One of the country’s best writing conferences is held in my own backyard. How great is that? I’ve attended many times and pitched in the past, but in recent years I’ve just attended the workshops because I didn’t feel my draft novels were ready for other eyes (aside from my fabulous First Readers). This year I got brave and submitted the first page of “Marama, Daimyo’s Daughter” for the Big Critique on Sunday afternoon.
The conference has made many changes in format in recent years. I was tempted by Thursday’s master classes and Sunday’s intensives. Maybe next year. But I did splurge on all three days of the main conference, although I didn’t attend the evening offerings because I needed to get home to rescue Indy.
“Turn Your Idea Into a Best Seller” presented by Jeff Goins wasn’t so much how or what to write, but what to consider if your goal is to break out from the crowd of published novels. Goins suggested a good idea for a novel is fine, but an INTERESTING idea is even better. One way to do this is to subvert the expectations of readers. That is, give them something familiar — with a twist. For example, “Hunger Games” is a story about gladiators (familiar) but in the future with teenagers (twist).
Scott Myers presented “The Protagonist’s Journey” in two parts. He boiled down the traditional three-act story arc into something easy to grasp. Act I, the protagonist is in a state of disunity, just not in sync with the existing situation. Act II, the protagonist undergoes deconstruction following the inciting incident and then reconstruction in the second half of the act. Act III, the protagonist attains synthesis/unity. The second half of Myers’ workshop addressed the primary archetypal characters that go on the “journey.” They include the protagonist, nemesis, attractor, mentor, and trickster.
I also attended Myers’ workshop “Pixar and the Craft of Storytelling.” Basically, Pixar does a lot (a LOT) of preliminary work to develop their stories. Basically it boils down to beginning with character, and telling a story from the heart. The character-driven narrative dynamics of Pixar stories include: a special subculture, sires & siblings, separation, strange sojourners, and sentiment.
Melissa Hart’s workshop “10 Tips for Integrating Diversity into MG/YA” addressed not only racial and ethnic diversity, but also considered body image, economic status, physical & mental capabilities, gender (and gender identity), etc. She suggested MG/YA novels to read with characters facing these various challenges.
Of course I had to attend one of Hallie Ephron’s workshops. “Plotting a Mystery Novel: The Secret’s in the Secrets.” Took me awhile, but I recently figured out that the various suspects in mysteries are all covering up something, not necessarily the crime under investigation. Ephron’s workshop clarified my lightbulb moment. She told us each character’s secret establishes why they do what they do, and these secrets are the “red herrings” that conceal the Big Secret at the center of the story.
I think most of us walk away from the conference in a daze, our minds jam packed with information. Those who experienced a successful pitch likely float home. We reap the efforts of the many volunteers who made the conference possible. Also, kudos to the staff of the Sheraton Portland Airport Hotel that has hosted the conference for many years.
I’ll save my experience with the Big Critique for another post.
Mary S. Potter 