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First-time Success: One Day at the Willamette Writers Conference

Last week, I blogged about preparing for my first-ever Willamette Writers Conference (WWC) in Portland, Oregon. After attending and taking a few days to reflect and review my notes, I can confidently say that participating in WWC is one of the best things I've ever done for my craft.

While only able to attend one day out of WWC's 3-day span, I made contacts, learned a lot, and pushed my boundaries. I attended various workshops, did a heap of networking and even wound up doing a little pitching. I'm amazed at how much I learned — and I'm already planning to attend the entirety of next year's conference.

Here are some of my observations and takeaways from my first-ever Willamette Writers Conference.

Workshops

During the 4 one-and-a-half-hour time slots open for workshops, I attended workshops on a range of writing and publishing topics:

Conference Success Basics, led by Mary Andonian and April Eberhardt. Designed for conference newbies such as myself, by the end of this workshop I felt prepped to the max for success at WWC. Mary and April discussed how the conference enabled a writer's efforts in pitching, networking, project planning and story development, as well as what writers can do outside the conference to further their success. From blogging to independent publishing, the group had lively discussions — not bad for a bunch of writers just finishing their morning coffee!

Business Planning: Sell Your Work, Not Your Soul, led by Gary Corbin. Many writers have trouble thinking of their craft as a business. Gary cut to the chase on exactly this problem, with a step-by-step exploration of how business planning sets up writers for success. Gary demystified what it takes to plan a writing business, made it approachable, and brought home how this makes a big difference between a writer who makes a living as a writer, and a writer who doesn't.

Puzzle, Tension, Character, led by Charlotte Cook. Talk about personality! Charlotte's no-nonsense, no-bullshit style resonated with me. She led a packed room through how a publisher evaluates a manuscript. We were not going to examine grammar or mechanics, she explained. Instead, we were going to answer a simple question: "Do I want to turn the page?"

In addition to going through what constitutes good combinations of puzzle, tension and character in a story, much of our workshop time was devoted to getting our hands dirty. Charlotte read aloud sections of stories brought in by people in the room. Then she would explain elements that she thought were strong or weak in the story, and open up the room to lively discussion. "As a publisher, honey, here's why I wouldn't buy this story," she would say, then relay feedback that authors could put to work in the perspective they brought to crafting and refining their work.

Corporate Writing 101, led by Nancy Christie. Writing for periodicals isn't what it used to be. While periodical submissions can still be part of a writer's submissions process, corporate copywriting is an important area to explore for stable income and a range of writing projects. Nancy broke down organization types, how to pitch, what to look for, and a range of projects and services a writer could offer business clients.

Networking

Meeting other writers and publishing professionals was a highlight of the day, and one of my main reasons for attending WWC. From people I would not have met otherwise, to folks known online but not face-to-face, I brought home a stack of business cards, excellent conversations and good memories.

Now that the conference is done, I'm working hard on the next phase: contact. From adding Twitter follows to sending out "great to meet you" emails, I'm looking forward to keeping in touch with the folks I met this year.

Pitching

This is the last thing I expected to do at the conference, but you never know what might happen at an event like this.

Writers pitching their work to agents is an integral part of WWC. However, it's not why I attended this year. The reason? I'm not ready. I was attending the conference not to yap about myself or my work, but primarily to listen, observe and learn the ropes. My intent was to keep my ears open, and my mouth shut.

April Eberhardt, who led the Conference Success Basics workshop, had a different take — and an alternative. For writers who aren't yet ready to pitch but want to gain experience and get feedback, WWC also offers "pitch practice." In these first-come, first-serve free sessions, writers have 15 minutes to sit down with pros who have been on both sides of a pitch. The writer has an opportunity to run through a pitch, ask questions, and get pointers on what to do and what not to do when they pitch an agent.

This bit of serendipity became one of the most productive parts of my day at the conference. While I didn't have a pitch prepared, I did have enough grasp of my story to give info and provide coherent responses to questions. By the time we were done, my pitching coach gave me some final words of encouragement: "You just need a manuscript, and you'll be ready."

Didn't see that coming.

Final Thoughts on My First WWC

There are myriad aspects of the conference I could mention in this post. People met. Tips taken to heart. Ideas inspired. Connections made. But I'll spare you the length and breadth of my text file of conference notes and observations (not to mention how many emails I have left to send.)

I'll finish with this instead: As a writer, I'm prone to trying to do too much solo. Instead of reaching out to colleagues, far too often I try to tough through things myself. Heck, it didn't even occur to me that my state, my city, might have a trade organization of fellow professionals, fellow craftspeople who have challenges, doubts, skill sets, interests and hopes similar to my own. I'm a bit silly like that.

