OCW: Jodi Thomas (cont'd)
As I was telling you last week, Ozark Creative Writers puts together an awesome conference. Jodi Thomas was the keynote speaker at their 2007 conference. She was one of the best speakers I've ever heard - entertaining, informative, and genuine.
She talked briefly about the importance of making your characters believable. She noted that your heroes need weaknesses and your villains need reasons. I've heard that before, and it makes sense, but she took it further and said that characters are interesting because they grate on other characters. That's exactly right - I certainly enjoy those characters who irritate others! By the way, she mentioned conflict with regard to dialogue also, and reminded us that dialogue is only interesting if there's conflict. Something she said that was new to me is that every character should have a secret. I liked that. It makes it easier for me to make more characters multilayered if I think about their secrets. It gives them depth.
One of the lessons she shared with us was the plot train. She described the first chapter as the engine, which has to have enough ooomph to pull the whole train along the tracks. Each chapter is a car with a little hook at the end that the next chapter/car will hook onto. I really liked this metaphor - I think I'll try that with my next novel. I tend to be a very visual person, and I think having the "train" on the wall will help me plan.
And the idea that she left us with was one that really meant a lot to me. Jodi talked about failure, and how we should look at rejection as if we are freefalling skydivers - let go and fall, enjoy the view. She talked about having a strategy for falling. Given my fear of failure, this really helped me. I have to remember that it is okay to fail, that it is all part of the journey, and that I can enjoy it. Well, okay, I don't think I'll ever actually enjoy failure, but it does help to remember that it's okay to "let go." So, I've decided to come up with a strategy - I am going to look at this process as a journey, I am going to celebrate my rejections, and I am going to send out more stuff (and allow myself to fail more often).
By the way - I took Jodi's advice to heart. I came away from OCW determined to put myself out there more. I submitted a short story to The Storyteller, and got the acceptance letter over the weekend! Woo-hooo!! I owe this one to Jodi, because she gave me the first kick in the pants of the OCW conference (there were several kicks throughout the weekend, but hers was the first and the strongest!). So, Jodi, thank you!!
And a plug for Jodi - her book that I've just started, Widows of Wichita County, is available now, and her book Twisted Creek will be out in March of 2008. She's written a lot of books - so if you like what she writes, there are lots of others you can add to your wish list!
In my next entry, I'll share some kernels of wisdom that I gleaned from Dusty Richards, who I highly recommend - if you have a chance to learn from him, listen!!
Falling Joyfully,
Elle
She talked briefly about the importance of making your characters believable. She noted that your heroes need weaknesses and your villains need reasons. I've heard that before, and it makes sense, but she took it further and said that characters are interesting because they grate on other characters. That's exactly right - I certainly enjoy those characters who irritate others! By the way, she mentioned conflict with regard to dialogue also, and reminded us that dialogue is only interesting if there's conflict. Something she said that was new to me is that every character should have a secret. I liked that. It makes it easier for me to make more characters multilayered if I think about their secrets. It gives them depth.
One of the lessons she shared with us was the plot train. She described the first chapter as the engine, which has to have enough ooomph to pull the whole train along the tracks. Each chapter is a car with a little hook at the end that the next chapter/car will hook onto. I really liked this metaphor - I think I'll try that with my next novel. I tend to be a very visual person, and I think having the "train" on the wall will help me plan.
And the idea that she left us with was one that really meant a lot to me. Jodi talked about failure, and how we should look at rejection as if we are freefalling skydivers - let go and fall, enjoy the view. She talked about having a strategy for falling. Given my fear of failure, this really helped me. I have to remember that it is okay to fail, that it is all part of the journey, and that I can enjoy it. Well, okay, I don't think I'll ever actually enjoy failure, but it does help to remember that it's okay to "let go." So, I've decided to come up with a strategy - I am going to look at this process as a journey, I am going to celebrate my rejections, and I am going to send out more stuff (and allow myself to fail more often).
By the way - I took Jodi's advice to heart. I came away from OCW determined to put myself out there more. I submitted a short story to The Storyteller, and got the acceptance letter over the weekend! Woo-hooo!! I owe this one to Jodi, because she gave me the first kick in the pants of the OCW conference (there were several kicks throughout the weekend, but hers was the first and the strongest!). So, Jodi, thank you!!
And a plug for Jodi - her book that I've just started, Widows of Wichita County, is available now, and her book Twisted Creek will be out in March of 2008. She's written a lot of books - so if you like what she writes, there are lots of others you can add to your wish list!
In my next entry, I'll share some kernels of wisdom that I gleaned from Dusty Richards, who I highly recommend - if you have a chance to learn from him, listen!!
Falling Joyfully,
Elle
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