Reflecting upon LDStorymakers Writers Conference

At LDStorymakers Writers Conference on May 11, I sat at tables and in classrooms surrounded by amazing writers. We chatted and reminisced and learned. What a delightful group to be with, indeed. I love being in the company of other writers. We rock and ARE definitely the new rock and roll stars.

 Leigh Covington, Morgan Shamy, Cortney Pearson, & me.

I attended many breakout sessions that offered me a wealth of knowledge and opened my eyes to different ways of looking at writing. These topics ranging from character development to self-publishing. The class I took the most from was taught by author and editor Paul Genesse. He provided valuable information about world building.

I've been toying around with a dystopia novel called SPHERICAL. I'm at the point where I don't know how to develop the world anymore without seriously info-dumping--an absolute no no in writing. This course helped writing this book to be less daunting and more manageable.

Anyway, here are some things I learned:

• The world is one of the most important characters. Paul said this is crucial in sci-fi and fantasy; I think this advice can lend itself to other genres, too.
• Only bring up information about the world if it is absolutely necessary to the scene.
• Draw a map of your world--it can help you to visualize it for development purposes.
• What you write should make your readers love the world just as much as Tolkien's readers love(d) Rivendale and the Shire.
• Think of your world as a living being, like one of your characters.
• The setting can be shown through the characters thoughts and feelings.
• Never, ever give rote descriptions that go on and on for pages. Tolkien did this but he could get away with it. It is more difficult for modern writers to get away with it. 
• Make sure there is a connection between your character(s) and your world.

I came away from this breakout session eager to bring life to SPHERICAL and my other works. However, I was inspired to start working on a New Adult piece I've been stewing over. We shall see...

What I like about writing conferences is how revitalized I feel afterwards. I think it is the powerful boost of energy found within the participants and being enveloped around talk of writing that perks me up. It is such a strength to be a part of such an amazing group of people.

I also learned a bit about self-publishing which sounds rather intriguing to me at the moment. The gears in my brain are a-turning, that's for sure. :)

What have been your experiences at writers conferences? Did you attend LDStorymakers this year?

Writing Jewels

Smiling all the Way From A to Z -- I

Today's letter has much to do with writing and is an exciting part of the story creation process. The thing that starts with the letter I that makes me smile is...

 

INSPIRATION

 

The moment where an idea for a story or a scene pops into your mind and you can't stop thinking about it! Oh, man, it is a brilliant feeling to have the idea formulate out of thin air without even thinking, "I want to come up with a really great idea for a book or scene." Like lightning, it shatters through your scull, twists, turns, and tantalizes you until you start typing it out on the computer.

 

My first book, FÉLICITÉ FOUND, came from a dream I had where one tiny part of it stayed with me for weeks on end. The intense part of the dream continued to wedge itself into my mind until I started writing it, or else I would have burst into a million pieces of Julia flesh. Icky!

 

My second book, BOUND (going to be a trilogy), came to me while I was watching "Darbie O'Gill and the Little People" an old school Irish film featuring Sean Connery. A part in the movie sparked my book's idea, I did a bunch of research, and then bodda bing bodda boom I was writing it out.

 

My third book, SPHERICAL, shattered my senses as I was attempting to fall asleep one fateful night. I ended up reading something and one word in it opened up this big ball of dystopian awesomeness. Weeks later, more of it formulated in my mind while I was exercising.

 

Just two nights ago, I came up with another idea for a future project while I was taking a shower. Let's just say a lot of the time ideas float into my mind with the steam of the hot shower water. Lots of time to think in there, ya know (well, if you take long showers like me).

 

Anyway, inspiration makes me smile and giggle and often times jump up and down screaming with joy emanating from my skin into the air around me.

 

How are you inspired to write? Does inspiration make you smile? And starting with the letter I, what makes you smile?

 

Writing Jewels

PS: Refer to the blurb on the very top of my blogs sidebar to know why I am posting about what makes me smile. Go forward and smile!

Month of November Goals

Happy November, dear friends! I hope your Halloween was spooktacular! Well, I'll just jump right into my goals.

Here is how my month of October goals panned out:

• Recuperate from spraining my ankle Uh... It turns out that I fractured a bone in my foot. I had to wear a hideous boot for a freaking month. Luckily I'm out of the montrousity of ugliness. But I've got to rehabilitate my poor foot now. Silliness, I say
• Read BEYONDERS: SEEDS OF REBELLION by Brandon Mull Check. Great book
• Finish listening to DIE FOR ME by Amy Plum Super Check. I loved this book sooooo much. Read it. Now
• If I have time, I'll edit some or all of one of my writing projects Nope, I did open up one of my projects and read the first chapter to my new roomie. She LOVED it! Just you guys wait...
• Start my new job, love it, and learn it fast Check on all accounts
• Find a new place to live in Salt Lake City before I'm driven mad by the long commute Check and it didn't happen soon enough. I truly was going crazy driving two hours a day.
• Enjoy my half birthday... Check. I loveth growing old. haha

