Baycon is still tasty

This is the second long post discussing writing panels that I attended at BayCon this year.

I attended the "Aspiring Writers Toolkit" panel with Maya Kaathryn Bohnoff, BookView Cafe (http://www.mysticfig.com/), Todd McCaffrey (http://pernhome.com/tjm/), Brandon Sanderson (http://www.brandonsanderson.com/) and Margaret McGaffey Fisk, Forward Motion (http://margaretmcgaffeyfisk.com/) as panelists. I 'm not sure what my expectations were for this panel. The con guide said that the panelists were going to discuss writing workshops (I've been considering going to one, although I'm not sure which one). I remember having the feeling that more would be discussed. I was right. I'll attempt to sensibly relay the info dump that ensued. If you have questions please comment and I'll try to clarify. I've been assured that this here interwebs goes two ways so I can answer you back.

Aspiring Writers Toolkit

On Workshops:

The first thing out of the panelists mouths was "go to Clarion". For those not in the know Clarion is a six week writing workshop for writers of science fiction and fantasy - yes, six weeks. If that sounds like boot camp, past attendees have told me that it is. If you google Clarion you will find a wealth of attendees' blogs discussing their experiences at Clarion. I like to read these because I want to know what they recommend to read and hear what they learned. Invariably, I find good stories to read as well.

Clarion West (Seattle): http://www.clarionwest.org/
Clarion (held at UCSD): http://literature.ucsd.edu/affiliated-programs/clarion/index.html
*Clarion South (Australia) - http://www.clarionsouth.org/  
*Unfortunately, Clarion South is on hold due to venue issues right now. I'm including the link to their website so that you can check out writing info on their website.*

Other recommended workshops were Odyssey and Viable Paradise.
Odyssey (Manchester, NH): http://www.sff.net/odyssey/
Viable Paradise (Martha's Vineyard): http://www.sff.net/paradise/

For those who like podcasts, Odyssey has free podcasts of some of their lectures available on iTunes - highly recommended! 

There was a short discussion of online writing resources like Holly Lisle's workshops and Critters (both were recommended).


On Feedback and Critique:


Brandon Sanderson - 

1. When giving critique, say what is working in a piece first.
2. When giving critique on a story avoid being proscriptive, be descriptive - explain how the piece made you feel, don't tell the author to change sentences or point of view, etc. It is up to the author to figure out how to respond to your statements on how the piece made you feel, giving criticism does not mean that you should tell an author how to "fix it".
3. When receiving feedback: don't defend or explain your piece, write descriptions of how the readers reacted during the critique - this can be invaluable when looking over their feedback later.
4. Look at feedback after you finish the draft you're on.

Maya Kaathryn Bohnoff - 

1. Make sure that you know sentence structure, the purpose of the different parts of sentences and understand basic grammar. 
2.  Don't be nice in your criticism, don't be mean. 
3. Telling an author 'I don't like X' doesn't give an author enough information to help them resolve a problem in the piece - be descriptive in your feedback. 

Todd McCaffrey -

1. You can over-workshop a story. Figure out when to stop workshopping a piece. 

Margaret McGaffey Fisk

1. If you over-workshop a story the initial spark will die. 
2. When critiquing, read the piece with the assumption that you will love it - this will affect your critique. 
3. Practice writing synopses - write one as part of your critique of a story. It will tell the author what you thought the story was as opposed to the one the author thinks they wrote.

Writing Groups and Beta Readers

Brandon Sanderson -

1. Writers groups are horrible at finding problems with pacing in books because they often read a chapter at a time. Beta readers are great at finding story issues like poor pacing because they read the whole thing together. He recommends that you use both for book feedback.
2. Don't let the group get stuck or emphasize small problems that can easily be fixed like spelling errors.
3. Don't workshop a piece until it's done - you may end up changing it to fix criticism and loose what made your story good.

