Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Life, the Universe & Everything

I spent last weekend at this Writer's Conference at BYU. It was literally the coolest thing I've done since deciding to start writing. I really don't think I can condense everything I learned there down into one post, so I think I will focus Totally Tuesday on conference posts for a couple of weeks if that is alright you you ladies. :)

As an overview--I met some of the coolest people. These Utah authors are down to earth, kind, patient and hilarious. They have great insights and don't mind sharing them. I was lucky enough to hang out with a few of the very cool ones all day on Saturday and on and off through the weekend. It was a blast!

Now... for session one of Conference re-cap--

YA/MG writing:

Pitfalls:
~ Show the audience what to think, do not tell them.
~ It is tempting to be preachy when dealing with these genre's. Do not do it! Kids can see right through it and the book will hit the floor before you finish the paragraph.

Most Vocabulary in YA is considered to be conversational but between two intelligent people.

Every character in your book should have a reason to be there. They all need motivations and rarely will you have a group of people that all agree on what their goal is. Some will do it for one reason some for another. Some are just along for the ride or because someone they like is doing it. Know their motivations and make them stay true to their cause. Dynamic characters are not robots, they will do the expected and the unexpected. Keep them human.


Suspense: Every genre has suspense. If not, there is no story to tell. Even day to day life has peaks of suspense... ask any author who is waiting for a response from an agent and they will agree with me. ;)

- Never withhold information from the reader that the viewpoint characters know
- Before you can build suspense, you have to make the readers care about the characters and what happens to them

Always enter a scene that is already in progress... never have your characters standing around waiting for something to happen, unless that waiting adds to the suspense.

Brandon Mull says: Keep your readers curious, that will keep them interested. You must follow a wave pattern with your suspense. It is all about tension and release in waves. Too much tension and it stresses the reader out and they put the book down, too much release and the reader gets bored and stops caring. It is an art, not a science--go with your gut.

I hope that made sense... let me know if this information is interesting and helpful to you and I will keep it up next week.

End Recap Session One. :P

10 comments:

  1. WAHOO!! I loved the info! Those were all things I've asked myself about lately as I get ready to do my rewrite. Do I give away too much too soon? Do I explain too much instead of letting the reader figure it out? If I hold back a certain piece of information until later, will it build the suspense? Everything you just said helped me to feel more confident about myself and my writing. Thanks!! I can't wait for next week!!

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  2. ooh, love it! Thanks for the advice. I'm in the middle of a rewrite at the moment so that is perfect timing. Glad you had a good time. I want to go next year.

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  3. This is really, really good, useful information. Thanks so much. BTW, I love Brandon Mull's Fablehaven series. I just finished the third book over Christmas. It was really fun and I would definitely recommend it!

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  4. Thanks for sharing. I wanted to go but didn't, so this is the next best thing.

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  5. I went to the conference last year, but didn't make it this time. I look forward to your conference posts. :-)

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  6. Jenn! Awesome post! Thanks! And I'm so glad you had sucha wonderful time this weekend. Eeeeh! I'm just thrilled for you like crazy! Seriously cool! And I can't wait to go together next year when I'm there! Eeeeh!

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  7. Nikki - I am so glad it helped you! I can't even tell you how helpful this weekend was to me. I'm happy to share :D

    Kasie - Definitely, we should get a group together to go next year! :D It will be so fun!

    Candice - Brandon is a sweetie and he really knows what he is talking about. I talked to him for awhile about Fablehaven and writing after the panel. I am halfway through the first one and loving it.

    Jewel - Nice of you to pop by. The conference was so worth it. Next year you need to go!

    Feywriter - I heard from the panelists that this was the best year so far and they expect next year to be even better! Come next time!

    Jenni - Yeah... you heard my giddy squeals about it on Sunday LOL Next year will be a blast! We'll get as many as want to come :D LTUE will never be the same again! Muahahaha! :P

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  8. Nikki - I am so glad it helped you! I can't even tell you how helpful this weekend was to me. I'm happy to share :D

    Kasie - Definitely, we should get a group together to go next year! :D It will be so fun!

    Candice - Brandon is a sweetie and he really knows what he is talking about. I talked to him for awhile about Fablehaven and writing after the panel. I am halfway through the first one and loving it.

    Jewel - Nice of you to pop by. The conference was so worth it. Next year you need to go!

    Feywriter - I heard from the panelists that this was the best year so far and they expect next year to be even better! Come next time!

    Jenni - Yeah... you heard my giddy squeals about it on Sunday LOL Next year will be a blast! We'll get as many as want to come :D LTUE will never be the same again! Muahahaha! :P

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  9. Very, very cool post! The conference sounds amazing! I am SO jealous!!

    Thanks for being willing to share your info. :)

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  10. Renee - It really was a blast! I'm happy to talk about it :D

    Sorry to everyone for that big double comment... I am having troubles with blogger lately lol

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