How movies help us write

This past weekend I attended the North Houston Romance Writers of America Writer’s Conference where author/screenwriter Alexandra Sokoloff taught her acclaimed workshop of screenwriting tricks for author. I’ve read her book, “Screenwriting Tricks for Authors” and absolutely loved it. I’m a huge fan of outlining and I personally feel that storyboarding is the best way to go. That may be because I’m a very visual person. I wrote my first YA manuscript as a panster and it became a disaster in the revision process when I kept finding plot holes and major character flaws.

Now I storyboard. I learned from Sokoloff that some of our best writing tools are movies. In her book and workshop she suggests listing 10 movies that are similar to what you write. From there you have something to analyze based on the criteria that she teaches. There really is a formula to the craft and it isn’t rocket science to follow it.

An area that I’ve been struggling with is how to wrap up my sub plots in my current WIP. I love books that have strong sub plots that compliment and add to the overall theme of the plot. I love how these elements can add beautiful layers to a well-written story. She suggested focusing on movies that do this well and modeling my structure after that. I found this to be great advice and now I’m making a list of movies with strong sub plots.

Overall, it was a wonderful conference and weekend. I got to meet some fantastic literary agents, see some of my writing friends and baby got to see family. If it wasn’t for the car breaking down on the drive down from Arkansas the weekend would have been a complete success!

You can learn more about Alexandra Sokoloff at her website. I highly recommend her book “Screenwriting Tricks for Authors.” How have used movie viewing to help your writing skills?

Announcements:

The 2012 Write-It-Forward Workshop schedule is up. Take a look at the fantastic line-up including back by popular demand, Writing Moms (March 2012) and the new Time Management for the Busy Writer (October 2012) in time for NANOWRIMO both by Natalie C. Markey.

A percentage of the profits from Markey’s ‘Caring for Your Special Needs Dog’ go to The Texas A&M Foundation to the benefit of the Neurology Section, Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinarian Medicine.

Blog Mash-ups:

Nanowrimo: Narrative Structure Cheat Sheet by Author and Screenwriter Alexandra Sokoloff

Tips on Marketing Your Novel by Literary Agent Natalie M. Lakosil

Re-sparking that writer conference energy

I attended the RWA Writers Conference this year and I know authors that attended the Thriller Writers Conference. Such conferences can be overwhelming and exhausting. Hopefully you read Bob Mayer’s and Jennifer Talty’s ‘The Writer’s Conference Guide.’ The truth is, whatever conference you attended, you are EXHAUSTED! Especially, if you are a mom. I know after being away from my house for a week I was met with so many things to do including planning and running my one-year-old's birthday party.

So, how do you keep the momentum and the spark from the conferences and apply them to your writing life? I recommend that you look over your notes and get back into your writing as quickly as possible. It is so easy to get tired and caught up with real life and feel like you must devote more time to it because you were at a conference for a week.

Remember why you went to that conference. What were your goals? I'm sure you had some. Look at those goals. Did you achieve them? How can you move forward and capitalize on what you learned to achieve your goals?

Maintaining the high from a conference is especially hard for mother’s that have been away from their babies. I know, I am there right now. Be sure to discuss your goals with your family. Get them on board, set a schedule and start working.

These are some suggestions to start with. How are you maintaining your high from a writer’s conference? What advice do you have? Please share below in a comment.

Announcements:

My non-fiction, ‘Caring for Your Special Needs Dog,’ is out. Vets will always be your first resource in pet care, but as owners, we have a lot of power in giving our dog the best possible life. It is currently selling for $2.99 with a percentage going to The Texas A&M Foundation to the benefit of the Neurology Section, Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinarian Medicine.

Don’t miss out on the whole writer special-- three titles for $8.99, save $4 http://t.co/xy7e0Q9 THIS IS A GREAT DEAL!

