Here I am at the Southern California
Writers Conference in San Diego for the weekend. I ventured out of
the hotel this evening looking for some dinner, using my GPS to drive
to an unfamiliar location. Not only was it dark and scary, but then
thick fog rolled in off the ocean. I crept along and finally found
Souplantation when it began to rain.
I'm exaggerating only a little. People
were dancing naked in the streets to welcome the rain. We're in the
middle of a 500-year drought here in California, folks. It was a joyful end to the
first day of the conference.
This is what is called a craft
conference, the how to mechanics of writing well, publishing, and
marketing your work. Janis Thomas wrote two books of women's fiction
(and now they won't publish her murder mystery because it would be
“brand confusion” for the reader). She was an entertaining
evening speaker. There's more new writers here than old hacks like
myself.
Now what happens next on the program is the “Rogue”
sessions that take place far into the night. Writers distribute a few pages for
critique. The secret hope is that every listener will say, “I love
it. It's brilliant. I wouldn't change a word.” That doesn't happen
in my experience. Some listeners will have incisive, helpful
criticism. Others will say a few words about what they heard and then
talk about their own work. Others will be vague and inarticulate, and
maddening to listen to. We all learn something nonetheless, even if it's clearly what not to do.
When I was very new I distributed a sweet story that I was proud of for critique. This man screamed at me, "Where are the cocks and balls in this story?" Now what on earth do you say to that? I think I was so new that big tears came to my eyes and I blubbed like a baby.
I'd love to include a
photo of all the goings on at the conference. But I spilled coffee on
my camera last week and jumped up to get the blue and red can of
compressed air to blow the coffee away. Instead I grabbed the blue
and yellow can of WD-40 and squirted it into the camera.
That managed to kill it pretty good and dead.
_________
You might like to see enthusiastic reviews for my new murder mystery: On Behalf of the Family
_________
You might like to see enthusiastic reviews for my new murder mystery: On Behalf of the Family
4 comments:
Mar--
After the rain, forgetting the cocks and balls, getting your camera wet and then destroying it, I think you can safely assume there's nowhere to go but up.
Critiques by people with axes to grind have destroyed fledgling writers' confidence and I've known several who quit writing entirely. I attended writers conferences before online computer groups, where I made new friends and gained two mentors, but I didn't learn much from the programs.
I'm tough as old boots now about receiving critique and try not to get myself into situations where I'm offering critique to new writers. Fantastic session this morning on social media. I actually enjoy Facebook and Twitter because I spend so much time alone.
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