I only learned about Willamette Writers, and the conference, while reading Johanna Harness' blog post about conferences she was attending. Once I knew, though, I got to work. Willamette Writers and WWC were a revelation, and I realized I was being daft. I didn't need to go everything alone, and I was only as isolated as I let myself be.

That's why I immediately joined Willamette Writers, and am planning to start attending the Eugene/Mid-Valley chapter's meetings starting this fall. That's why I spent a day at the conference, and am so glad that I went.

Even though I could only go for one day, attending WWC was enlightening and encouraging. Of course, back home there's now a pile of new things to do and consider. I'm looking forward to it though, and to exploring new options in my craft.

And to going to WWC next year.

Preparing for the 2010 Willamette Writers Conference

Conference updates, attendee tweets, news, etc.
can be found on Twitter at hashtag #wwc41.

Willamette Writers Conference

• Portland, Oregon, Aug. 6-8, 2010, Portland Airport Sheraton Hotel
• Website: Willamette Writers
• Conference Website: Willamette Writers Conference (WWC) Main Page
• Twitter: @wilwrite
• Twitter hashtag for all things WWC 2010: #wwc41

Bust out the #amwriting and #wwc41 hashtags! The 2010 Willamette Writers Conference is this weekend, and I am stoked. Granted, I only recently found about it, thanks to Johanna Harness and her blog post, Conference Season and #Amwriting. Now I’m a card-carrying member of Willamette Writers and am prepping like mad for WWC.

Workshopping and networking

This will be my first year going, and unfortunately I can only go Saturday. Even with one day, there’s still a lot of workshops, networking and more to look forward to, such as...

• Mary Andonian & April Eberhardt: Conference Success Basics
• Robert Dugoni: Playing God: Creating Memorable Characters
• Gary Corbin: Business Planning: Sell Your Work Not Your Soul
• Charlotte Cook: Puzzle, Tension, Character
• Jeff Fisher: Social Networking for the Not-So-Social Writer
• Nancy Christie: Corporate Writing 101
• Melissa Hart: Travel Writing for Newspapers and Magazines
• Meeting other writers and making new contacts
• And… Talking shop — electronic media, independent publishing, short and long form fiction/non-fiction, marketing, character development, story tension, etc.
• Putting a face and personal connection to other writing bloggers and twitterers
• The Saturday night Gala Awards Banquet, with keynote speaker Chuck Palahniuk

What to say, what to ask, what to listen for

Networking this much with other writers is kind of new to me. I’m both excited and a little apprehensive. Here are some things I’m doing in advance to make sure that my WWC experience is fun and productive...

• Listening more than talking. I want to increase my understanding of the publishing industry, network with other writers, and become more involved in Oregon's writer/author/editor community. I'll have far greater success with always-open ears and a rarely-open mouth.
• Knowing what to say. I’m not doing manuscript pitches or critiques this year, but when talking with other writers, I'll have in mind things to say. This will help both relay who I am and what I do, and help me learn more about the people I talk with. That way, we're each able to get the most benefit out of our interactions.
• What blogging or authorship goals do I want to discuss?
• How do I relay my writing interests and experience?
• Keep an ear and eye out for other writers who blog, tweet, publish independently, etc.
• What’s my favorite punctuation? (Kidding... well, maybe—but in any case, it’s the em dash)

Meeting folks

In addition to the interactions of being out and about at the conference, I've heard tell of various meet-ups and such.

Writer Johanna Harness has mentioned planning a tweet-up. Check her blog and twitter feed for updates.

Also keep tabs on the conference's Twitter hashtag #wwc41 for more conference info, meet-ups, etc.

I’m excited to get more involved with writers organizations, especially one such as Willamette Writers. Since their focus is Oregon, I’m seeing opportunity to get to know more colleagues and learn and share a heck of a lot. If I dig the conference, I’ll be planning to go for the entire time in future years.

Are you heading to WWC? Looking forward to seeing you!

Want to go? You can still register. Full info at the WWC website.

Creativity Begets Creativity, As Long As You Don't Wuss Out

From a recent note-to-self… or maybe a bit of a philosophical bitch-slap. You decide.

Creativity begets creativity, just as love begets love.

I made myself write, dreading as always the first, feeble, floundering pen strokes. Then I got over myself, and wound up with a half-decent draft of a blog post.

Next I outlined an idea for an article (or maybe an e-book — we'll see).

Creativity begets creativity.

All you need is the first courage, the first action — to just write those first words. Forget yourself — there is only what to say, nothing more!

Lose yourself in the act of expression. The creativity will grow, it will move on its own, and will build upon itself.

