Light in the Darkness

Today I'm going to take a break from posting my thoughts on the LTUE Symposium to provide an update on my writing efforts. Thanks to a friend who lives nearby I was able to have a professional editor take a look at the first novel in my Nedaran series. The feedback that I received today was amazing - filled with hope, fantastic revelations and great ideas.

So how do I feel about it...honestly...overwhelmed. It was incredibly worth it to go to a professional editor for feedback. Now that I have that feedback I see months more of work ahead of me and feel a little daunted about the task ahead. The editor said that I am imaginative and a storyteller with great writing mechanics. She loved several of my characters, and plot ideas. She just recommends that I flush out a few of my characters more so that it is easier for the reader to fall in love (or hate as the case may be) easier. She even pointed out certain smaller details that will immensely improve on my story once resolved. I LOVE IT!!!! After what I have learned this morning I’m eager to get moving on the story and to overcome any hurdles that lay ahead.

My one writer’s tip for the day is this………get feedback on your story. It is vital for a good writer to have friends and strangers read your words. As mentioned in some of the LTUE notes, the reader is the author’s partner in making a story come alive. If you want to make sure that your story does just that, then it is important that you have someone other than you read your story and provide feedback. If it is within your power (and finances) I would even recommend having a professional editor read it prior to you submitting it to agents. That way you can identify any kinks, weak spots, etc., and get them worked out in advance. This will allow the true light of your story to shine forth in the darkness and amaze any agent who reads it.

Good luck and don’t give up hope!

LTUE - Creative Reading

Last Saturday, while at the LTUE Symposium author Tracy Hickman spoke on Creative Reading. His keynote address was so amazing and touching that he received a standing ovation. Below are a few of my notes from his speach. I hope you find it helpful in creating a meaningful experience with those who will read your works.


Creative Reading
Key Note Speaker: Tracy Hickman

- Story is meaning - The author should see the reader as his/her partner in creating meaning and experience within the story. Let the reader see, smell, feel, time things, and imagine characters without necessarily having to write the words on the page.

Principle #1

No Book Lives Until It Is Read

- Literature is an art form where the final performance takes place while the original artist is not present

and

- the meaningful experience in all literature takes place in the white space between words.

- It is the reader that creates the meaningful experience

Principle #2

The Lord Is In The Still Small Voice

- The Spirit speaks to us from between the words

Principle #3

We Are Changed By What We Read

- Change is the only constant and what we experience cannot help but change us in turn.

So remember, that the READER is the author's partner in meaningful creation. As a result, who knows what words are in you that will change someone's life.


I don't feel like I really did justice to Tracy Hickman's thoughts during his key note address. Each prinicple was elaborated on by examples and stories that I did not feel I could mention here as they are his personal stories. If he wants them shared with you I'm sure he will tell you one day in person.

Overall, the point he was trying to make, is that when a reader picks up your book to read your words come alive for that reader. More than words though, the reader will usually see an image in their mind and will create and add details to that image in their mind that were never written on paper. So everyone who picks up your book could easily have a different experience from your story than anyone else has. The story becomes personal to them. They may like it...they may hate it...but they have taken it within them and have made it their own.


I hope this clarifies my notes. Feel free to let me know if you are confused or if you have any questions with any of my notes from this year's "The Life, the Universe and Everything" Symposium. Until then, keep on writing and never give up hope.

LTUE - Current Trends + The Problem With Writing Sequels

Saturday's discussions at the LTUE Symposium were filled to the brim with interesting tidbits of information to help the aspiring author to improve their skills as a writer and to achieve their dreams. I hope that passing on my notes from those discussions will help inspire you to continue on in your dream as well.
Good Luck!

Current Trends in Fantasy & SF
Panel Discussion with:L.E. Modesitt Jr., Brandon Sanderson, David Farland, Eric James Stone

- YA Fantasy is overwhelmed at this time and many published are booked out for three years in advance.
- Editors/Agents are eager to find strong science fiction to balance out the large amount of fantasy forthcoming.
- No matter what the current trend literature is in a state of constant flux. Two years ago Vampire books were considered dead...now look at Stephanie Meyers.
- It is important to write from your heart and what you want to read. If a book is written well and the story is compelling, then it won't matter what the current trend is.
- Slipstream literature is literature that fuses several genres within one story.
- Currently there is a lot of crossover between YA and Adult Fantasy.
- An average agent/editor can tell you what is currently selling. A first rate agent/editor can tell you what will sell that hasn't sold yet.


