Inspiring.
Educational. Challenging. These are the words I keep using when I tell friends
about last weekend’s Willamette Writers Conference held here in Portland.
As a child might
look forward to a trip to Disneyland, so I spent weeks looking forward to the
conference. I wasn’t disappointed. It was an E-ticket ride. Over the course of
the three days I attended eleven workshops that were taught by talented authors
from all genres. I’ll confess I was occasionally a little star struck. Though
most attendees were also pitching to editors and agents I didn’t feel ready for
that quite yet. This was my first WW conference, and I wanted to get the lie of
land this time, and soak up as much as possible at the workshops.
I’ve put
together a list of a dozen things I either learned or had reiterated at the
conference. I say reiterated because sometimes we need to hear things several
times, in several different ways before it truly sinks in and becomes a
permanent part of our writer’s toolbox. At least it’s that way for me! [Of the eleven workshops I attended,
five were on YA writing, so several of the lessons learned are specific to that
age group. Bracketed names are the presenters.]
1.
Your reader must vicariously experience what
your characters are experiencing. They have to be in the story—feeling
everything the characters are feeling. (This is especially true for YA.) Use
sensory detail to bring the reader into the scene—the brain won’t know it isn’t
really living it. And for your reader to
be in the body of the character first you, the writer, must experience it. The
writer must be in that moment in time, right along with the character.
[Jennifer Lauck and Pamela Smith Hill]
2.
A great story isn’t just about something—a great
story is about something HAPPENING. [Larry Brooks]
3.
Your Big Dramatic Question must be COMPELLING
and the reader’s need for the answer IRRESISTIBLE. Think: will Katniss survive
the Hunger Games? [Larry Brooks]
4.
YA should be stripped down to the essentials:
emotion and action. Also, you should be aiming to write like Hemingway, not
Faulkner. [Christine Fletcher]
5.
In YA make sure your characters are acting like
teens, NOT miniature adults. They should feel passionately about how things
affect them. Teens feel passionately. [Christine Fletcher]
6.
Torture your character. Conflict conflict
conflict. Raise the stakes. Make sure there’s tension on every page. Throw
obstacles at your character…constantly. Throw your characters to the wolves!
[Everyone, every workshop]
7.
YA shouldn’t contain heavy-handed messages, no
Afternoon Special messages. Sam Goldwyn said, “If you want to send a message,
call Western Union.” Remember you are
telling a story, not indoctrinating. [Christine Fletcher]
8.
When writing dialogue, keep in mind that people
rarely say what they are exactly thinking. We tend to talk around the topic—YA
author Bill Konigsberg calls this Off Topic dialogue and using it in your
writing can make it more realistic, reveal character, and keep the dialogue
interesting for the reader. [Bill Konigsberg]
9.
Show Show Show Show. Don’t tell, or if you MUST
do so sparingly. [Everyone-every workshop]
10. Having
trouble getting to know your YA character? (or any character, for that matter)
Try this tip: Have the character send an email to a friend of yours telling
your friend about themself. As the email is written, a lot of character can be
revealed. [Bill Konigsberg]
11. When
writing YA first person, every word must come from the character, there is no
room for the author! Stay true to the character’s voice. [Bill Konigsberg and
Christine Fletcher]
12. If
you aspire to be an author, but don’t yet feel like you are an author try this
manifestation trick from film maker Gordy Hoffman: When someone you are meeting
for the first time asks you what you do, don’t hem and hah, just say “I am an
author.” It will make it true. He did this, though he was telling people he was
a screenwriter and director—before he was either of these things—and it became
true. He believed it—it became true.
These are just 12 quick take-aways, from
the pages and pages of notes I took. I hope you found one or two salient points
that you can add to your writer’s toolbox.
Thank you to all the talented people who
made the Willamette Writers Conference a wonderful experience!
Happy Writing!