I also have a new author website, www.NatalieCMarkey.com

How training for a conference is like being a professional athlete

I feel like I’m in college again during registration time. Yes, I was the geek that spent days mapping out the ideal semester schedule. I even had back-up plans so if a class filled up. Now I’m planning and reading up on workshop classes for the upcoming Romance Writers of America conference in New York City. This will be my first major writing conference since I turned my part-time writing career to a full-time so I’m excited and nervous.

Like most events in my life, I still relate everything back to my world of competitive dance. And yes, being a professional dancer (I got paid to perform and teach) is like being a professional athlete. I quit that career avenue because of injury, but I learned a lot of still applicable qualities like endurance. So since this is my first major conference I can’t tell you that these steps work, but this is how I’m getting ready for the conference.

Step one: Practice hard. I’m revising, perfecting and practicing my pitch. A great way to do this is by visiting Pitch University. This week they are holding a pitch fest, where you can pitch your book and get actual agent feedback on it next week. Ok, I’m waiting until the last minute as usual, but I will get this in. It’s risk free and lot less scary than having your first big pitch be at conference.

Step two: Study your material. Be prepared and know what you’re doing. I bought “How to Get the Most Out of a Writer’s Conference" by experts Bob Mayer and Jennifer Talty. It’s always wise to learn from people who have done this before. I’m currently reading this book.

Step three: Know the schedule. This is where my college registration OCD comes in. I’ve read the schedule of courses and planned which ones I feel will best accomplish my goals as an author. In addition to just reading the topics, I’m reading up on the presenters as well. It’s always smart to know whom you are working with and what their background is. For example, in dance I always read up on the judges and workshop instructors in advance. It helped to know if they would prefer my character jazz or my lyrical. In writing conference terms, it’s helpful to know if a particular presenter has accomplished my goals and in my areas of interest. I write YA and MG and I’m all ready published in non-fiction. So depending on the topic, I may not be helped as much by someone that only writes a specific subgenre in romance and is only talking to people that want that specific goal. I want to learn from authors that are multi-genre writers. Learning from their experiences would most help me reach my goal to be a multi-genre author.

It’s always wise to read up on whom you will be learning from. You never know what similar interests you might have. After all, because I was prepared going into one of Bob Mayer’s Warrior Writer seminars is how I ended up being a non-fiction author on dogs. That was not my ultimate goal, but sometimes the right moments can lead to greatness.

Step four: Train for endurance. Any athlete must train for endurance and writing is very much and endurance based activity. I have a set routine. I’m up at 5am for my morning workout before beginning my writing day at 5:30am. Any conference is tiring but since I’m use to a jammed packed, daily routine I’m ready for the exhaustion of a conference. Plus, I now feel that writing full-time with a now 11-month-old daughter can prepare me for ANYTHING.

Step five: Take time to relax. If you read my review or better yet, bought and read "Writer Wellness" by Joy E. Held you know the value of adding relaxation to your writing routine. Before reading this book I was only focused on pushing and driving myself for my goal. Though I still push myself in anything I want to accomplish I now realize that by taking time to relax my mind and body actually makes me more effective in how I go about accomplishing my short-term and long-term goals.

Over the next weeks leading up to the conference I'll be writing on conference related themes. I’m exciting to be attending this year’s RWA Annual Conference in New York City. Last year the conference fell over my due date, so I was a little busy. Are you going to conference? Have you been before? How do you prepare? And let me know if you want to meet up. And after the announcements, enjoy some motivational music.

Announcements:

My book, “Caring for Your Special Needs Dog,” is out by Who Dares Wins Publishing. A percentage of the profits go to The Texas A&M Foundation to the benefit of the Neurology Section, Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinarian Medicine. To learn more about the book, which is currently selling for $2.99, click here.

Weekly Blog Mash ups: For my first blog mash up I'm sharing some of my favorite people to follow. They know writing, the craft and the industry, If you're a writer, you must follow these blogs.

Write It Forward- Who Dares Wins Publishing

Ending Unplanned- Rachel Harris

Warrior Writer- Kristen Lamb

PW Creighton- Phillip Creighton

Piper Bayard- Piper Bayard

Anna Writes- Anna DeStefano