In the good company of writers: My notes on PNWA 2017 #amwriting #PNWAhive

PNWA 17: Best Birthday Present Ever! 

I last went to the Pacific Northwest Writers Conference some years ago after taking a Fiction Writing Certificate course with author Pam Binder at the University of Washington. A group of us "Pam's Kids" went. It was a great time, but I also felt overwhelmed by all of the information about publishing, agents, and marketing.

I decided I'd better focus on writing a good book first. Then I went and earned an MFA in Creative Writing, read a lot of amazing books, and my personal definition of "good book" skyrocketed.

I applied bum glue and kept writing. Books were roosting like pigeons in my laptop. It was time to get out there again. My spouse sent me to the conference this year as an early birthday present.

Returning to PNWA 17 was a fantastic experience. I had this wonderful, and not terribly common, feeling of social ease. It was fun to talk to other authors about their books and writing. I heard about a number of works in progress — featuring: zombie chickens, Shakespeare-loving orcs, and a romantic bike trip with time travel — that I wanted to read.

If these books were available, I would have wildly added to my to-read list (which I am arbitrarily aiming to keep at a manageable 200. As it was, I nudged up to around 214 on various recommendations). Unfortunately, the publishing process takes awhile, so, we'll have to wait. Wishing my PNWA buddies the best!

The agents at the conference were imposing, but not frightening. Pitching them in speed dating fashion was a weird, but totally survivable rite of passage. (Somehow, practicing pitching with my fellow writers was more terrifying.) I was reminded of a favorite quote:

 “Military people never seem to apologize for killing each other yet novelists feel ashamed for writing some nice inert paper book that is not certain to be read by anybody.” ― Leonora Carrington, The Hearing Trumpet

I have fun writing my books, but while talking about them sometimes a horrifying sensation oozes into me... Humiliation. Egads! And shame. Silly, perhaps, but there.

I wanted to hug keynote speaker Natalie Bazile, author of Queen Sugar, after listening to her share her fantastic and epic publication story. There needs to be a new word for writerly persistence. (Put your suggestions in the comments!) Persistence alone doesn't cut it. We've all heard that we should be persistent, but who doesn't feel they've already put in a great deal of effort? Still, I realize, on the book publishing quest, I've just begun to discover what that "persistence" and "determination" may mean.

In additional to the publishing info, I took some wonderful classes on the writing craft and came away inspired and with many new tools. The presenters offered supportive and practical advice.

"Love what you write: Love the process. If you don't enjoy the journey than the destination won't be enough." — Lindsey Schopfer 

 "You are the person most invested in being kind to yourself, so I encourage you to do it." — Cat Rambo

See, damn, that's just some good advice right there.

Favorite classes (as with any conference there were so many more great ones I didn't get to): 

• World building with Janet Lee Carey
• Literary Techniques for Genre Writers and Moving From Idea to Draft with Cat Rambo
  Note: Do check out her online classes The Rambo Academy for Wayward Writers, writing lectures which include suggested readings and writing exercises.
  --Wait, did Cat say she's working a book on story craft? I'll be on the lookout for that!
• A Literary Agent Reveals the Biggest Pitfalls with Steven Salpeter
• A Novel in Four Drafts and Making the Most of Your Writing Time with Lindsay Schopfer 
  Note: Schopfer and Terry Persun are teaching "How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy" Sept. 23 in Bellevue.

Here's what I came away with:

• Write a minimum of 100 words a day and set a target of 2,000 words a day.
• Try Habitica, Write or Die and the Writing Excuses podcast.
• Do timed writing exercises.
• Create a task list of scenes to write.
• Go ahead and work on multiple projects. Schopfer called this a "creativity lifeboat".

A couple of favorite bits of wisdom that I glommed on to:

Mary Shelley, a fearless writing cat

Cat Rambo's beauty tips for writers: How to be Beautiful 1) no cliches 2) trim language 3) use senses in unexpected ways 4) read your work aloud 5) work at it.—way more useful than anything in Cosmo

"Sometimes you should read crazy, gonzo shit." — Cat Rambo, to remind yourself that you can do whatever you like. Doing this, yeah!

As a reminder that we must be fearless and do whatever it takes to shake amazing words loose Lindsey Schopfer said it's not unheard of to don a fearless writing hat be it Viking helm, fedora, or gothic tiara.

This so needs to be a thing! What's your fearless writing hat? Or, fearless writing cat?

I'm excited about some of these additions to my to-read list:

• Atlas Obscura: An Explorer's Guide to the World's Hidden Wonders by Joshua Foer
• The Gentleman by Forrest Leo
• The Dictionary of Imaginary Places by Alberto Manguel
• Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
• The Thousandth Floor by Katherine McGee
• Distant Reading by Franco Moretti
• The 10% Solution by Ken Rand Gosh, I really wish this was available on Kindle.

What did you put on your list? What am I missing here?

So, in the post conference world I'm back to my happy place and writing, writing, writing using some of those new tools to spark ideas and up my word count. I'm sending words out into the world, too. Of course, I would love to have a published book on the shelf.

Even more, I want to be part of the conversation about what we want the future to look like and how we can all get there. I want to explore worlds, ideas and possibilities in stories, with you.