The National Latino Writers Conference is in Albuquerque today and tomorrow at the National Hispanic Cultural Center. La Bloga has a blurb about it, with mention of a few books having New Mexico themes.
Conference registrants get a chance to have their manuscripts reviewed by published authors, in this case Rudolfo Anaya and Ralph Flores. And this is what I want to write about.
For those of you who have attended or thought about attending writers conferences, how good are the review sessions when offered? How much time have authors spent on your manuscripts? Was the feedback substantive?
I also wonder, what is the future of writers conferences? Will aspiring writers always want to pursue the opportunity to show their work to published authors? I suppose much depends on the quality of workshops and reviewers at these conferences, but I do wonder how new technology changes the balance between those who have arrived and those who are on the path.
Just some of the thoughts running through my brain at quarter to 7 on a Friday night. Would love to hear your insights should you have any on the topic.
Just two days ago I sent in my registration for the Iowa Writer’s Workshop. I’m attending a two-day session about character development in July. Everyone is supposed to come with a character who is banging around in their head, or one who has surfaced on their page.
My real point in going to Iowa City is just to see it, to see this place so many authors have taught or began their writing lives. My instructor has published several books, and I have reserved all of them at the library. I hope she isn’t a writing Nazi.
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It is a mecca for writers, isn’t it? I’ll want to hear all about it. I think this notion of focusing on something like character development is a good one, esp after having spent so much time on the practice of writing. Good to home in on a piece of the technical craft itself, I think.
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If you google their website, they have a list of famous authors who have passed through there in one way or another…the Pulitzer Prize winners who were graduates, etc. etc. Kurt Vonnegut taught there, one of the authors mentioned a lot lately on Red Ravine.
Yes, it seems good to work on a skill. And surround myself with people who have learned about writing in different ways. It seems like a real stretch to break out of my oh-so-familiar cocoon. And (I figure), it’s only two days. I can always escape if it gets too scary.
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This post brings up some good questions about famous authors and conferences. “Will aspiring writers always want to pursue the opportunity to show their work to published authors?” I don’t so much have this need inside. I am more interested in studying with them. And, as Sinclair points out, seeing places authors have taught or spent their lives.
Remember Natalie saying she had gone to see, was it where Carson McCullers lived? I remember when I was in art school, I wanted to go see the Chrysler Building (place) because of its connection to Margaret Bourke-White and Annie Leibovitz (two of my all time favorite photographers).
I think we are always going to want to study with those that came before us. It helps us figure out who we are. But technology has given us more independence, greater range of voice, and an extra chance to discover our own truth.
Bourke-White said about her work, “I feel that utter truth is essential, and to get that truth may take a lot of searching and long hours.”
Amen.
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I attended my first writers conference a few months ago here in New Hampshire. It was good, with many sessions to choose from in the morning and afternoon but several things struck me.
It’s a very self centered adventure. Everyone wants someone read something they wrote, which is fine. We all want readers. When I say EVERYONE, I mean everyone. Everyone was a writer of some sort.
The questions at most sessions began with “When I recieved my MFA at…” you know, that typical self serving, egocentric dribble…well, it’s in all circles including writers.
“When I wrote my first character driven book…published by..” I tell you it was relentless. I’m after the craft. I’m want the future. Forget the past. I want to know how.
I feel for the two reviewers at NM conference. I would imagine that there are not a lot of participants if they are going to review manuscripts…
Oh..and the writing exercises were down right weird. Everyone raised their hand eagerly to read their work, then spent 5 minutes talking about how they felt during the writing they just did. Out of 5, only 1 actually read what they had written. Maybe it’s a woman thing. I don’t know.
As far as feedback…well, that’s a slippery slope that everyone must negotiate on your own. What if someone..say a published author tells you that you suck. What if they suggest you stick to your real job?
Will you? Can you take it?
Most writers are fragile.
Now they did have a pitch session at this conference. You had 5 minutes (on a timer!) to pitch your book. 5 minutes, that’s it. Give an outline, pitch it, read for 30 seconds, what ever…just pitch it. Then they gave you feedback. Some people were given business cards. Most just got feedback.
aight – enough – sorry for the long post – edit at will
peace,
P
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That would be a little nutty, the positioning piece where people state their credentials, etc. Strong writing speaks for itself. But, yes, we write because we have something to say, and we want someone to hear what we say.
And yes, I would agree that writers (and artists) are fragile. We take a huge risk sharing our writing, and giving feedback is a tricky thing. And there needs to be a bond of trust between the person getting the feedback and the person receiving it, I think, for the outcome to be meaningful.
Well, thanks for sharing your experience, P.
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P: The questions you ask are good ones for writers to think about:
What if someone..say a published author tells you that you suck. What if they suggest you stick to your real job? Will you? Can you take it?