Just take the first step. Just write the first words. And then, just keep going.

Typing All the Damn Notebooks

I nearly got clever and counted these. "That'd make a cool caption!" I thought. Then I realized it'd just make me cry. Not really cry. But you get my drift. That's a lot of typing, packed on one shelf.

A notebook first found its way into my pocket in 1995. I was a college freshman, a gumshoe at the college newspaper. One night at an editorial meeting, our editor-in-chief gave us little pocket notebooks to help with our reporting.

Ever since, I've carried a pen and a notebook.

And, ever since, a steadily growing stack of notebooks has tried to guilt me for not typing them all up.

This plagued me terribly until a few months ago. With both a Moleskine and a legal pad always in tow, that's a fair bit of scribbling to digitize. I wanted to type my notebooks, but never did. My plan was always to finish a notebook, then type it, end to end.

Boy, did that so not ever work. I was trying to eat an elephant all in one go, instead of carving off a meal at a time. Now I approach things very differently.

Each Friday, I type up all un-typed content in my Moleskine and legal pad. Every bit.

A red checkmark tells me what's typed.

A dog-eared corner tells me where to pick up, come the next Friday.

At some point I may begin to feel ambitious, and actually try to type the 15 years of scrawl currently whispering guilt-trippily from the bookshelves across the room.

If I do, it'll be under the same system.

Once a week, or whatever goal I set, period — until the task is done.

I used to not dread not typing my notebooks. Now I look forward to looking back on the week's scribbling.

Typing my notebooks has become fun. It's both a chance to reflect on my current work and ideas, and it is a task that's getting done.

At the least the next 15 years worth of notebooks will all be typed.

Clips: Sunset Magazine, May 2010, The Hunt for the Best Burrito

Sunset Magazine's May 2010 issue included an awesome piece by Jan Newberry on "The hunt for the best burrito". Readers all over the West sent in their suggestions, and my recommendation, Eugene's Lonches to Go, was one of the places published in the piece:

The Hunt for the Best Burrito by Jan Newberry (Sunset, May, 2010)

Write Your Obituary

While watching TED Talks the other night, Roz "I row across oceans" Savage rocked my mind:

"To try and answer that question of what am I supposed to be doing with my life?, I sat down one day and wrote two versions of my own obituary, the one that I wanted, a life of adventure, and the one that I was actually heading for which was a nice, normal, pleasant life, but it wasn't where I wanted to be by the end of my life. I wanted to live a life that I could be proud of. And I remember looking at these two versions of my obituary and thinking, "Oh boy, I'm on totally the wrong track here. If I carry on living as I am now, I'm just not going to end up where I want to be in five years, or 10 years, or at the end of my life. I made a few changes, let loose a few trappings of my old life, and through a bit of a leap of logic, decided to row across the Atlantic Ocean."

Let that sink in for a moment.

Ok. So, what life are you living? What life do you want to live? When you die, what do you want your loved ones, or the world, to say about you?

Yeah, it has my heart and mind racing too. Which brings me to my next writing assignment.

My next writing assignment

1. Write an obituary of my life as it is right now.
2. Write a second obituary that reflects my life as I would like it to be.
3. Compare the two, identify any differences, and start taking steps to make both versions the same.

I'll be posting my obits in the near future. In the meantime, what would your obituary say?

Clips: Register-Guard Food Blog Article Profiles Anthony St. Clair

Interested in good food, food blogs, and food in Eugene and Lane County? I had a great time being one of the Eugene food bloggers recently profiled in this Register-Guard newspaper article on area food blogs:

Cyber foodies by Cheryl Rade (March 17, 2010)

Clips: Eugene Sushi DJ Review - The Dropout

My first monthly restaurant review for The Dropout, a Eugene weekly alternative newspaper:

Sushi DJ - The Dropout (March 24, 2010)

There Is No Muse: Writers, Inspiration and Process

I'll never be confused with Hugh Macleod, but in case you're wondering, his much better cartoons-on-the-backs-of-business-cards are over here.

Some writers say success has something to do with inspiration. I say, screw inspiration — success is about process.

What follows is me ass-kicking myself to do a better job of remembering that.

The flaw

People often think that writing is about inspiration, about the muse. "I write when the moment takes me," is the overall thinking.

This is a great way to get nothing done.

About the only effect talking about "the muse" has is trying to get laid based on how sensitive and in touch with your creativity you are. (Though taking that approach will probably lead to equal non-success in writing and in bed.)

The truth

Writing is about process.

Yes, you can have inspiration and muses and when the moment takes you. But that's only part of being a writer, much less a successful writer.

Inspiration and the muse are useful only when you understand that they are part of what you want to get done and how you want to get it done.

