I have so much inside of me. I want to share it with the whole world. I'm feeling grateful for my occupation: full time mother, wife, and artist.
A tremendous source of inspiration in our writing comes from our feelings. Especially those that are highly charged, both positive and negative.
I just returned from the SCBWI Orlando 2014 Conference and feel so pumped up after seeing my friends and learning so many new techniques as well as being inspired by the synergy that happens when so many creative and talented people come together.
Some great questions I came away with to improve my writing are:
Can I cut it?
Should I move this?
If you are asking, the answer is yes!
Marjetta Geerling, instructor of the Saturday Novel Workshop and author of FANCY WHITE TRASH, said that if you have a question about your writing, then you are already aware it is a problem and can usually answer with, Yes.
Wendy Loggia (Delacorte Press), read first pages and also shared some confidential first pages of her forthcoming books and instructed us in pacing and how to start a story with a great hook.
Tired old beginnings include:
Waking up.
Starting with a dream. (Snore)
Starting with a move.
Starting on an airplane.
Starting your story on the first day of school.
Wendy challenged us to come up with a fresh new place to start. One exception: Waking up dead at the mall. this was done in such a fresh new way, it conquered the rules and is a forthcoming book from Delacorte Press, I WOKE UP DEAD AT THE MALL/SHEEHAN. It sounds charming, with the exception of the dead part, but definitely a good hook and makes me want to read more to find out what happened to her.
So now I'm off to make my novel tighter and fresher. Revisions are my favorite! It's much more fun to squeeze clay than to throw ingredients into a bowl.
The delete key is more effective than adding words. How tight can you make it?
Happy writing!
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