RT Part 2

I've already talked about going to the writing boot camp before RT13, and who invaluable conferences have been to me, to keep from burning out in doing something I love, today I'll let you all in on a few things I learned from the workshops. And I'll to it in bullet point since my brain is fried from being super sick. That's right I caught the conference plague. Hold on one second as I cough up a lung here.

Okay, I'm back. Now to the things I've learned.

1. There is absolutely no reason to be ashamed of what you write. Stand tall and say it with proud. Those who have no respect for the fact that you are actually doing something that not everyone can do, and that you are writing in a genre that you love, has no place in your life. If that person has a permanent place in your life, then you know now that you need to keep your writing life separate from them. Keep the positive people close to you, cause this is a hard business to get into, let alone stay in, and you want to keep as much positivity as you can for those rough times that will happen.

2. No matter how many times you hear something, it wont be until that hundredth time when the light bulb goes off and you know exactly what they mean and how it affects your characters. Example, "The villain of your novel, is the hero of his own story. To him he is doing the right thing, it just happens to be wrong." It wasn't until I was in a Thriller workshop when David Morell, the creator of Rambo, said this that my light bulb went off. If I weren't in a room full of people I would have said out loud, "Holy F*cking, Shit balls, why didn't I see that before!" and I might have done a little dance as well. But it's a good thing that I can do all that in my head. Anyways, I've been working on the rewrite of my first novel I wrote in college (so of course I thought I knew all my characters like the back of my hand, ha not), that I realized the real reasoning why my main villain does what he does. And believe it or not HE IS THE HERO OF HIS OWN STORY, I just didn't see it until now.

So, listen to those that do what you do and even if you don't think their writing advice makes sense or whatnot, keep listening, cause at one point or another you will realize that it does apply to you.

3. In romance the vagina is magical and fixes all men. What? Vaginas don't fix men and they sure as hell aren't magical! Think about it this way. I most books for the bad boy to get the good girl, the boy has to change or evolve to be accepted by the good girl. And what's his reward other than growing as a human-being? Her vagina! That's right, sex is a big motivator for men in romance novels. Okay, sex is a big motivator for men in real life too. As much as I'd like to say that sex isn't a motivator for my male characters, in the end it does have a factor. This doesn't always have to deal with only men and women, but with any characters that will have a romance or trying to have a romance in the end. Sex is always a factor. Even if you don't think it is, just sit there and ask yourself this, "If x doesn't do this for y then will, x still be accepted by y?" "What does it mean for x to do something, to give something up for y? Will it kill their relationship? Will having sex too soon or too late, really effect my characters relationship?" In the end the vagina does have magical powers to motivate the man in to changing himself. But if you ask me I believe that the woman has to change herself in the end. One person should not be the only one that has to evolve and learn something in the end. All characters have to learn something in your novel.

4. GMC it's every where. Goal, Motivation, Conflict. If you think you avoid this then you're wrong. Sorry to say it, but GMC is everywhere, in every genre, in every character. Learn it, know it, love it. And yes it does scare me a little bit, but that's why they have a writing manual and conferences about it. Without GMC your book will be flat, and no one wants a flat book.

5. Don't fear the white space. The writers out there will understand this. Use dialogue and small paragraphs so that the flow of your story isn't lacking. Too much black space (the actual words on the page) can pull the reader out of the story. Dialogue is just as important as your narration.

6. Your research bible is imparative if you are going to have a series. Even if you have one book it is key to have a research bible with every little detail about the characters, setting, plot, special events, pretty much anything and everything you might ever think about both in the book and out of the book that affects your characters. I've already been doing this with my work, but after talking to a few authors who do have series going, along with other novels, this has saved their hides more than once. Cause readers will catch the height change, eye color change, or if you spelled a name wrong. With this research bible will help you catch these errors.

I can go on and on about the different things that I'd learned from RT, but I don't want to bore you. Go to a con, learn from those who do what you want to do, and see what works for you. Cause that is my magical number 7 of things I learned. Just cause it worked for one person doesn't mean that it will work for you or your characters. Even if you don't think it will work, try some of the advice of how to write or ways to inspire your muse. Who knows maybe that one thing you didn't think would work is the key to what way causing your writers block. That also goes with don't expect everything to work for you. Everyone has their own path into the industry and how they go about writing their books. Don't judge them for what they do or how they do it. We are all trying to do the same things. Their is no reason to hash on other. Give them a high five and say keep on going, but I'm going to be over her doing it the way that feels right to me.

And with that I will leave you all to curl up in a hacking coughing ball of sick kid, with a good book. Hope to see everyone next year at RT in New Orleans! And keep on writing! I know I will.