Flying Home today from WriterCon.
How do I describe what we gained from attending WriterCon?
Of course there were great seminars, keynotes, roundtables, scheduled pitch sessions, one-on-ones, and book signings . But there was something more that I feel every time I attend one of these wonderful conferences. A sense of family, of spending time with your tribe. Everyone here is a writer, whether just getting started, a little way along the path, self-published, professionally published, award winning, best selling, or world reknowned.
Everyone here really enjoys talking about writing. And everyone learns things. I want to capture few short sentences from the talks that I heard that resonated with me above all else (in the order in which I heard them). These were my key take aways:
“Books matter… You can’t fail if you don’t give up.” - Bill Bernhardt
“Good characters are people you want to spend time with, that you care about.” - Lara Bernhardt
“A good character cannot be defined as one thing.” - Lara Bernhardt
“In good mystery, the reader is as clueless as the detective.” - Mary Coley
“All mysteries have four elements, but a great mystery has two more... the first four are Character, Setting, Struggle, and Pursuit... The other two are Pivot and Pay-off…The Pivot must be unexpected but inevitable… The Payoff rewards the reader with what they want… and speaks a truth about the world.” - Steven James
“If you are writing a series you must have a Series Bible… To keep things straight… To keep things in order. Have fun with your series: allow your characters to age and mature… have previous characters pop up later… Each book must be able to stand on its own.” - Callie Hutton
“When I say Universal Dreams, I’m talking about emotional experiences everyone has experienced… Need to tap into the exhilaration of getting your dream and the despair of failing to…” - Bill Bernhardt
“The Imposter Syndrome results when are unable to internalize success… Thank you is a complete sentence that never requires a but… Your mistakes don’t define you… Confidence comes from doing/acting… don’t wait until you feel confident to act.” - Betsey Kulakowski
“Plot informs story and character informs plot… Don’t write a Chuck Cunningham character who goes upstairs one night and never returns to Happy Days… A good ending for an ensemble cast is emotional closure for all major characters, even if it’s in the epilogue or post credits scene… Final Draft is the industry standard for screenwriters.” - Jon Meyers
“Great editing can elevate your manuscript to an irresistible reading experience.” - Lara Bernhardt
“Good habits can be as inhibiting as bad… Writing is an interactive process… You don’t want to become an author if you don’t want to read your book seventy-five times… You are a translator for your reader… Simply being oneself brings about power often lost in the rush to be something else… If you, the writer, have settled into being yourself, you no longer go on comparing yourself to others, but can appreciate them for their skills and learn.” - Ken Andrus
“Tension arises from characters with mutually exclusive goals…Suspense derives from the knowledge that something is going to happen, but you don’t know when or how… Suspense is part of promise-keeping… Make sure to keep your reader in suspense and not from suspense… Many things keep a scene from being flat and make you want to turn the page: Curiosity (intellectual); Concern (visceral); Anticipation (looking forward to something); Enjoyment (writing is so good you can’t stop); Obligation (feel like you have to clean your plate). The last is a bad reason to turn the next page… Avoid de-escalation of suspense… Milk the tension between Promise and Payoff with WASP: Worry, Apprehension, Stillness and Peril… Can use a tired trope like “Don’t trust anybody” to allow readers to think they’ve figured things out and then surprise them… It is always better to have an honest ending than a happy ending.” - Robert Dugoni
“Theme is a question posed but not answered… It is found in your story, but between the lines… It’s not what you say, it’s what you suggest your reader think about.” - Rick Ludwig
I truly hope you found these take home messages as thought provoking as I did. There were many more, but there were times I was so enthralled by thinking about what was said that I didn’t take notes
Bill and Lara Bernhardt, relaxing at Karaoke after their talks.
Robert Dugoni giving one of his talks
Steven James giving one of his talks.
Rick Ludwig giving his talk. I couldn’t let you think I had nothing memorable to say.
About the pictures:
The top image was taken during Karaoke night. The second and third images were taken in the Grand Ballroom, I believe (but I could be wrong). The bottom image is me giving my talk in the Generator Room.