What I Gained at a Writer's Conference



Writers usually come away from any writer's conference pumped to implement what they have learned. My experience at the LDStorymaker Conference 2014 takes no exception and I'll give tips from that next week. But knowledge is not the biggest thing I gained this year. It wasn't the author-signed books I bought or conference swag like this cool pen. The biggest thing to pump me up was the people-connections.

Melissa and Rich from my former Face-to-Face Crit Group
 

New on-line critique group meets for first time.

Perhaps my most treasured moments stem from the lack of face-to-face contact I've had with writers since moving to California. What matters most? Those real, live characters in the stories of our lives. People. 

Another missed Crit Group friend, Angela.

Kathleen inspired me to start this blog.








Internal Dialogue and Italics Usage

I'm working with a new critique group and, of course, we are getting used to one another's styles, etc. The question of using italics for showing a character's thoughts has popped up.

I liked this article by Marg McAlister. Her Writing4Success.com site is the new-to-me blog of the week. You can easily find something on any writing topic. 

In my own writing sample, see if you can tell which are Karlinah's thoughts (without italics or 'she thought' tags):
She was proud of them for this noble deed and yet the question remained in her heart: Who, if any of these men, would have to die to honor their covenant? Karlinah knew that this covenant would be repeated in all seven of the cities of believers. Of a surety the Lamanites would come against them--their preparations promised this. Would they come to the land of Ishmael? How much longer could they stay here and not be in danger? Would death extend to women and children? Her bottom lip disappeared into her mouth.

Was it clear to you? If you answered "yes", then there is no need for me to clutter the text with italics. Her thoughts flowed smoothly alongside the narrative. If you answered "no", let's put that visual clue in and see if you like it better.
She was proud of them for this noble deed and yet the question remained in her heart, Who, if any of these men, would have to die to honor their covenant? Karlinah knew that this covenant would be repeated in all seven of the cities of believers. Of a surety the Lamanites would come against them--their preparations promised this. Would they come to the land of Ishmael? How much longer could they stay here and not be in danger? Would death extend to women and children? Her bottom lip disappeared into her mouth.

To many, italics can be distracting if emphasis in not needed--especially if there is a lot of internal dialogue. Marg McAlister says, "The single most effective way to show what your characters are thinking is to blend their thoughts into the narrative flow. Instead of moving into the present tense, stay in the past tense." I think I got the blending part down, but staying in the past tense is tricky in this case because my character is thinking of the future in a conditional tense. 

Another article stated that internal monologue should be stated in present tense because we usually think in the present. McAlister includes an example in present tense in her article. Would you do anything different in the above example? It can get confusing. I guess the main thing is to make it smooth and understood. Thank goodness for editors. 

Bolder, Better People-Connections at Conferences

A couple days ago I opened the fortune cookie that came with my meal and read:

 Pretty generic, but decent advice. I want to apply it to something I am definitely enthusiastic about:



This is probably the only writer's conference I will attend this year and it's less than two weeks away! Excitement is building. Enthusiasm--check. But boldness?

I remember the first conference I attended. I carpooled with a friend, we went separate ways for classes, but met up again for meals. She introduced me to a few of her conference friends and I had a great time. In contrast, I attended a smaller conference not long afterward, expecting a similar experience. While the workshops were great, I found myself at a lunch table with equally reserved novice writers. There was more eating than conversing. My next experiences went better and I want this time to be my best yet. But it will take a mindset of boldness. For most writers, being bold takes planning.

Things I plan to do to make better people connections at my next writer's conference:
1. Smile. Be friendly. Say hello. 
2. Write out and practice a couple of elevator pitches to answer the ever-present "What do you write?" and "Tell me about your book" questions.
3. Be on the lookout for and reconnect with old friends.
4. Sit close to the front when that is an option.
5. Introduce myself to my publishing company's rep.
6. Prepare something for a future blog post and ask people to participate or guest post, etc.

That gives me some good things to shoot for. Now let's see if I can walk the walk.

Chapter and Plot Summary

     I was asked to submit a Plot Summary and a Chapter by Chapter Summary for The Seventh City. Oh, joy. Not one, but two dreaded tasks. Gearing up for the job, I reminded myself that this is a required step toward progress. Getting into the proper mood for writing is a good tip. You don't want a bad attitude to seep into your author voice. Relax and ignore the time factor for now. Don't waste time stewing over it--just dive in. That's the best way to overcome a lot of dreaded tasks.
     I started with the one that seemed easiest. The chapter content was a good way to review all the events in the book for the plot summary. Here's how I did it. I started reading the first paragraph of the chapter until the recognition kicked in. I clicked on each page so I could scan for anything I didn't remember was in that scene and how long the scene ran. I read the last sentence to remind me of the overall arc of the scene before I jotted a sentence or two in my notebook. Each page was checked so that no scene was skipped. 
     I'm now in the process of rewriting those main events with tighter sentences, using exciting verbs, and thinking of the scene arc or the most important piece of information. Keep it within the publisher's requirements.
     Next will be the entire book synopsis. This requires further tightening since the whole book is condensed into one or two pages. I need to ignore subplots, secondary characters and focus, focus, focus. In getting ready for this task I studied this post by Susan Dennard. She suggests a fill-in-the-blank worksheet similar to the hero's journey and then connecting the events so that it flows. Use only 3 characters and refer to them by their role rather than their names, Dennard says. I'm hoping this process will be easier after doing each chapter. Wish me luck! 
     What are you working on?