The Problem with Writing Sequels
Panel discussion with: James Dashner, David Farland, Paul Genesse, mette Ivie Harrison, Laura Hickman, L.E. Modesitt Jr., and Brandon Sanderson

- Sequals are easier to write in that you already know the characters, but harder in determining what information to repeat in order to remind the reader what went on in the first book without boring them with too many details. - A sequel also gives you a chance to help the reader fall in love with your characters even more. How do you keep a sequel fresh?

 - Use different characters (i.e. build up one of the minor characters from an earlier book or introduce a new character)

 - Use a different cultural background

 - Use a different setting

 - Introduce bigger/more difficult problems that force the characters to grow

LTUE Symposium - 3 Things You Must Learn to Write Killer Stories

This last weekend I had the chance to attend the "Life, the Universe & Everything: The Marion K. “Doc” Smith Symposium on Science Fiction and Fantasy" held at Brigham Young University in Provo, UT. I was unable to attend the full three days of the symposium, but loved every minute that I did catch. For anyone interested I will post what I learned at the symposium a lit bit each day:

“3 Things You Must Learn to Write Killer Stories” workshop by John Brown

(Note: I did not realize this was a two our workshop. As such, I didn't show up until it was half over. I will still pass on what I did learn while I was there.)

- Identify generally what I I'm doing with the story - There are five things to keep in mind with a story 1) Plot 2) Problem 3) Setting 4) Character 5) Text - Figure out how all those parts fit together - Creativity is - you have a problem and you come up with a solution
So how do you get started developing a story:

Part 1: Gather Material

- Always be looking for material.  You must feed your beast.  Look for "zings" that attract, whether they might make a good plot idea, character idea, etc, and write them down in a "zing" file to look at later.  

Warning: You must have zings in all five areas to have a good story.

Part 2: Ask Questions

- Look at material and write down what your first thoughts are when you focus on a particular "zing"

- Develop those initial thoughts

Prinicples to help you stay in the writing mode:

#1 - Make enough time.

- 10 hours minimum per week would be best.  Find any moment you can to do something related to writing.  To make the time inbetween your work sessions try to write down a question you need to think about and keep it with throughout the day.  Pull it out when you get a chance to remind yourself of the question.  If you come up with the answer to the question at any point immediately write it down so that you can look at it again during your next writing session.

#2 - Follow your "zing"

- If you find a great zing, then play with it, mess with it and develope it until you've exhausted it.

#3 - Practice "Farmer's Faith"

- Throw all the crap you can on the garden of you mind and have faith that something will grow from it.

#4 - Writer's Block is a gift (it is your "spidey sense")

- When you get writer's block your mind is trying to tell you one of four things:

- Your out of material

- You know what to write, but you don't want to write it

- You have "perfection" stress

- You're overwhelmed and need to try and break your work up into baby 

steps

#5 - Keep yourself on the move

- Make a decision, get out, and move

Excercises to help you in your writing (a.k.a. 10-20s)
These excercises should help you to identify patterns of things that interest you in order to help improve your writing:

1) write 10-20 story ideas
2) figure out 10-20 problems that would be good in a story
3) go through 10-20 cycles of writing down a problem and figuring out how to resolve it
4) determine 10-20 people in life that I'm drawn to and write down what draws me to them
5) determine 10-20 things or actions that cause me to root against someone
6) write down 10-20 "zings"
7) be on the lookout for story questions (i.e.  why would my character act that way?)
8) work on writing or writing related activities 10-20 hours per week 

That's it for today ladies and gentlemen. Keep an eye out for the next installment of fabulous knowledge gained at the LTUE tomorrow.

Updates, Contests and Symposiums

Hello World -
It's a new month and new hope is out on the horizon. Thanks to an awesome fellow aspiring author the first book in my fantasy series The Nedaran Prophecy will get a once over by a professional editor. I am SO excited and am eager to hear their suggestions.


In the meantime, I need to pass on information in regards to a fabulous contest that fellow author Anne Bradshaw is hosting on her blog. On a regular basis Anne holds contests with fabulous prizes. You should really check out her blog and while there don't forget to poke around and learn more about this amazing woman and the stuff she writes, including her upcoming book Famous Family Nights releasing later this year.
To find out more details about this week's contest and rules go to:

Not Entirely British: CONTEST - for Soothing and Uplifting CD


Also, if you live in Utah or will be visiting Utah the week of February 16th and are an aspiring author you should consider attending

"the Life, the Universe & Everything: The Marion K. “Doc” Smith Symposium on Science Fiction and Fantasy"

that will be held at BYU in Provo, UT February 19-21, 2009. For more information on the symposium and who the visiting authors will be please check out the following link:

http://ltue.byu.edu/2009Home.html