Workshops: Not Just For the Un-Published

I recently overheard a writer chatting to a friend about how one day when they get published, they won't have to attend all these conferences and workshops anymore.  To say that I didn't have this same thought when I first started writing would be lying.  I remember my first conference as a fantastic affair.  Still, you feel like a little fish in a very, very big pond especially when your value is rated by the word "published" in front of "writer".  I fathomed that once one reached the level of "published", it meant you should be the one lecturing at speaking engagements and not sitting in the audience engaging the speakers. 

But from these conferences and workshops, I grew to know many great writers, some published, some not who continue to attend these functions not just to meet publishers but to keep their skills fresh and to gleam ideas and perspectives they might otherwise miss holed up in their offices typing away. 

Novel Gurus Weekend Retreat
Duncan Conference Center

Workshops are especially helpful to published writers looking to write in a different age category or genre.  Where a writer's work may be stellar in middle grade, they may need new tricks of the trade and a fresh perspective to add spice to their foray into YA.


The last conference that I went to was SCBWI's LA conference which was a great event with round the clock speakers, activities and meet ups with old friends and new.  But the ones that really hit home for me, that I learned the most from as a writer were the more intimate workshops and smaller affairs.  The ones that offered opportunities for on the spot critique groups and small group presentations and work sessions. 

Which is why I'm very excited about two upcoming events. The first is Free Expressions Your Best Book workshop which is taking place in Charlotte, North Carolina starting this Friday.  This workshop offers an intimate setting for a small group of writers to learn from each other, to focus on their craft and projects and to meet with and listen to top agents, publishers and writers....for a week!  

The second is the Novel Gurus Weekend Retreat to be held in Delray Beach, Florida, March 1-3, 2013 where you get the opportunity to spend the weekend with two top publishers and freelance editor extraordinaire Lorin Oberweger.  The best part about this?  There's only room for 20 attendees!

Not everyone can afford to or have the luxury of attending all these workshop opportunities but for those who are published and think these aren't for them, I would say, think again, you just might find that it's more beneficial than you think. 

Writer's Resource: Magical Places Tumblr

Do you write fantasy or science-fiction? If you do, you'll definitely want to check out this Magical Places Tumblr the next time you're creating settings or fleshing-out anemic ones. There are an unbelievable number of amazing shots. A few story ideas popped into my head just from scrolling through the page!

Here's a screenshot:

I wasn't really sure what Tumblr was prior to stumbling upon this page, so I looked it up. The short explanation is that it's a place for people to set up short blogs (officially called "tumblelogs," although most people seem to just call it "my Tumblr.").

Users can post things directly to their Tumblr, much like Twitter or Facebook, without having to go through another interface. Most Tumblr users appear to favor photographs, which leads to amazing sites like this one.

If you'd like to read more about Tumblr, there's a good explanation here: What the Hell is Tumblr?. You can also go to Tumblr.com to set up your own.

The Genius of TED

I happen to be in love with TED (the lecture series not the profane stuffed bear). Especially when I'm procrastinating. Especially when I get to hear talks about how to whip up a great story, or what it's like to be a teenager. Here are a few of my faves for the next time you want to be inspired:

Pixar genius Andrew Stanton talking about the clues to a great story: http://www.ted.com/talks/andrew_stanton_the_clues_to_a_great_story.html

Neuroscientist Sarah-Jayne Blakemore on the development of the teenage brain:
http://www.ted.com/talks/sarah_jayne_blakemore_the_mysterious_workings_of_the_adolescent_brain.html

THE Amy Tan talks about where creativity resides by saying brilliant things like "We all hate moral ambiguity in some sense, and yet it is absolutely necessary. In writing a story, it is the place where I begin." : http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_tan_on_creativity.html?quote=287

Wish I could've seen all of those live, but did get to attend a local TED x event.
If there's one near you, you may want to check it out!

Writer's Resource: Synopsis Help and Links

According to Writer's Digest, a synopsis "supplies key information about your novel (plot, theme, characterization, setting), while also showing how these coalesce to form the big picture. Quickly tell what your novel is about without making the editor or agent read the novel in its entirety."

It sounds so easy when they say it.

If you think summarizing a 300-page novel while maintaining voice, keeping the writing engaging, and putting in enough information (but not too much!) to see how all the pieces of the plot go together sounds like about as much fun as a root canal, you're not alone.

Oh, and did I mention agents and editors often want the synopsis to be no more than 1-2 pages?

If you start looking like the dude in the picture at the very thought, read on for a few handy tips and sites that might help make the synopsis-writing process more bearable.

First of all, it's very smart to have two versions of your synopsis, a long one (4-7 pages is safe) and a short one (1-2 pages). In my experience, most agents are busy these days and want the short one, but I have had a few ask for the one with the most detail.

