Surrey International Writer's Conference - Part Two

Continuing with Part 2 of my SiWC writeup, here's all the useful tidbits I picked up from some of the workshops I attended. Some are more quick and dirty than others. Warning: there is a serious wall of text ahead.

Pitchcraft: The Reinvented Writer (Katharine Sands)

This was one of the master classes that took place on Thursday before the conference. The focus is on, of course, pitching. These are important for those pitches you send to agents, but can also apply to in-person ones as well.

Questions to ask yourself: "Why does the world need this book?" And why should the agent choose you, and right now?

There are three main elements to the pitch: the setting, the protagonist, and the problem. You must say where the story takes place, introduce the main character, and what gets the story moving. And the trick is arranging all these elements so that they will "stick" easily in someone's head. By "stick" I mean that if they read the pitch, do something else, and you ask them what the pitch was about, they will still remember.

Some do-nots: leading with the theme is bad, as it doesn't illuminate the pitch. Personally I agree with this, because I've always thought that theme will speak for itself in your characters and what they're struggling against. Also, do not talk about sequels or series at first. Save that for after you've got the deal.

I also attended "Perfecting the In-Person Pitch" (Chuck Sambuchino) panel on Friday, but the focus was pretty much the same. Regrettably I couldn't stay for the pitch evaluation part, as I had my Blue Pencil appointment.

Successful Horror Stories (Luke Ryan)

"Sizzling Sex Scenes" was right next door and occasionally people started howling with laughter, fortunately not during the clips from horror movies that were shown. I digress. This workshop focused more on film than books, but some of the concepts still apply. Even if you don't plan on writing horror, random knowledge is still good to have. You never know when you might need to use it.

-Morality vs. mortality is the core of horror.

-The things we fear most are death, being harmed/impaired, and that which is not human. The best horror blends all these together.

-Where does fear come from? The awareness of our vulnerability. We are most vulnerable when we feel most safe. So you may want to reconsider the next time you sit down at your computer to plug away at your WIP…

-The famous residual effect: this remains long after people have left the theatre/finished playing the game/reading the story. This is what makes them afraid of the dark for the next couple weeks.

-The space where confrontations between the protagonist and the villain take place shrinks over the course of the story. You may start in the neighbourhood and then be confined to a house, and then confined to a closet.

-Traditionally "good" is broken down and reverted to a more animalistic state. The protagonist becomes the killer in order to survive.

-The villain is the one most equipped to bring physical and psychological devastation to the protagonist. The villain is captivating and creepy, is durable, and embodies the things we fear. The conflict between the villain and the protagonist should be likened to an amazing tennis match--each move forces the other to raise the game.

Is There Really Any Money in Writing? (Arthur Slade)

Rejoice, there are other ways to make money rather than royalties, school visits, and book signings. You can apply for an access copyright, which is basically a photocopying fee, and you get a lump sum for that. This would be useful if you have a published article. You can also apply for a public lending right, so that you are paid for your books being in libraries.

On a somewhat related note, getting an agent can help boost your $$ considerably.

Multi-Level Excellence (James Scott Bell)

Last but definitely not least. This workshop covered everything from conflict structure to drafting to some excellent revision tips.

-First of all, write. Finish what you write, and learn your craft as you write.

-Should you revise as you write? You should only revise yesterday's pages. Mr. Bell also suggested the 20,000-word step-back, in which you stop at 20,000 words and ask yourself if it works as a story. If it does, then you keep going.

-Whenever they are in an important situation, let your characters make the best choices based on what they know.

-The Worry Factor: at what point would your editor put down your book and not come back to it? Cut out the weak bits. If it's too dull, bring in a guy with a gun, or anything that would pose an immediate threat.

-Write a summary. This will help reshape your story. You can tinker with it to change the novel, make the structure stronger, and eventually rewrite.