Margaret McGaffey Fisk - 

1. Writing groups want a lot of information up front about a book because they are reading chapters separately. They want the information so that they have context for the chapters. This can be problematic because they may miss things like pacing problems or plot holes. 
2. Feedback summary notes from someone else at the critique can be helpful so that you don't miss something while you are listening to the critique comments.
3. Writers groups can get stuck on the "rules". The rules are things like don't start a book with a prologue, don't use flashbacks, etc. Be careful not to let the group get stuck on these - they're not written in stone.
4. Track changes and the different stages of critique on a story. 

Todd McCaffrey -

1. Keep old versions of stories. Don't torment yourself by reading them, but keep them for reference. Come up with a naming system for your files so that you know which ones are old versus latest.

Books/How-to's on writing

Maya Kaathryn Bohnoff -

1. Watch out for "How-to's". If a book lays out dogma, put it back. Everyone's process for writing is different.
2. Read professional writers books on writing (Lawrence Block and Stephen King).

Margaret McGaffey Fisk -

1. If a book on writing doesn't click put it down.
2. Check when the book was written - look for more current books as times change so does writing advice and information.

Brandon Sanderson -

1. Don't just read "How-to's" - write!
2. Try a book, if it doesn't work for you drop it and keep trying.

Book recommendations:

Todd McCaffrey -

• "Self Editing for Fiction Writers" - Renni Browne & Dave King
• "Save the Cat! The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need" by Blake Snyder - Todd said it was great for outlining.

Maya Kaathryn Bohnoff -

• "Writing Great Screenplays for Film and TV" by Donna Cooper
• "Danse Macabre" by Stephen King

All panelists recommended "On Writing" by Stephen King.

On Editors/Editing/Publishing

Maya Kaathryn Bohnoff -

1. Edit as well as you can before hiring a professional editor. Get a beta reader before hiring an editor.
2. It breaks Maya's heart when a writer doesn't want to learn craft and how to edit their work. If you hire a profesional editor try to learn from them how to edit.
3. Make sure to check an editors past work and references before you hire them!
4. There are two types of editors, freelance editors and instructional editors. Freelance editors fix the writing, instructional editors fix the writing and show you how to do these fixes yourself.
5. On book doctors: book doctors are often hired by people who just don't want to edit their work.
6. Be careful of what a freelance editor does to your story, it may not be what you want.
7. Don't pay someone to look at or publish your book. You shouldn't have to pay a publisher (self-publishing is different obviously). 
8. You shouldn't have to pay an agent - they take a percentage of sales.

Brandon Sanderson -

1. Watch out for scams involving book doctors who work for fake agencies. Watch out for scams period!
2. A reason to hire a book doctor would be to see what a professional editor would do with the book, other than that there isn't really a good reason to hire one.

General thoughts on writing


Maya Kaathryn Bohnoff -

1. Deadlines are great. If you don't have one, make one up. It will help you write more tightly.

Contests

Brandon Sanderson -

1. Be skeptical of contest fees. Check Writer Beware (http://www.sfwa.org/for-authors/writer-beware/) - it has info on scams.
2. Some genres do have contest fees - romance for example. Research a genre to see what is normal before you pay.

Todd McCaffrey -

1. Highly recommends that people enter the "Writers of the Future" contest - winners are well regarded (Todd was a judge this year).

That's the end of the panel comments. That was quite a bit of info for you to digest. I hope this was helpful. Again, if you have any questions please feel free to comment. Happy writing!

A bit of BayCon for writers - lean and crispy

BayCon was a few weeks ago and I've been trying to get this post done since then but alas and alack it didn't happen in a timely manner - apologies. I'm going to break this into two blog posts because there is a lot of information. Please enjoy part one.

During BayCon, I was able to go to a few writing panels and readings and meet up with some of the wonderful members of the Outer Alliance. I had a wonderful time. BayCon is held on the same weekend as WisCon, which is unfortunate for those who would like to go to both.