Well, I'm feeling good about my goals and hope to have success in the coming month. Here are my month of November goals:

• Finish listening to the audio book CHIME by Franny Billingsley
• Listen to the audio book SHIVER by Maggie Stiefvater (I just got a library card and by golly I'm gonna use it--bring on the audio books. Yes!)
• Read FINALE by Becca Fitzpatrick
• NaNoWriMo--50K and/or finish writing my dystopian book called SPHERICAL
• Do something social at least once a week
• Have a super fantastic Thanksgiving Holiday *gobble gobble*
• Be better at reading and commenting on other blogs. So sorry for being anti-blogospher-social

How did your month of October goals go? What are your month of November goals?

    Writing. Jewels.

 

Month of October Goals

Wow! Has September already come and gone? How is that possible? It just barely started. And that means that October is here and I have to report on my goals from last month. I felt far better last month than I did during the summer. What a relief!

Anyway, here's how my September goals panned out:

• Finish beta'ing my sister-in-laws book CHECK and by golly it's a great book. Be ready to read stuff by Robin LuBean King, kids
• Read Insurgent  by Veronica Roth SUPER CHECK and wow, what a great book! It's official, I'm back into reading.
• Keep pluggin along with my new project, SPHERICAL (a dystopian novel) CHECK. I didn't do much but it's coming along
• Edit one of my own works No check, I am waiting to get my second book BOUND back from a CP
• Be social CHECK. I even went on two dates with the same guy. No interest there, though. And I spent time with friends, so that's great
• Go camping with my sister CHECK Refer to the blog post I wrote about the camping trip

So, here's looking October straight in the eyes. But I have to tell you that I started a new job. Today is my fifth day on the job. I will be learning this job, so I might be overwhelmed with it all. I hope my goals won't stress me out more. Anyway, here are my goals:

• Read BEYONDERS: SEEDS OF REBELION by Brandon Mull
• Finish listening to DIE FOR ME by Amy Plum (audio books are awesome)
• I'm going to save writing more of SPHERICAL for NaNoWriMo, especially with all I'm going to be doing this month
• If I have time, I'll edit some or all of another project
• Start my new job, love it, and learn it fast
• Find a new place to live in Salt Lake City before I'm driven mad by the long commute
• Enjoy my half birthday tomorrow, October 6, 2012. Yes, I celebrate my half birthdays. What can I say? I love birthdays!
• Recuperate from spraining my ankle. Silly me

What are your goals for this month? Have you read any good books lately? And how is life treating you?

*Mwah*

    Writing. Jewels.

Month of September Goals

Hello, followers! How's it going? I hope I find you all well on this Friday (or whenever you read this). I've got to admit I didn't do super hot on my goals this month. However, I was getting over a roller coaster ride of a crazy summer. So, I'd say all is well. Here's how I did with last month's goals:

• Move on August 18 and get settled into my new place Check. I like my new place. It's funny cuz my old commute to work took me 15 minutes. My new commute is 5 minutes total. Somehow I'm late for work even though I'm closer, when I was early before. *shakes head* 
• Read Beyonders: Seeds of Rebellion by Brandon Mull. I bought it. Does that count? haha
• Edit a bit of my own works I started working on a new project. That counts, right?
• Enjoy me some Netflix and time with loved ones Super Check. I socialized a lot more than usual and spent some time with family. As for Netflix--it turned into Hulu. I met an author (Natalie Whipple) at a book bloggers/author get-together a couple weeks ago. She recommended me watch a Korean drama called "Boys Before Flowers". Oh my gosh! I watched all 25 episodes in about 2 weeks. Love it. You definitely should check it out, too. Beware, it'll suck you in. So funny story: my roommate/coworker sat in on watching the first episode with me. She is obsessed with it now, but we are both on different episodes. We'll sit in the same room watching it together but not the same episode. haha
• Beta a tweeps book if she needs my help. She's not ready for it to be read yet.

Well, now for September's goals:

• Finish beta'ing my sister-in-law's book (I'm so proud of her)
• Read Insurgent by Veronica Roth (I decided Beyonders can wait)
• Keep plugging along with my new project, SPHERICAL (a dystopian novel)
• Edit one of my own works (not sure which one)
• Go on a couple dates (I have no idea who'll be the lucky man/men, though... haha)
• Be social (writers tend to be solitary beings sometimes, or is that just me???)
• Go camping with my sister Guess what? I've already accomplished this one. I went Wednesday-Thursday of this week. Nice

So what are your goals for this fabulous autumnal month? Are you excited for fall blowing in? I am!

Writing. Jewels.