{"id":8491,"date":"2020-07-28T00:32:36","date_gmt":"2020-07-28T07:32:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lisahistory.net\/wordpress\/?p=8491"},"modified":"2020-07-28T00:32:36","modified_gmt":"2020-07-28T07:32:36","slug":"notes-on-writing-san-diego-writers-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lisahistory.net\/wordpress\/2020\/07\/notes-on-writing-san-diego-writers-festival\/","title":{"rendered":"Notes on writing: San Diego Writers’ Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"

I recently enjoyed Day 2 of the San Diego Writers’ Festival<\/a>. I have never attended a writing conference of any kind before, and it was interesting to do so when it’s on Facebook rather than in person. I live and work quite a ways north of the city, so I’ve never really connected with anyone there although I’m in the same county.<\/p>\n

Although I’ve recently completed writing my second novel, and have spent years writing articles and lectures, I still have some reluctance considering myself a writer. This is despite the fact that I do it all the time, and am now just doing it for fiction. So I was there strictly to learn. I’m recording here the best parts, just as I do when I go to a history conference.<\/p>\n

Writing the Page Turning Novel<\/strong><\/p>\n

This was a panel moderated by Rich Farrell<\/a>, and including Tammy Greenwood<\/a>, Neal Griffin<\/a>, Joe Ide,<\/a> and R.D. Kardon<\/a>. They’re all novelists and at least two teach writing. Good writing, they said, has to come from something that haunts you, something that just won’t leave you alone, the “hot embers”. The story is sustained by the characters and the world that you build for them.<\/p>\n

In each session there would be one writer who definitely spoke to my methods of working. For this one, it was Tammy Greenwood. The start of each chapter should be like the start of a book, for one thing. But it isn’t necessary for the writer to know everything, or to even have an outline. In fact, if you know too much, then the writing is just reverse engineering. This viewpoint made me feel a lot better, since on both books I have been a “pantser”, writing by the seat of my pants (although the conference speakers also used the term “Blank Page writer”). It’s authentic to just write, and to be surprised by what we write — it gives us a reason to keep writing.<\/p>\n

Another useful point was that writing a book was about writing, not publishing. The only important thing, said Joe Ide, is to write a good book. And the advice from several was to just keep writing — don’t stop.<\/p>\n

Interactive Workshop: John Vorhaus<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

This speaker was a revelation, with a presentation on what I can only call Writer Psychology. It was the sort of session where everyone taps their feet and comes out dancing.<\/p>\n

Vorhaus gave four aspects of writing, but really they could be for anything:<\/p>\n