WIFYR faculty, part 2

Writing is a solo affair. It’s pretty much you, your computer, and your imaginary friends.

That makes writing conferences all the more inviting to attend.  Not only can you pick up some great ideas and come out energized, you can get to hang with others, people like you, addicted to this isolated preoccupation. 

There are some great workshops in our area. LTUE finished up last month. Coming up we have Writers for Charity, the Boise SCBWI conference, and LDStorymakers. And in June there is WIFYR, the Wrting and Illustrating For Young Readers conference, WIFYR, in June

WIFYR is the brainchild of Carol Lynch Williams, a fabulous MG and YA writer. Year after year she packs the conference with incredible faculty. Last week we examined some of this year’s instructors, including Jennifer Adams, Kathi Appelt, Julie Berry, Ann Cannon and Dave Farland. This week we will look at Dean Hughes, Lisa Mangum, Natalie Whipple, and end with Carol herself. 

Dean Hughes - Advanced Novel Workshop

Dean Huges has published over a hundred books for children, young adults, and adults. He has taught English at Central Missouri State University and writing at BYU. He spent seventeen years between the two writing full time. He has written CHILDREN OF THE PROMISE and HEARTS OF THE CHILDREN.

Lisa Mangum - Writing the Middle Grade or Young Adult LDS Novel

Lisa taught the full novel class last year and was one of my favorite afternoon presenters. Lisa has had a lifetime love affair with books, volunteering in her elementary school library, working at Waldenbooks, and assisting the publishing department of Deseret Books. She has written four award winning books including THE HOURGLASS DOOR trilogy and AFTER HELLO.

Natalie Whipple - Novel Workshop

Natalie came to Utah from the Bay Area and attended BYU, earning a degree in English linguistics. She is the author of the TRANSPARENT series, HOUSE OF IVY & SORROW, the I’M A NINJA series, and FISH OUT OF WATER.

Carol Lynch Williams - Advanced Novel Workshop

When Carol is not writing or running WIFYR, she teaches writing at BYU. Another Vermont College grad, she holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Adolescents. When she is writing, she turns our great works such as THE CHOSEN ONE, GLIMPSE, MILES FROM ORDINARY, WAITING, THE HAVEN, and SIGNED, SKYE HARPER.

Classes are filling up but there are openings in most. Early Bird registration pricing has been extended to March 31, even though the site lists the old date. You can go to http://www.wifyr.com to find out more about this conference.

(This article also posted at http://writetimeluck.blogspot.com)

Get your WIFYR on

First, I must confess a shameless partiality toward Carol Lynch William’s WIFYR conference. Pronounced, wiff-er or wife-er, it is coming in June. It’s time to get your WIFYR on.

The assistants met today to plan. It felt good to be back with a community of writers. That is what the conference is about, coming out of our solitary endeavors and sharing with like-minded others. No matter your level of skill or where you are along the spectrum, there are others cheering for you and helping you improve your writing. The draw is the the collegiality, the chance to mingle with other writers.

The WIFYR site is almost up. Technicals issues, you know how they go. The authors include: Natalie Whipple, Dean Hughes,  Dave Farland, Kathi Appelt, Dan Wells, Julie Berry (whom I’m assisting for), Lisa Mangum, Jennifer Adams, Ann Cannon (whom I’ve assisted for previously and can attest is a kind heart and an entertaining writer. And of course, Carol.

You should consider joining WIFYR this year. It will do you and your writing good. All the local conferences - LTUE, LDStorymakers, League of Utah Writers - have a community of writers in common. It is inspiring to being in their midst. WIFYR offers five intensive days of it. The level of commitment varies with each writer depending on cost, time, and other commitments. There are less expensive options for just the afternoon sessions or one of the daily mini-workshops. But I say take a big bite of the whole thing. The morning workshops is where real writing takes place. Knowledgeable, published authors pour over your manuscript and offer suggestions. Ten or twelve of your new best friends, in a gentle and caring manner, look at each other’s stories try to make them all better it. Bang for buck, there is no better deal than this conference.

The most important reason to should consider WIFYR this year is you’ll love yourself for it. You’ll  grow as a writer. Your manuscript needs this make-over. 

Another WIFYR come and gone

James Dashner, Carol Lynch Williams, Lisa Mangnum, Ann Cannon, agents, and an editor. Another fantastic WIFYR is in the books.

I don’t know how Carol Williams manages to pull this magical week off every year, but she does. And keeps up on her personal writing. And plays Mom to her five daughters. The lady is amazing. She can dance, too.

Ann Cannon was awesome again. We had a baker’s dozen in our workshop this year. When the enrollment looked small, Ann had assigned 20 pages to share. Then one of the instructors dropped out and our class absorbed some of those writers and critiquing that many pages from so many people became a task. Certainly not in negative way. There is something rewarding about working with other writers, all helping each other lift their craft.

One of my favorite presenters was Lisa Mangum. She had a session on pitching your work and another on reader grabbing first lines and openings. For pitching, it depends on the situation. She touched on the tradition 30 second “elevator” pitch, but sometimes you may not have that much time. At a book signing at Costco, for example, you may have only two seconds to interest someone. She gave suggestions for boiling down your book to it’s essence for situations like that.

John Cusick, agent for Greenhouse Literary Agency and a fiction writer on his own, gave an inspiring presentation. One of his tricks for staying on task during his writing moments is a timer program that does not allow email or internet interruptions. As far as pushing yourself to write, he said, nobody cares if you don’t finish your novel. I care.

Those were just a few of the many intriguing and energizing moments. Start stashing away your nickels and quarters now because Carol will be bringing this conference back again next June.

(This article also posted at http://writetimeluck.blogspot.com)

Do you have what it takes to be an author?

I went to Lisa Mangum's presentation at the UVU Book Academy. She talked about FOUR things you need to shine as a newbie author:

Vision
Passion
Flexibility
Endurance

Not what you expected, right? I'll expand.

Vision-Publishing is a business. Research your genre and the marketplace. Where do you see your book going and how is it going to get there? Do you have ideas for marketing your book? What is your platform?

Passion- Write every day. It makes you a better writer. Read. It makes you a better writer. Learn to self-edit and make every page better. You are a storyteller. Tell your story.

Flexibility- Publishing is a team effort. Trust your editor. Maintain balance in your life. Can you work creatively and market your book? Are you willing to publish digitally as well as traditionally? Can you live with a title or cover you don't love?

Endurance- Is your writing a hobby or career? Both are good choices. What are your goals? Can you write more than one book a yer? Can you meet your deadlines? Editors LOVE when writers meet their deadlines!

Patience + Persistence=Publication