the hard, dry, Spaniards came passing through.”

·         Assume your readers are more intelligent than you, don’t explain everything to them.  Cut out excess.  Let tone do the work.

·         Spine

o   Theme is the spine of your story.

o   Write with courage

o   The ghost in the machine—are we whole/part?

o   Primitive theme—inner struggle.  Which is the better path?

o   Exercise 2: what is your main character’s problem? (make it short and sweet)

·         Nesting

o   Are you’re themes nesting (themes inside each other/subplots)?

o   Big picture themes are plot driven

o   Character themes need an arc

o   Endings need a payoff

·         Theme-Tension

o   Start with the ending in doubt

o   What is your favorite use of tension?

o   Four types—task, relationship, mystery, surprise

o   Which fits your theme?

·         Cohesion

o   Does each chapter matter?

o   Does the ending twist? (element of surprise)

o   Does the twist reflect the theme?

o   Can we sense something coming?

o   Write down a twist that reflects the theme.

·         Mood

o   Everything’s related to theme

o   Dialogue, action, exposition

o   Cover, website, title, marketing online/off

o   What is the mood of a novel?

o   Hopeful, sad/tragic, romantic, exciting, mysterious

·         Endings

o   The final battle provides answers to the story questions

o   The denouement ties up the loose ends.

o   Should endings serve the theme?

o   Does your climax prove your point?

o   Consider outer problems and inner problems

·         Beware!

o   Surface gloss does not a bestseller make

o   Overload your theme and it will break apart

o   Lurid language lacks power

o   Subtext provides needed depth

o   Resist the urge to explain!! (“RUE”)

SCWC: Self-Publishing Savvy: Why, How, Where, What You Need to Know

My notes from the Southern California Writers' Conference.

• Why self-publish? Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

• What is your project? Self-publish if it’s hobby writing; you like telling stories but don’t expect to make a living; a personal record meant to be shared by family

• When you start treating your books like business, then you’re a career writer.

• Self-publish if you are you a perfectionist and an outgoing person who likes things your way and doesn't mind doing all the work if it means you’re control.

• Make sure you build up an internet/social media presence (blog, website).  Are you involved in your genre’s organizations? Learn from them, get involved in their activities.

• Write a damned good book, be in a critique group, get beta readers, hire a professional editor…create a damned good book cover!  Pay for it unless you’re a graphic designer, make sure it looks good as a thumbnail.

• Release plans: build anticipation on website/social media/blog, do giveaways, have a release party (online or in person)! Café press/zazzle

• ISBN makes your book unique since titles can’t be copyrighted. Createspace will assign one for free, but the publisher will always be “Createspace”.

• Formatting books: booknook.biz, other companies, Createspace. Lulu.com does hardcopies, Createspace does not.

• Smashwords formats for multiple e-readers

• Multiple books require structure—brand each genre (consistent cover schemes), consider creating your own publishing imprint if you write a lot of books.

• You must learn to market without marketing—no one wants to hear “buy my book!” Everyone wants to hear, “How are you today?”

• Resources: createspace.com, kdp.amazon.com, smashwords.com, bowker.com, booknook.biz, mobipocket.com, APE: Author, Publisher, and Entrepreneur

SCWC: Plotters vs. Pantsers: To Outline or Not?

My notes from the Southern California Writers' Conference.

• Plotting can help alleviate excessive re-writes.

• Set milestones to hit (road trip analogy)

• Build plot twists into each milestone, build empathy for characters

• Pantsing enables you to get it down as fast as possible

• Backstory (side trips) helps fill in ‘road trip’

• Turning the characters loose can change the course of a book (despite your best outlining/planning)

• If you want someone to read your book, you have to be willing to hear what they have to say about it

• People can teach you how to write, but in the end you just have to write.

• Risks to both plotting and pantsing—plotting can create too much structure, make the story seem too pre-planned. The ‘life’ of free thought disappears in structured thought. How do you amble while staying on track and not wandering off?

• Conflict drives the story, not the characters.

• Story-telling “beatsheet” in Excel

• Writer’s block – keep a positive outlook. Write through it or work on another story. Just KEEP GOING!

• Figure out what works for you. Beat sheets, flash cards.

