Clearly, a new post has been overdue, but I was gone to the LDS Storymakers writing conference last weekend, and then busy with Mother’s Day. Now this weekend has already slipped past, so I better make amends. I thought it appropriate to share some of the highlights, at least from my vantage point, of this year’s writing conference.
Best workshop: Larry Brooks — equal parts educational and motivational, but at the same time grounded in the reality of just how difficult the writing business can be. I wish I would have been able to pick up his new book ahead of time, but I have it on my to get list.
Sarah Eden was an excellent MC. I loved her workshop last year. The best part was the video of her children. She would show them a picture of an author, and then ask them what kind of stories they though the person would write. (she called it judging an author by their ‘cover’). It was absolutely hilarious and one of the best parts of the conference.
Dave Wolverton gave some very sound advice about approaching writing like you would any other job, and he compared authors to factories. We need regular maintenance (exercise), regularly scheduled shifts to work on our product, and we need to keep familiarity with other products currently on the market.
Some of the best quotes:
- “We admire characters for their strengths, but love them for their flaws.” Clint Johnson talking about characterization and conflict.
- “A flare for words does not equal a flare for storytelling.” Larry Brooks.
- “If you recognize something as crap, it probably is. Learn to tell when you’re writing crap.” Dave Wolverton summing up the entire writing process in two sentences.
Overall, this year’s conference was good. I felt reaffirmed that I understand a lot of the basic rules, but still have more to learn about mastering the craft of writing. I look forward to using the tools and techniques I learned at the conference.
© Copyright 2011 Jeff, All rights Reserved. Written For: Jeffrey Olsen