I think that’s why it’s good to have a practice around writing and a community of other writers. You hear stories all the time about published writers who are hard on students when they teach their workshops. And some students can cut it. And some can’t.
Like ybonesy, I agree with you that most writers are fragile. In fact, I think it even came up last year in the Intensive we were in, about how writers need to be able to take criticism.
I guess one of the only ways to get good at that, is to actually put ourselves and our writing out there. Writers conferences are one way of doing that.
Thanks for your comments.
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Yes, writers are fragile. We have Monkey Mind constantly screaming in our heads about how bad our writing is, who do we think we are, give up, etc. And so, to get feedback can be devastating. It confirms all our fears. I suck. Now everyone knows, and it is public knowledge. And yet, how do we get better without some guidance from those around us? I think ybonesy’s comments about the trust factor is the key. In my experience, the lion’s share of the negative feedback (of the devastating sort) has been from people who don’t know me or my writing very well. I once had someone tell me that I (as a writer) would only make enough to pay the light bill. He had been published with a small publishing house, but worked 40 hours /week at a job he couldn’t stand. Still. It took me weeks to recover.
I could learn to really appreciate the feedback of a trusted group.
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ybonesy: BTW, I read all the bios at your Conference link. There’s a powerhouse of writers, editors, publishers at this conference. Have you ever attended?
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Sinclair: It just doesn’t make sense to me that a writer (knowing how hard it is to even pursue the craft at all) would say that to another writer. It would have taken me weeks to recover, too.
I agree – trust is the key. And generosity of spirit. He was obviously coming from a place of scarcity and his own jaded, negative experience. Or maybe he had a chip on his shoulder. We don’t need that. There are too many other people out there who are positive thinking and trustworthy.
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No, I’ve never been. Too late for this one, but just realizing it was in Albuquerque got me wondering if I should be taking advantage of these opportunities. The jury’s still out, to tell the truth. I see the pluses and minuses.
For some reason, I keep thinking of that phrase “the true secret of writing…”
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Deep down, I think each of us knows when we’ve created something that works.
If we separate ourselves from the effort and bits of our soul that every piece requires, and we honestly evaluate the piece, we know.
When I’ve finished something like that, and it is received with mixed and/or negative reviews, I generally head to my local big-chain bookstore.
I walk the store, touch as many books as I can, and reaffirm for myself that skill had little to do with what I see on the shelves.
Each of the artists are where they are because of persistence, timing, and luck. The skill part comes about when all of those other things fall into place, and most of those who persist are talented or become so.
I think conferences and workshops may up one’s timing and luck opportunities; certainly, they are indicative of persistence.
Which brings me back to an artist’s fragility and self-evaluation: at the very heart of what it is we do, we’ve got to need to do it. I’ve never met an artist who isn’t (in part) a product of a skewed view of the world.
That skewed view has caused all of us to spend a good deal of time self-evaluating, and that makes us far more aware of our flaws. I think this may often make us sensitive in areas the average person is not.
I encourage my students to write and participate by pointing out two simple things: first, no one should let the opinion of anyone in the room–including myself–rob them of their ideas because no one in the room matters more than they do themselves. Second, if a person can raise a child well, that person can do anything.
We artists are constantly raising children, and all we have to do is ensure they are raised well. Whether or not they make a mark really doesn’t matter because they constantly make us proud.
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You hit the mark, Shawn. We do know if we’re honest with ourselves. Also, can I got back to school and get you for my teacher??
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Shawn: thanks for your great comment. You are right – skill has very little to do with what we see on the shelves at bookstores. I worked for a large bookstore chain when I first quit my corporate job to pursue writing.
I learned pretty quickly that publishers pay big bucks to have books staged in strategic areas of bookstores that will draw the most traffic. Many times some of the best books were tucked away in the corners of the store.
I was really naive about all that at first. And it’s taken me a long time to develop my writing practice and a thicker skin. I’m still working on it!
I also wanted to say, this is a very astute observation, about artists and writers having a skewed view of the world:
“Which brings me back to an artist’s fragility and self-evaluation: at the very heart of what it is we do, we’ve got to need to do it. I’ve never met an artist who isn’t (in part) a product of a skewed view of the world.
That skewed view has caused all of us to spend a good deal of time self-evaluating, and that makes us far more aware of our flaws. I think this may often make us sensitive in areas the average person is not.”
We ARE always looking at ourselves pretty deeply. And it does make us more aware of our flaws. I think that’s how structure and practice can really help us develop strength.
When I was in art school, they told us that we comprised about 1% of the population. Meaning that the way we thought, acted, looked at the world, and processed all that was like only about 1% of the rest of the world. Most people just don’t think like writers and artists. But since we tend to surround ourselves with like-minded people, we can forget that.
Your comments are very rich.
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