Amy Rivers, director of Northern Colorado Writers, right, welcomes writers to the 14th Annual Northern Colorado Writers Conference during the banquet dinner May 3 in Fort Collins, Colo. April Moore, left, dresses in sailor gear in line with the conference theme, “The Muse Cruise: Let Your Writing Set Sail!”
By Shelley Widhalm
Going to a writing conference is a way to learn trade secrets about writing, editing and publishing without having to spend years on experience and time and energy on classes.
A few such secrets could be found at the 14th Annual Northern Colorado Writers Conference, “The Muse Cruise: Let Your Writing Set Sail!”, May 3 to 4 in Fort Collins, Colo.
The secrets came about during workshops, panel discussions and editor-agent consultations. Literary agents, editors, authors, freelance writers and industry professionals taught one-hour workshops on a variety of topics, including writing at the sentence level, plotting the scenes of a novel, building a platform and applying film techniques to novel writing.
Writing Secrets
Here is a sampling of a few of the writing secrets (followed by the workshop name and presenter):
- Find the Intention: If you want to freelance or hire a writer, figure out your intentions. Money? Fame? To keep busy? To promote yourself and what you do? To sharpen your writing skills? That’s the why. The what is your subject matter expertise, such as about current trends or untapped topics. The where is the places where your writing will appear. The how? How much do you want to get paid or are willing to pay to achieve quality? (The Business of Art: How to Make Freelance Writing Work for You, Kristin Owens, freelance writer)
- Stick with It: Don’t give up if you believe in your writing, and be sure to schedule it in, even in small chunks. Realize that writing is a process. You can’t edit a blank page, but you can edit bad writing. The biggest mistake in writing is to turn it into early before it has been edited or revised. Lastly, remember “Writing is hard, not easy. Only stick with it if you can’t imagine not doing it.” (A Writer at Any Age, Cynthia Swanson, bestselling author of “The Bookseller,” keynote speaker)
- Come Full Circle: The opening pages of a long project should have a hook to draw in the reader and also mirror the closing pages. Start in the right place where the action is, not with a lot of backstory that slowly leads up to the storytelling. Don’t perfect the beginning over and over again, but consider the middle and the ending as equally important. (Opening Pages That Lead to Yes, Angie Hodapp, literary agent)
Writing Passion
The conference concluded with a discussion and poetry presentation by Jovan Mays, former poet laureate of Aurora, a TED speaker and a National Poetry Slam Champion.
“Honor your passion, your love for words,” Mays said. “Keep your options open about who you are in this life. … It’s not about the about, it’s about the journey.”