• Take risks—don’t worry about what the reader thinks

• Don’t neglect your fact-checking, people live to nitpick. But don’t include TOO much. Just make it sound plausible.

Southern California Writers' Conference

It's that time of year again!  I know I've been quiet lately, but those pesky "life" and "work" things have been getting in the way.  As seems to be the usual.

Stay tuned 'cause I'll be reporting live this weekend from the Southern California Writers' Conference in San Diego, California.  I'm very excited about this event.  I went last year and posted all my notes, and I'll do the same this year.  Here is their posted schedule.

It's a lot of fun, and I'm looking forward to it!

SCWC: World Building for Speculative/Paranormal Fiction

-        How deviant from reality is this going to be?  The more different it is, the more you will have to explain.  Obliterating the usual “rules” can be fascinating but hard to follow

-        How similar to us is an alien culture?

-        Human systems are founded on religious beliefs (magic, gods, goddesses, God).  What role does religion play in the fictional society?  How is moral development affected?  What is the foundation of the society?  How do ideologies affect how they react to or treat other people?

-        Map-making can be helpful in creating a new world (town, city, country).  Spatial understanding of where people are to the natural world.

-        Different/skewed versions of well-known stories/fairy tales

-        Logic flaws make unhappy readers (ex: how does a sparkly vampire impregnate a girl if he doesn’t even have blood flow to get it up).

-        “It works, because…”  Make it believable.  Explain why it’s possible.

-        Nature is full of bizarre, fascinating things—good source for inspiration/ideas

-        Environment is a huge determinant of people’s behavior (ex: more crime during heat, less crime/violence when women and children are present).

-        Get inspiration from real news stories/feeds.

-        Novel-writing tips: http://storyfix.com/

-        Author/reader networking: http://redroom.com/

-        Write FIRST, edit later.  Don’t edit while you’re writing.  Go back to edit after you’redone.

-        Nowadays sci-fi fans demand technical accuracy.

-        Only explain enough to take away questions (have someone else read it and find out if they feel distracted from the story because they’re wondering how something works).

-        No one ever explains how a flux capacitor actually works, but just the mention of it is enough to ground the story

-        When you’re making up names/words, stay consistent with the structure of the language

-        Tactile experiences give things more credibility (acting out a story to a friend as opposed to just telling it to them).

-        Don’t do a big information dump—“tease” it out a little at a time.

SCWC: Why Some Authors Get Published—and Some Don’t

-        Strive to write every day even if you don’t get around to it.  Set writing goals.

-        Read a lot (of good stuff).  If you don’t have time to read, then you don’t have time to write.

-        Read widely within your genre for inspiration

-        Publishers don’t have time to deal with high-maintenance authors.  Do the work they ask for.

-        Try to look at your work with an objective/dispassionate eye when self-editing.

-        Setting/style/period/subject can be what sets your work above the rest

-        Stay focused on your strengths and what’s unique about you and your story when marketing/making your pitch

-        The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron: http://www.amazon.com/Artists-Way-Julia-Cameron/dp/1585421472/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1  “Bring life in.”

-        Do research to cover a universal theme.  Every nonfiction book is an argument

-        Don’t give up!!!  If something isn’t working, take time to re-assess.  It’s okay to send a query letter to the same agent if you indicate you’ve spent some time researching, revising, improving, etc

-        Online writing groups (Salon, RedRoom, She Writes)

-        San Diego Writers’ Ink, Scribd

-        Community support and interaction is important

-        Editors’ guilds

SCWC: Tweaking - Making the Difference Between Good and Published

-        Build to power.  Always end your sentences with the strongest/most powerful word.

-        Change the order of words in sentences/move sentences around.  Save “what happens” for last.

-        Make material visually attractive.  Hard nowadays to distract people from their busy lives.

-        Paragraphing accentuates dynamic/pivotal points.  Put sentences in their own paragraphs to demonstrate their importance.

-        Use punctuation “tricks” to add drama.

-        Don’t be afraid of sentence fragments or one-word sentences.

-        Ellipses imply the character’s thoughts are trailing off.  A surprise sentence ending.

-        Don’t be afraid of short and/or long sentences.

-        Use prepositions to add more sentence variety.

-        Make dialogue unusual/brilliant

-        The best writing is fast writing—spontaneity creates a better story/flows better

-        Take out dialogue introductions, use “shortcuts.”