My first panel was Jay Hartlove's "So You Want to Write a Novel" panel on Saturday. Jay discussed getting publishing and gave a bunch of useful info in regards to getting a book written. He discussed getting his most recent book out, including some of the hoops he jumped through and choices he made regarding publishing before he went with Damnation Press (who he has been very happy with). You should go check out his book, it looks like a fun read - I'm always up for a good paranormal/horror. I've added it to my "to-read" list. Go check it out: "The Chosen" by Jay Hartlove

Jay gave us a handout with some words of wisdom on writing - the following bullets are from Jay Hartlove (http://jaywrites.com/) except those in italics, which are mine.

"Jay's Hartlove's Rules for Getting Things Done"

1. You don't need passion to express yourself. For that you need skill. You need passion to get excited enough about a project to sacrifice doing anything else with your time.
2. If an idea doesn't get you excited enough to see it through to fruit, then it probably isn't a good enough idea to spend your time on.
3. Until real inspiration strikes, do exercises to keep your skill honed & to keep yourself in the habit of being creative. Collect ideas that can be used to develop an actual project once one takes shape. 
4. Some projects aren't supposed to get finished. Many half-finished projects are better viewed as prototypes and exercises in skill building. Don't fret that they didn't get done, be glad they helped you prepare for when real inspiration hits.
5. Something is better than nothing. A blank page is daunting. Don't be afraid that you are going to start in the wrong place. Even if you later decide your start is garbage, you will have started. Which is better than not having started.
6. A nearly finished work can be as frightening as an un-started one. In both cases you are paralyzed by the fear that you are going to do the wrong thing next. You get over the finish-it fear the same as you do the start-it fear: you just do what next comes to mind, knowing that it is better to put down something you know you are going to change than to put down nothing at all. Because...
7. They are just words on paper that can always be changed. What matters is the story you are telling and the effect you are having on your reader, not the words you choose. Words are the tools and the medium, not the message. Focus on getting the message right. Yes, good prose matters. Dialogue that sounds appropriate to each different character matters. But these are all just words on paper and you can go back and change them later if you want to.
8. You know you're done writing when each time you go back to rethink a passage, you find you like the way you have it already written.
9. You know you've done your job when your critics no longer comment on whether you have successfully communicated your message. They may love or hate your message, but if you have made it clear, then you've done your job. You can now move on to the next project.

* Emphasis is Jay's

Other points that Jay made during his talk were:

• Have a clear mission statement - a one line synopsis of your story. The synopsis is not the moral of the story, it's an explanation of what happens.
• This one happens to me routinely: Don't put too many stories in your story. Pick which story you are telling and stick with it. Jay isn't saying that you can't have multiple story lines, however they should converge to tell one main story. 
• This is one I hadn't heard before: Write down every decision that you make for your story. If you decide that character A has an antagonistic relationship with his aunt and uncle - write it down along with your reasons for making this decision, so that you can stay on track or back track if you need to. I think I prefer to have character biographies and notes on plot, conflict, and setting instead of this. For me, comprehensive notes take care of the need to back track/stay on track around particular decisions but everyone has their way of doing things; maybe this is because I'm a pantser. Perhaps, I'll change my mind when I finally force myself to start outlining.
• The end - refer to your mission statement to figure out the ending. Have you fulfilled your mission statement?
• The hook - this means 'why this book'. A hook is what sets it apart from all the other books in the world and you need to know exactly what your hook is if you try to sell it to a publisher or get an agent.
• Agents - write and practice a thirty second elevator pitch for your book. An elevator pitch is a 'what would you say if you had 30 seconds to get an agent interested in your book' speech. Jay suggests that you refine this speech until it's a diamond that an agent can't resist.
• Jay discussed a blog post by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, in which she discusses how traditional publishing works, the effect self-publishing has had on the book industry and how all of this affects authors: The scarcity and abundance model. I highly recommend this article. It made a lot of things clear to me that I hadn't understood before about the publishing industry.

That is all for part one of my post, post BayCon info dump. Please stay tuned tomorrow for part deux - Baycon is still tasty.