-Watch out for slow opening scenes. Your book should begin with a disturbance. You also want to avoid dumping too much backstory in the opening at once--instead, mix it in with the opening chapters. Drop in bits of backstory here and there.

-You want action first, and then bonding with your characters later. Mr. Bell said something interesting--that readers will wait until the action is over to find out more about your characters and what's happening.

-Theme: imagine your character 20 years after the story. Someone asks your character, "Why did you have to go through that? What did you learn?" Then, have your character make an argument against that lesson at the beginning of the story.

Whew. Oh, there was one thing I forgot to mention. I attended the "Writing for Kids: An Inside Look" panel, and one of the main topics that came up was censorship in children's books. It primarily had to do with violence or disturbing images and worried parents. I think it merits a post of its own, so be sure to check back later.

Surrey International Writer's Conference - Part One

The Surrey conference was the first ever writer's conference that I'd been to. I went not knowing what to expect other than the schedule that I had seen online. Boy was I surprised--the whole place was just charged with energy! The thing I liked most about the conference was the atmosphere. For a shy person like myself, the ease of approaching people and striking up a conversation was a godsend. And being among people who shared the same aspirations as I did was uplifting.

I've split the writeup into two parts. This part will deal with my general impressions of the conference (as well as my Blue Pencil Cafe and pitch sessions) and the second part will cover what I learned from the panels.

The lunch and dinner sessions, along with all the keynotes in between, were probably some of my most enjoyable moments. Not just for the speakers (who were fantastic) but because I was eager to see my new friends at Table 31 and blab about what we had done during the day. The food at lunch and dinner were average fare--sandwiches, salad, soup, sweets, that sort of thing. I was able to indulge in omelettes at the hotel restaurant in the morning, though.

The hotel room was actually quite nice. The bed was a bit softer than what I was used to and the pillows were squishy, but it was comfortable all the same. Also, it was ladybug season--there were a crowd of ladybugs hanging out at my window, behind the curtains, so that during the day I'd hear them buzzing around as they flew. If I could, I would have caught them and sent them back outside through the window, but unfortunately the window was hard to open and way out of reach. 

My Blue Pencil session was with Arthur Slade. I have to admit, I got kind of giddy when it was my turn to sit at the table with him. I think it has to do with realizing that authors aren't just names on the covers of books, they are also people like us. Anyway, he was very friendly and humourous, and I had an opportunity to try my pitch out on him while I was explaining my story. A much-needed warmup since my pitch session with an editor was coming up very quickly.

Ah, the pitch session. Don't you love how all the anxiety and nervous-wreckage from those school presentations came back to bite you twice as hard? The stakes were also so much higher--here was your chance to get your foot in the door. That letter grade or two-digit percentage seems so insignificant now, doesn't it? I had reviewed what I was going to say countless times before the pitch (hooray for phones that can take notes). I had practiced my pitch on several people already, and one was a friend who was also going to her own pitch session. Was I ready? Yes. Was I completely cool and collected? No.

Well, it was finally time. I went in as confidently as I could and did all the courtesies--the handshake, the my-name-is. Then I launched right into talking about my protagonist and the rest came naturally. She asked questions, I answered. I'll admit that when we approached a slightly confusing point in the plot, I saw a frown on her forehead and my brain screeched to a halt. I stopped talking for a second to regain my self-control and went right back into it. And then she gave me her business card and asked to see a partial. I don't think I need to describe my reaction here, but the first thing I did afterwards was to call my parents and then my friends.

Later that evening, I attended one of the Night Owl sessions. It was Michael Slade's Shock Theatre, basically a live radio play with a horror theme. I had been reading some H.P. Lovecraft prior to attending the conference, so it was perfect. Let's just say that there were heads growing out of chests and chicken hearts consuming the world. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the Night Owl session the next night, which was the Forensics Museum (blood spatters and more). I was too tired!

This concludes Part 1 of my writeup. Check back soon for Part 2, which will contain a breakdown of the panels I attended and the useful tidbits that I learned.