Tag: James Dashner

Rock Canyon Writing for Charity

So a couple weeks ago, I heard of this for-charity writer’s conference going on in Sandy this weekend.  Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend the full event, but I did go to the evening extravaganza with fellow writer and quarkie Jimmy.

The evening session was great!  There were some excellent performances by Divine Comedy and singer/songwriter Nancy Hanson, and a giant question/answer panel with such local writers as Shannon Hale, James Dashner, Sara Zarr, Brandon Mull, and Brandon Sanderson, among others.

My question for the panel was “with the way the market is changing, what advice do you have for new writers trying to break in right now?” Most of the answers were pretty standard fare, such as “don’t write for the market, write what you love,” “don’t let all the crazy speculation keep you from writing,” and, perhaps implied more than spoken, “no one really knows how things are changing; just keep writing.”

At the signing afterwards, though, I was hanging out with Brandon Sanderson, and he had some interesting things to say on the subject.  When asked about getting an agent, he said that new writers should follow the blogs of the agents to whom they want to submit and join the conversations going on there.

Let me just say that Brandon is better to his fans than practically any other authors I know–and that’s saying something, because I have  yet to meet an author in-person who wasn’t friendly and gracious.  Maybe it’s something about sf&f; the community tends to be really good to its own.

Anyway, even with all the fame he’s gained from the Wheel of Time (he’s basically Tor’s biggest superstar fantasy writer right now), Brandon is still very accessible and down-to-earth.  He makes a special effort to remember his fans, and greets them by name (or by some other tag if he can’t remember names) when he sees them.  One of the guys asked if he could take a picture of Brandon with a message to his son, and Brandon not only took the picture but posted it to his twitter pics.

Overall, the event was a good opportunity to rub shoulders with other authors and aspiring writers from the area–and in Utah, there is certainly no shortage of either one.  Chatted with Dan Wells and Rob, an old friend from the first 318 class I took at BYU, as well as others. Besides that, the money went to buy books for low-income kids across Utah–how can you not feel good about that?  Great event–I’m glad I could go.

“That’s what it looks like when the infection sets in.”

So said Howard Tayler at CONduit today when he saw the expression on my face at the Aspiring writers Q&A panel.  We chatted a bit afterward, and he said something very encouraging: that if I continue to pursue my writing career with the same hunger he saw on my face, he believes I will be successful.  Awesome!

This weekend, I attended CONduit 2009 in Salt Lake.  It was my first con experience, and I had a great time!  Besides being just plain fun, it was very educational and inspiring.

I felt a bit unnerved at first to be surrounded by so many people that I barely knew, in a comfort-zone shattering kind of way.  I went up with  Charlie and Laura, though, and it helped to have friends sharing the experience.  By Saturday, we were all getting around very well.  By the end, I figured that I did know a lot of people there–and, surprisingly, that a lot of people recognized me.

I came away with a TON of ideas and things learned!  Here are just a few of them:

  • One of the panelists on Friday suggested this revision method: use search-and-replace to color all filler words (such as “really,” “just,” “very,” “was”; basically, the words I always overuse on this blog).  That way, you can easily see which sentences you need to rewrite.
     
  • Howard and Sandra Tayler mentioned, almost in passing, how they made it a matter of prayer before deciding to go full time on the web comic thing.  I definitely need to include the Lord more as I try to figure out how this writing thing is going to fit into my life.
     
  • In their Saturday panel, Howard made a very interesting remark about cultivating your personal image.  I realized that if I want to be seen as a professional by editors and agents, I need to adjust my wardrobe and appearance accordingly.  I don’t necessarily have to go the suit-and-tie route–Howard’s  image involves jeans and a button-up shirt–but my dress and appearance should say “I am competent, sharp, and serious about what I do.”
     
  • Dan Willis had a very interesting suggestion for writers: get and use business cards.  Networking is one of the most important business activities that aspiring writers can, should, and must engage in, so using business cards at conventions is very important.  It sounds so obvious, but I’d never given it much thought.   I’ll have to get some printed up for myself before I go to World Fantasy and Worldcon later this year. 
     
  • Between panels, I got into a fascinating conversation with Eric James Stone about networking at these conventions.  From that conversation, I learned how important it is to be genuine and personal as you network, to listen more than you talk, and to never see people as mere stepping stones for your career.  He got an anthology contract with Kevin J. Anderson through a con, and he never approached him with that attitude–ever.  Other people he saw who did, Anderson treated politely but never contacted.  You should certainly have a pitch ready, but you should also give time for contacts to develop.  Over time, people will remember your face and recognize you at these events.

conduit2009-jawaConventions are definitely great for networking, but I absolutely hate walking up to a stranger and asking for favors.  It makes me very nervous.  As a result, I’ve adopted the philosophy of asking myself what I can offer the person I’m trying to connect with, rather than asking something of them.  I tried to follow this philosophy at CONduit, even if all I could offer was a compliment on something they’d said on a panel.

Using this strategy, I was able to get into a lot of interesting, genuine conversations with some of the big names at the con.  Charlie, Laura, and I got into a long, interesting conversation with L. E. Modessitt at one point.  He gave me some advice on women, which Charlie found hilarious (he must have seen us bickering/bantering earlier).  Had some good conversations with Dave Wolverton as well–he probably recognized me as the crazy fanboy who had him sign a poster of his first (now out of print) novel.  It was also good to see Brandon and talk with him–I thanked him for his helpful (if harsh) comments on my English 318 final.  Other people like James Dashner and Julie Wright recognized me from LTUE, which was really cool.

If people in the local scene are starting to recognize my face and my name, I must be doing something right.  That’s very encouraging.  Plus, the convetion was just plain fun. To top it off, the guy in the jawa costume was awesome.  All around, good times.  Very good times.