Saturday, April 23, 2011

Question for Conference Attendees #SCBWIWWA

Did you recently attend the SCBWI WWA 20th Annual Writing and Illustrating for Children Conference? What was one piece of writing and/or illustrating advice/wisdom you learned and will apply to your work? Post it below in the comments to share with fellow members!! Thanks & Happy Writing!

5 comments:

Emilie said...

Characters need to have real faults and struggles, not just funny quirks, and the "Seven Deadly Sins" are a great place to start.

Anonymous said...

It's hard to choose one thing (since there were so many), but the session with Rosanne Parry on Character & the Seven Deadly Sins was a valuable one. To think through my character's flaws & developing them more realistically is something I'll be able to use. I've been working on a character study & this fits right into what I'm writing.

NĂºria Coe said...

Where to begin!
1) keep a file for ever character an write and collect images about everything you can think of. The more rounded and complete toe characters feel the easier it is to write about them.
2) listen and watch people like a writer. Dialogue is chaotic and organic, and making it sound real takes a lot of listening
3) butt in chair/ work hard/ practice practice practice...you get the idea
4) believable characters are flawed and driven by certain impulses, which can be a hindrance and their salvation both
5) sleep is overrated
6) plot is mire than just one Aristotle. A sub-plot woven in makes a story interesting
7) critique groups are critical
8) we are blessed to have SCBWI.

HelenL said...

Consider time spent on promotion of your book as part of your writing time. What percentage of your time you allocate to promotion will vary depending what stage you're at, but it's an important element of your writing life.

Susie Rantz said...

Don't spell out everything in your book. Readers are smarter than you think - don't let your writing infer.