-        Most of us are pretty dull most of the time; make the character more interesting than you.  We don’t want boring conversation, we want the best of what we say.

-        Use action tags for dialogue—carefully and sparingly

-        Can characterize people through the words/actions of other characters

-        Pause for reaction time.

-        Make your dramatic scenes long (and longer).  Inject heart-stopping events

SCWC: Show, Don’t Tell

-        Learn the balance between showing and telling

-        Good writing reveals, boring writing explains

-        Use senses to reveal, “telling” comes from the head.

-        Experience/feel with the character instead of listing facts

-        Don’t use abstract subjective terms to convey moments.  Be more sensory/visual/tangible (SHOW)

-        Adjectives tell, verbs show.  Use precise verbs first.  Turn your adjectives into verbs.  Verbs contain the energy of the sentence.  Make a long list of verbs!  Verbs pump us up.  Make more active.

-        The Thesaurus is your friend!

-        Write from the senses.  Readers want to smell, touch, taste the world you’ve created.  We read to escape, experience other realities

-        Be the story as you’re writing it; be your character, experience their world vicariously.

-        Do the writing first, do research after

-        “I remember (sense)ing…” exercise in keeping you in touch with your senses.  Makes you pay attention to mundane sensations.  I remember tasting, hearing, smelling, etc.  “Sense inventory.”

-        Physical reactions to senses, involuntary sensory details, memories provoked, emotion from memories, and then action.

-        Metaphors/similes make writing poetic.  Easier to remember, connects on a deeper emotional level.  “The cancer ate her like horse piss eats deep snow.”

-        Observe the weather/sky and write it down.  Generalities are boring.  Take notes on observations so you remember them better later.

-        The key to description is selectivity.  In each sentence use at least one striking, provoking word.

-        Don’t be nice all the time.  Give them an image that’s hard to forget.  The truth is in the detail.

-        Choose the most powerful details during rewrites.  Also notice where details need to be added or strengthened.

-        http://www.amazon.com/Natural-History-Senses-Diane-Ackerman/dp/0679735666

-        Have a “commonplace” book—jot down phrases and words you read and like (look up “commonplace” website)

-        Scenes/mini-scenes: enter one way, exit another way.  Emotional transition during a scene. Important moment occurs within a scene.  “Telling” is the transition/summary between scenes.  Scene allows reader to experience the situation with the character.

SCWC: Making Sex Scenes Sexy

Needless to say, I was very eager to attend this one, lol >_<

Making Sex Scenes Sexy

-        pleasure is about sensory exploration, preserving memories

-        subjective—can be sexy to one but repulsive to another.  Write what’s appealing to you, because you’re never going to be able to write sex in a way that appeals to everyone.

-        ritualistic; admittance is key

-        Good sex is hard to come by.  “Sex and death go together.”  Can enliven us or undo us.  Can destroy the moment/story

-        What is the message you’re trying to get across from the scene?

-        Bad Sex Awards done by a British literary review

-        Small moments

-        Every adult is a sexual being and will respond to their sexuality differently throughout their lives

-        Important in helping define a character’s core

-        Anything can be made “sexy,” even if it’s not about sex.

-        What is the goal of the scene?  What the purpose of the characters getting together?

-        Does the sex serve to magnify the character’s personality or to expose something new (a truth/secret)?  Creating a bond, breaking a bond?

-        Don’t be too clinical or use too many euphemisms (“throbbing manhood”).  Keep the vocabulary in context with the character.  The language can be filthy if the characters are filthy/foul-mouthed anyway.

-        Submerse the reader/seduce them.  Don’t alienate them with out-of-character/context imagery/word choices.

-        Keep focus narrowed—focus on a single sensation, emotion, etc

-        Find relevant metaphors

-        Why is this happening?  Why is it important?  Make the emotional connections so the reader can relate.

-        It doesn’t take a lot to get the point across (less is sometimes more).

-        Why is it beautiful?  If it’s not meant to be beautiful, then why is it ugly?

-        Write for yourself, write honestly, don’t censor yourself.  It may end up being better than you expect.  You can always change it later if it doesn’t fit.

-        “Nastiness” is a reality.  People get nasty with each other.  There’s no reason to tame it down.