Tuesday, April 03, 2007

I Am Still Revolving In A Huge Circle

By Connie S. Hall

I know all of you have heard about the latest writing conference our group attended. My head is still whirling with all the information. I’m not sure my brain will ever keep all the facts straight. When I think about the classes and all I heard I stagger and wonder. Will I ever be able to write correctly? Did I show instead of tell my story? Is my main character strong? Will my first page catch the reader’s interest? Did I write this scene accurate? Is there enough dialogue? Am I in the right voice? Is there enough conflict?

That is not all we learned. You have to think about blending facts with fiction. Your structure, pacing, and flow have to be just right. The chapter endings have to be something that will make the reader turn to the next page.

To me it is all very overwhelming. There were lessons that taught about writing fantasy, and historical fiction. I didn’t get to take all the courses. We all had to pick and then choose. It wasn’t always an easy choice. I wonder if I took the classes, I needed the most. Oh, well, it’s in the past now.

We listened to authors tell us about query letters, proposals, and how to make a more attractive manuscript. We even had a publisher panel telling us what type of books they were looking for, and what we needed to do to submit a manuscript.

With thousands of thoughts spinning in my head, it would be easy to throw my arms in the air, and say, “That’s enough”. Lucky for me someone at the end gave some good advice, “Don’t give up”. Those three words will stick with me until next year. They will keep me motivated, and make me keep trying.

1 comment:

Tristi Pinkston said...

All the information can be overwhelming! I say, cling to a few important things and concentrate on them, and then next year, come back for more. It's impossible to incorporate everything at once; let it be a step at a time.

And, don't give up! :)