Conferencing, Day Four

Status of my Life: Shredded. 'Nuff said.

Thursday at the conference. I just have to say that I love the MC's at this conference. They are so funny and really liven the mood and atmosphere. It's been such a blast.

Today, I got to "mingle" with Brandon Sanderson. I'm a big lover of science fiction and fantasy, and his advice is good for those of us who are speculative fiction writers. But, his advice overall is just good. Today he said not to fall into the 3/4 trap. Authors tend to get annoyed/bogged down/sick of their novel about 3/4 way through. So they throw in a new character or conflict. He very strongly advises against this. Yeah, I've probably done it, so I'm going to have to go check for that...

He also said something about traitors and villians today that really set me thinking. And now I think I'm going to have to do some major rewriting in SHADOWS. There is a traitor, but I don't do a good enough job of leading the reader to believe it's someone else and then hitting them with who it really is. So I've got to work on that. SHADOWS actually needs a lot of work before I query in September. But the goal still stands. I'm going to be giving it the attention it deserves. I've just gotten sidetracked by Freedom and Jess Harper. And another idea popped into my head on the way home from the conference today. I think I'm going to write it in a notebook instead of on the computer and see how it develops.

Okay, the conference. So many good things today! First off, the agent talked to us. He was wonderful and gave really sound advice.

Good: Writing advice from Brandon Sanderson. You should check out his writing podcast if you haven't yet.

Bad: 3/4 New Conflict/problem. Don't do it.

Good: Find out what works for you by trying different things. The best advice I got today.

Bad:

Good: Quote from agent, "I forgot to wear a belt." It was pretty funny. The MC's played "Secret Agent Man" and said agent came running down the steps with sunglasses on. We all stood and cheered as if we were on the Price is Right. The MC's had shades too, and they all danced around on the stage. We sang along. When the song was over, the agent said, "I forgot to wear a belt." :)

Bad:

Good: Agent said, "Not everything needs to be loud and smart-alecky." Thank you Secret Agent Man. I like snarky just like everyone else, but one of my main characters is not, and I've been wondering about him.

Bad:

Good: More good advice: Be bold, confident, and fearless writers. Love it!

Bad:

See? It was a great day! One more to go. Even though I'm pretty exhausted, I'll be sad when it's over.

Reading: Crits I'm behind on. Lots and lots of crits...