FogCon and writing

It's been eons since I went to a con. Last minute I decided to head on over to FogCon (www.fogcon.org). I was only able to attend for one day but it was worth the drive out to Walnut Creek to meet some fabulous people and learn some good stuff. Read on and benefit my dearies.

I hit part of the Occupy SF/F panel, Nalo Hopkinson's very fun & interactive presentation on children's games with Ellen Klages, an informative and supportive panel titled "You are Not Your Rejection Slips" and a panel on body image.

I have to say the "You are Not Your Rejection Slips" panel gave me warm fuzzies. It was nice to be in a room with other people who were writing which doesn't happen as often as I wish (I'm on hiatus from my writing group this semester). Hearing other writers talk about writing is like suddenly finding yourself in group therapy with other crazy people who don't think you are completely irredeemable while every non-writer acts as if you are, even if they love you. Non-writers do not want to hear about your plots, characterization, story arcs, your whinging, complaining and confusion because the words are acting differently on the page than the vision that is in your head and all of the myriad other writing blah-blah-blah's that our friends, loved ones, coworkers and therapists get deluged with. I'm guessing that it can be boring.
*My wife is now kindly and very firmly confirming that it can be boring.*
I don't blame her. I find it boring to listen to people obsess when I have no interest in their obsession. Seemingly, all most people who write become a bit obsessive over it. It's because it is so freaking hard to get it right! Well, it is for me, maybe it's easy for you but it's my blog dammit so I get to say it's hard for me.

Being in a roomful of writers was empowering. We were united in trying to get published, all of us were frustrated, disheartened and confused - strength in masses. The panel moderator was Cassie Alexander. The editors were John Joseph Adams (Lightspeed), Gabrielle Harbowy (Dragon Moon Press, http://www.gabrielle-edits.com/), and Christie Yant (Lightspeed). Cassie asked the editors one question that I have wondered about many times. Do editors actually read stories submitted by an author who has submitted previously and been rejected? The answer from JJA (John Joseph Adams) was yes, Lightspeed will read stories from people that have submitted hundreds of times even if they have rejected them previously. He said he always hopes that this story is the one that he gets to publish (it's happened several times before) and that as far as he was aware all editors of publications did. By the way JJA seemed like a genuinely nice guy. He went out of his way to say kind and supportive things. I'm sure he wouldn't accept a story if he didn't like it but I think that he tries to be fair and as considerate as possible about our babies that we throw to the wolves of possible rejection, which is really all I ask. Also, all of the editors on the panel said that they have had to reject well known authors - it really is about the piece, not the authors name. I imagine that that could sting for a published author. Rejection sucks for everyone regardless of experience.


Anyway, I've never submitted to Lightspeed but now I will as well as other markets. It was a great pleasure to meet Rachel Swirsky (seriously, a very nice person who was wonderfully informative and kind to this newbie) who told me about Ralan for spec fic markets (http://www.ralan.com/) and of course Duotrope (http://duotrope.com/) which is an amazing resource for finding markets for all kinds of writing. Duotrope is where I've found places to send poetry and literary fiction as well as spec fic. If you use Ralan or Duotrope to find markets please consider sending them a few bucks so that they can continue to help other writers. They spend a lot of time helping us, so give back please.

I had the great pleasure of getting to hangout with Charlie Jane Anders who did the best karaoke version of What is Hip? by Tower of Power that I have ever and probably will, ever see. It was epic.
It was also wonderful to get to meet Lisa Eckstein (http://www.lisaeckstein.com/), Juliette Wade (http://talktoyouniverse.blogspot.com/), Naamen Tilahun (http://naamenblog.wordpress.com/), Laurie Toby Edison (Body Impolitic: http://laurietobyedison.com/discuss/), Debbie Notkin, and Keffy Kehrli (http://kehrli.livejournal.com/) and the many, many other folks who I didn't get cards or info from but all of whom were full of the curiosity, kindness, imagination and intellectual force that make sci fi and fantasy conventions ridiculously fun.