Gems from LDStorymakers Conference

Last weekend I went to LDStorymakers writing conference. I went with a critique partner and I got to meet my agent which was pretty awesome (!!!). And I should totally have a picture of this momentous occasion, but I don't. I'm like the worst ever at remembering to take pictures. In fact, I didn't even take one picture during the whole conference. I know, right??? I guess I was just too busy soaking in all the writerly Karma of the place. :)

The thing I love best about writing conferences is that they help me remember why I love writing in the first place. And they help me remember all those things that make my writing better.

I don't want to re-hash everything I learned because one, that would be boring, and two, that would be copyright infringement. However, I did want to share a couple of gems.

FIRST: You may laugh at this one, but I said a big AMEN!  Peggy Eddleman gave a class on getting your writing mojo back. One point she made is that as writers, we seem to think we earn the writer's badge by missing sleep. We stay up late. Work off of two hours sleep. And somehow this is a bragging point. Well it's not. WE NEED SLEEP TO FUNCTION. Obviously everyone is different and we all need different amounts of sleep. But skipping sleep is not doing ourselves any favors!

So, don't be afraid to go to bed on-time to get a full night's sleep. Then you will be refreshed and ready to tackle a new day and fresh ideas. [And no, we won't talk about the irony of the fact that I am staying up late to write this.]

SECOND: I attended a class by Chad Morris and Brandon Mull about the 3 parts that make an awesome story idea. While there was lots of good stuff, the gem I got was that every trouble needs a payoff. That may sound obvious. But I needed the reminder. I can't just make my characters go through hard things and expect my readers to enjoy that. There has to be a moment that makes it all worth it. Both to the character and the reader.

And THIRD: This one came from a class on Description by Sarah Eden. We talked about all kinds of things, but one piece of advice that stuck out was this: Never interrupt your own story! Well, duh. Except I do this! Description should be organic, and if it disrupts the flow, then you've done it wrong.

I know. None of this stuff is new and exciting. But amazingly, what I need from conferences is not new and exciting info. What I need is a reminder (preferably in a not boring way) of all the things I know, but have forgotten.

When's the last time you went to a conference? And what do you get out of them?

When Fortunes Come True

My family and I really like Chinese food. Our favorite part (okay, maybe tied with eating all the yummy food) is opening our fortune cookies.

I always get the best fortune.

Seriously. Like, even my kids want my fortune.

I'm just lucky that way.

Here is my latest.

*All your hard work will soon pay off*

So to understand how great this fortune is, you need to know why we were eating Chinese.

Why, you ask?  Because I'd just spent a week packing and cleaning to get our house ready to sell--solid days of doing nothing but that--and I didn't want to dirty my newly immaculate kitchen.

As you can imagine, I was thrilled with this fortune! Because who wants to do a bunch of hard work and not have it pay off, right?

And happy for me, this fortune cookie really was all-knowing. Our house sold, and we are feeling all kinds of relieved.

The thing is, since that time, I've had an epiphany. This fortune came true not because of some omniscient cookie. This fortune came true because hard work ALWAYS pays off.

It just doesn't always pay off in the way we would like.

For example:
Remember that manuscript you wrote and edited, then finally tucked away in a drawer? Remember that laundry you folded that your toddler then unfolded? Remember that bed you made that you then unmade later that SAME DAY??

Every one of those situations included pay-off. Think of the practice and skills that were gained in writing that manuscript. Think of the work ethic your toddler gained by watching your example. Think of the peace that made-up bed exuded in your room all day long (and peace exuding is totally a thing).

Hard work always pays off.

So don't you go fearing that your efforts will be a waste. They won't. Even if you don't get what you want, they. are. not. wasted.

Peace out and work on my friends.

Finding Our Own Path

I have this daughter.

I love her for so many reasons that I couldn't possibly tell you about all of them. But one thing I will tell you about is her individuality. I love this chica because she is her own self. And she is not afraid of being her own self.

For example. This is her at her last soccer game:

I'll be honest, I am so used to her being her, that I didn't even think twice about her skirt until everyone commented on it.

And then there was this Word Find that came home in her folder:

I kind of really love that with the top one, if she had gone straight, she had the word. But that's not how she saw things. Why make a straight line when you can jump over a letter and get something far more interesting?

She is such an example to me. An example of being true to yourself. An example of finding your own path, even when the world would send you another direction.

As writers, sometimes we forget that. We try to write what everyone else is writing. We try to imitate another author's style. We focus on what might be big (according to the world) instead of staying true to ourselves. Our own ideas. Our own passions.

It's easy to get caught up. But it's better to be ourselves. It's better to let our individual uniqueness shine like a pink tulle skirt in a soccer game.

Because seriously, who doesn't secretly envy that girl? Wish they were brave enough to do it, too.

So how are you letting your personality shine? I'd love to hear. :)