Writer’s
Status
I’ve
signed up for the Write Angles writer’s conference at Mt. Holyoke College in
Massachusetts the middle of October. I went last year and didn’t get as much
out of it as I hoped. More experienced with the business this year, I hope to
get better advice from the ten minutes allowed with an agent on how to proceed
with my novel, The Devoted of Imshalel.
I’ve
read a few very helpful books on craft and am almost done putting the advice to
use. One grammar point trips me up—misplaced and dangling modifiers. I’m
getting better at recognizing them and fighting the tendency to write straight
sentences rather than make a mistake, which can make the writing sound stilted.
Any English teachers out there who know how to wind through the labyrinth? Good
advice would be appreciated.
What
I’m Reading
On
craft, I read Writing the Breakout Novel by
Donald Maass. An older book, it showed its age when it came to advice about
self-publishing and electronic books. Otherwise, it gave down-to-earth,
comprehensive advice about writing, publishing, and promoting books. What I
wouldn’t give to have him as an agent.
Crafting Scenes by Raymond
Obstfeld spoke about the structure of scenes, chapters, and books in general. I
found the advice about placing scene notes on cards to better keep track of
such things as characters, plot arcs, and the ratio of dialogue to narrative
especially helpful. You can move them around as a visual to decide if a scene
works better elsewhere or should be cut altogether.
Writing Fiction by the Gotham
Writer’s Workshop spoke about plot, characters, voice, and point of view, which
I’d read from other sources. More interesting to me was their advice on a
novel’s opening paragraphs and pages, and on revising. Most teachers agree a
first draft should be written without worrying overmuch about grammar, style,
etc. It may take you awhile to get to the core story in that first writing and
a lot will be discarded, but all that comes in the revision process.
Wednesday—novels
I’ve been reading.
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