Last weekend, I got to go to the Storymakers Conference. It was amazing. If any of you ever get the chance to attend, I would absolutely recommend it.
There were so many great classes, so many great people. It was just an awesome experience in every way. I thought I would post today about the Keynote Speaker from the conference.
Dean Lorey author of the Nightmare Academy.
He said there are four things that a good writer must do.
1 - Write
* Whenever you are at a loss, write... always write
2 - Protect your work
* Take feedback into consideration, but be true to your work
* Only institute feedback that will better the story
* With non-writers there are too types of feedback we should pay special attention to
A- I'm bored
B- I'm confused
3 - Focus
* one of the hardest things for writers to do
4 - Get people to read your work
* You must be able to accept, ponder and use criticism
Remember, YOU are the hero of your own story. Protect it and make it the best you possibly can.
Awesome advice! Thanks for sharing. I'm extremely jealous that you went. I want to go to a writer's conference. That's my goal for next year.
ReplyDeleteMore! More! We're living vicariously through you! You're so uber cool jenn! LOVE IT! Jenni
ReplyDeleteI love the fourth one, be able to accept criticism and use it. It's taken me a while to be able to do that.
ReplyDeleteYou attend the best events, Jenn. Thanks for always passing along the great info!
ReplyDeleteI like the thought that we are protectors of our MS. Especially since they do sometimes feel like our babies. I think we get criticized for protecting them too much that we sometimes let go too much trying to please everyone that we lose the original story. Ok, so maybe I'm the only one that does that!!
ReplyDeleteOh, and I forgot to say hi to Patti!! A special shout out to all our new followers on the blog too! Don't be shy. We would love you to guest post for us too! Be sure to come back often! We don't like talking to ourselves...it makes us look crazy...ok, crazier!!
ReplyDeleteSo Jenn, I will post a real comment on this blog since I failed miserably on your blog. I'm a big fan of the advice to just write when at a loss. It is so easy to have a writing freeze just because the ideas aren't flowing. But then when you aren't writing, your writing freeze becomes a writing ice age. It is a vicious, cold cycle.
ReplyDeleteI love this advice thank you. Some of it sounds very similar to advice that I read in Orson Scott Card's book How to write science fiction and fantasy. It is a good read, informative, and inspiring. I recommend it to anyone whether they are writing sf or not.
ReplyDeleteLoved Dean's talk. I have not laughed so hard as I did that night in a long time. You were there?? Too bad I didn't get to meet you. Wonderful conference!
ReplyDelete-Jewel
Amber - I love that book! One of my favorites.
ReplyDeleteJewel - I had no idea anyone from here was going or I would have looked for you! Bummer!
Great post! Where do you find out about these writer's conferences? I'd love to go!
ReplyDeleteKristy--Welcome, and thanks. That's a good point. We should be advertising these on the blog, shouldn't we? Jenn... if you hear of anymore--or if any of us do, let's share the new conferences.
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