Most advice will tell you to write the long synopsis first and then condense that to get your short one, but I found exactly the opposite worked for me. Once I had the short one together, it was a snap to add details, characters, and plot points to flesh out the long one.

Here is the absolute best site I've ever found for writing a short synopsis: http://www.publishingcrawl.com/2012/04/17/how-to-write-a-1-page-synopsis/. Susan Dennard gives you a worksheet with specific questions and uses Star Wars as an example as she walks you through each step. I cannot recommend this method highly enough. I've now sent this link to a half-dozen writers, and each person has commented on the simplicity and effectiveness of this method.

A few other sites you might find useful:

http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2007/08/how-to-write-synopsis.html

http://www.writersdigest.com/writing-articles/by-writing-goal/get-published-sell-my-work/your-guide-to-an-effective-novel-synopsis

http://writerunboxed.com/2008/01/15/writing-the-synopsis/

Here's a good resource for trimming a synopsis that's too long (a common problem!):

http://storysensei.blogspot.com/2009/05/tips-to-trim-synopsis.html

Good luck with your synopsis, and feel free to ask questions in the comments!

Why I Read Banned Books to Try to be More Christ-Like

WARNING: This is the rant of ONE religious blog member who can’t resist giving her own slant on the need for a Banned Books Week on the blog. Enter at your own risk. I promise this is probably the only religious post I'll do.

As someone known for being book-obsessed, many of my religious friends often come to me regularly to ask what they should read/have their kids read. Most of the time, they’ll include a qualifier, though. They don’t want to read anything that isn’t “clean” and “uplifting” and then rattle off a list of offending titles that do not fit the bill.

Hmmmmm. That list of offending titles often reads an awful lot like the list of books I would’ve just recommended.

 And so the dilemma. What to say? While this isn’t usually what I do say, it’s what I always want to say: “Depends. If you want to be more Christian, I’d start with one of the ones on that list. I have an extra copy of Catcher in the Rye, if you'd like.” Smile.

The reasoning: Now, I’m definitely not saying that every book that isn’t “clean” is worth reading. Personally, I don’t see any value in wasting my time to read porn, bad-writing, and all shades of gray, and the like, but the classics? Works of tremendous literary merit that show the depth of the human experience? Works that in an attempt to show us humanity at its most honest may include things like rape, violence, sex, swearing, etc.? How is that not worth reading???

I think this point was driven home best for me one lazy summer afternoon at Book Passage bookshop. I’d just listened to the brilliant Isabelle Allende and had asked her to sign my copy of The House of the Spirits, a book I teach. She remarked that many schools had banned it and chuckled, and then went on to talk about (or at least this is how I remember it) how interesting she thought it was that so many parents fought so desperately to stop their children from seeing what it would’ve been like to have been born in other, less lucky, more violent circumstances.

I got to thinking. The book is a magical re-telling influenced by the stories of her family. Her cousin once-removed, Salvador Allende, was violently overthrown and she includes all of the fallout that brings as well as other family traumas that her own family may very well have experienced. And yet, her life, the one she may have experienced as an innocent child, was too dirty for the other kids to see. Wouldn’t want them sullied too. Wouldn’t dare to want the clean kids to do something terrible like learn to empathize at a time (teen years) when a brain is literally wired to develop empathy. Nope. Let those unlucky kids suffer alone. Poor suckers. Totally what Jesus embodied.

Or not.

While there are many aspects of the Christ-figure I love like the model for re-birth, strength-in-kindness, etc., the one I love most is that Christ is the perfect model of empathy. In the Bible He suffers everyone’s sins for redemption, and in doing so, it makes Him uniquely qualified to give comfort at man’s lowest moments, having literally experiencing the same pain. And one of the most unbearable aspects of suffering is the loneliness that often accompanies it. Isn’t it?

So I think that I would like to do a little of that, too, but unfortunately, I haven’t experienced everything. There are a lot of dark places my loved ones have spent time in that I can’t even fathom. Or at least not without the help of books. And sure, I don’t need to go there. I can stay peaceful and clean. But that’s not what Jesus did. Jesus chose to experience all of the pains this world can heap on man. And I think He wanted me to follow suit, and so he gave us books. Great and powerful sometimes un-clean books.

Books that even talk about rape (just ask David’s daughter Tamar) or violence (Abel might be able to comment on this one), sex (oh David!) and the like. BTW my examples aren’t even past 2 Samuel in one of the greatest banned books ever written.

And it gets even better because talented people keep writing books that honestly portray and grapple with these issues in modern ways that make them applicable to today's special ills. How awesome it that!

So, yeah. I’ll admit it. I'm going to keep reading/recommending banned books from The Bible to Catcher in the Rye to The House of the Spirits to To Kill a Mockingbird, to I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, to Speak and more and more, and in each uncomfortable moment I’m hoping to develop more of one of Jesus's best traits: to be the kind of person who is prepared for the next time one of students or friends needs to feel just a little less alone.