Writing, and succeeding at writing, is about deciding what you want to do, and getting it done. The first part of writing is deciding, promising, a goal for yourself. Maybe it's "I will write [for 20 minutes / 2 pages / 500 words / insert goal here] a day, every day." The next part is making sure you set yourself up for success that day, the next day, every day.

Success is every day making the decision to keep doing what you've agreed with yourself that you will do.

Dude, where's my muse?

If the muse doesn't show up, too bad. Fire up your caffeine/ tipple/ poison of choice, belly up to the desk, and write anyway. Got a million things to do? Decide whether or not writing is a million-and-one, and make the time.

Maybe that day's writing output is mediocre — but it's still something to work with. And maybe, just maybe, you get part of the way through a brutal slog of lame words — then suddenly the muse is there, clocked in and ready to go. Suddenly your writing is on fire, and you've cranked out an amazing idea, story or chapter.

You only got that because you sat down to write in the first place.

Muse ain't there? Write anyway.

My process is evolving

I would love to capstone this post with how I smack myself with a typewriter every day, and as a result I am just finishing up my latest millions-selling badass blockbuster. However, I'm not (well, not yet).

I'm writing this post in part for me — because making time is hard, especially in the midst of other work and responsibilities. It's also because writing is hard, and because succeeding as a writer is quadruply feckin hard.

But I know what else I want out of life, out of my writing — and process is how I'll get there. I'll kick my own ass every step of the way if I have to — but day by day, word by word, process by process, I will bloody well get there.

Process is about nitty-gritty details of what works for what you're trying to accomplish. From scribbling to market research, here are some of the things I'm working on for my process as a writer.

• Outsource my brain (or, why I don't think about my haircut anymore). A few months back my wife turned me on to Remember the Milk, and I am now addicted to it. I use its robust task and task scheduling features for everything from assignment reminders to scheduling my haircut. Why such a range of things? I got tired of remembering to set up my haircut — so I have something tell me. My brain has better things to work on than making sure I don't forget to crop my mop. I also don't forget the important things now — they stare me in the face until I top up my coffee, remind myself that I've grown a pair, and start getting it done.
  Action: Continue setting reminders and using Today/Tomorrow/Overdue lists to get things done, in the timeframes I set to get them done.

• Dedicated daily writing time. I'm still refining how this works best for me, but I'm improving. I like working with 20-30 minute blocks of writing time, but I know now that I also need self-direction. Sure, I can just sit down for 20 minutes and shite out a bunch of mediocre, barely-strung-together trash, but I'm more effective as a writer if I have a goal in mind of what I want to accomplish with that time. It could be fleshing out an idea, drafting a chapter or story, whatever — clarity makes me more productive. (This post is an example: it's lingered in my assignment folder for a while. Once I had a better idea of what I wanted out of it, I've hammered it out in a short block of time.)
  Action: I've had success with a "Take one photo every day" reminder. I've set up a new daily reminder to "Write for 20 minutes / 2 pages / 500 words / 1 draft every day"

• Submissions and market research. I set and adhere to weekly goals of evaluating and identifying a minimum number of potential markets. I'm also working on a minimum number of queries and submissions to make per week. This is ramping up, and I'm encouraged at my growing output.
  Action: Continue adhering to weekly task of "Submissions: Review marketing/submissions spreadsheet; 1-5 hours market research per week; 3-10 submission leads/submissions per week". Also, continue ramping up submissions, queries and networking.

• Inspiration. Yes, the muse has its place (though for me, that generally means the band Muse, and specifically their album The Resistance). My muse, my inspiration, is simple: I am my muse, and my muse is me. Without a pen in my hand or computer keys under my fingers, there is no getting any writing done, inspired or not.
  Action: Write. Whether a slog or effortless, write. While the original source is unclear (ranging from William Faulkner to Peter De Vries), I prefer the old adage: "I only write when I am inspired. Fortunately, I am inspired at nine o'clock every morning." Sometimes just slogging through the words leads me to inspiration; sometimes just writing more consistently helps the inspiration come more regularly.

Either way, through strong process I am writing, will be writing more, and will increase my success as a writer.

Oregon Quarterly 2010 Northwest Perspectives Essay Contest

Heard about Oregon Quarterly's essay contest recently (on KWAX, if I remember correctly). Looks really interesting, and I'm thinking of entering:

Oregon Quarterly invites entries to the 2010 Northwest Perspectives Essay Contest in both student and open categories. Entries should address ideas that affect the Northwest. The Oregon Quarterly staff will select finalists and the contest judge will choose the top three winners in each category.

Oregon Quarterly 2010 Northwest Perspectives Essay Contest »