Pikes Peak Writers Conference 1. Publishing

What I'm reading: contest entry #4 of 4

I'm writing this shortly after walking in the door from the Pikes Peak Writers Conference. It, like all conferences, was exhausting, but in a good way. I'll be recapping the highlights. And, apologies in advance, but Blogger has had an issue with posts going up when they're scheduled in advance. Much as I love you all, I'm not getting up in the wee hours to keep to my normal posting schedule. If this hasn't posted when I get up, I'll do it manually, but bear with me for any deviations from my normal posting time. Not only that, but they've changed their interface, so there's yet another learning curve for me. I'm thinking I'll be over at WordPress before too long.)

First, for anyone interested, dinner with Robert Crais was FANTASTIC. I have no clue what I ate, but the conversation was a delight (as was the wine). I know I'm a writer, and consider myself a 'regular' person, but even so, there's something "larger than life" that kicks in when meeting a REAL writer. But he's a 'regular' person, too. At his keynote address, he shared emails from readers who took him to task on everything from grammar to accusing him of padding his books by having blank pages between chapters.

Over the course of the conference, I attended 3 workshops on the publishing industry, and it was also a frequent topic of discussion over meals, and from keynote speakers. I'm going to hit the highlights rather than recap each individual workshop.

Mark Coker, CEO of Smashwords, spoke not only about his publishing company, but also about publishing in general.

Until recently, you weren't considered a "real" author unless a big-name publisher bought your book. With e-publishing, it's possible to succeed on your own, and perhaps make more money. But don't count on it. If that's why you're writing, you're setting yourself up for disappointment.

The most important part of success in publishing is: WRITE A GOOD BOOK. (And this includes making sure it's well-edited.)

It's About Conflict and Tension

Thanks to Lilian Stewart Carl for sharing all that information about kilts yesterday. I learned a lot. If you didn't read her post, you definitely need to scroll down.

When I wrote Monday's post, on why I decided to go indie with DANGER IN DEER RIDGE, I had several people email me asking me why I didn't put up more about the book itself.

Interesting question. First, although I definitely want people to buy my books, I've kind of had this "no self-promotion" rule about this blog. I did include links to my website for blurb and first chapter, as well as buy links, so that the information was available for those who wanted to look. And if you missed it, you can find it here.

More in keeping with the focus of this blog, I thought I'd provide a little more of a behind the scenes peek at the writing process. Donald Maass suggests there be tension on every page, and microtension in every paragraph. Characters have to want something, and there need to be reasons why they can't have it. There needs to be conflict.

Under the broad umbrella of all romance sub-genres, one critical element is the first meet between hero and heroine. So, I thought I'd share some of the first meet scene from DANGER IN DEER RIDGE with you, and mark it up with how I tried to create tension and conflict. In this scene, the heroine has a clear goal: start her new life. She's just arrived at her new home with her eight-year-old son. Making sure he's safe is her top priority.

She filled the pot with water, then set it on the burner. Checking the unfamiliar gas range, she matched the knob with the appropriate burner and twisted it. Nothing. She waited. Tried again. Was she supposed to light the burner with a match? Where was the instruction book? She yanked open drawers hoping to find one. Nothing. Conflict: without gas, she can't cook.

Pikes Peak Writers Conference 4

What I'm reading: Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, June 2010

First – the moving update. (To go straight to the Pikes Peak recap, click the "keep reading" link below.)

Movers showed up with our stuff Friday morning. Although we got rid of (we thought) most of our stuff before leaving Florida, there were an awful lot of boxes and other bits and pieces. Hubster ran the checklist, and for most boxes, it was a matter of 'upstairs' vs 'downstairs. Rooms indicated on the boxes were relatively meaningless, as we don't have those rooms in this house. Plus, we plan to do some upgrades and remodels, so keeping non-essentials out of the way should make it a little easier. The 'fun' was that the labels on the boxes weren't necessarily indicative of the contents. Opening and unwrapping was like a day-long birthday party.


It's nice to have some furniture again, even if it's not necessarily where it will end up. And since I'm lousy at visualizations, I can finally see how things will fit and work. Of course, for all the boxes we unpacked, there are trees and trees worth of packing paper. Traversing the downstairs level is like parting the seas. And we learned that waste management up here isn't like our Florida home. There, our taxes covered pickup. Twice a week, as many cans or bags as you put by the curb. Major discards, such as furniture, etc. could be put out on Thursdays. Yard waste picked up once a week. Recycling once a week.

Here: you hire your waste management company directly. They will sell you ONE can, or you can use your own. That's it. Once a week, one can. We definitely have to look into how we can recycle all the cardboard, and what to do with the bags and bags and bags of all that packing paper.

We've had some regular visitors to the property. In addition to the critters in the picture, hubster put up a bird feeder and is happily marking off all the new species he's seeing. I've got my camera and binoculars on the windowsill of my office.

On to Pikes Peak recaps