April 16th, 17th and 18th – a week after landing on US soil – I hauled myself up to the Sundance Resort in Utah (thanks Cousin B for the lift) to attend the Futurescapes Writing Workshop. There, I had the opportunity to get critique on an excerpt of my novel, a query letter, and a synopsis. Additionally, there were some mini-courses and a lot of networking opportunities.
Overall, I found it an incredibly valuable experience that I’d definitely recommend to others looking to workshop a novel and here’s why:
ATTITUDE
I went into this workshop with a first draft that had only been revised for spelling and grammar nothing else. Therefore, I wasn’t expecting everyone to love it and shower me with gushing praise (not that I would have objected to such love and praise). I knew my piece had problems and I wanted either confirmation for those problems I knew I had and/or identification of problems I’d missed. I received both in my feedback.
Because I went into the workshop hoping to have my problems fixed, I was therefore not crushed when those problems were pointed out. Granted it never feels good to have your work nit-picked, but the experience is definitely better when it’s your goal (similar to aiming for rejection when submitting to short story markets).
Overall, it actually felt good to have my instincts backed up by my critique group because I’d been afraid I was second-guessing myself again (this is something I’ve struggled with in my writing and revisions).
CRITIQUES
As I said above, the critiques helped to highlight some problems I’d been having with my story, the biggest being that I started in the wrong place. The first third of my book is probably backstory that I can either cut entirely or rework into the other two thirds. While this means more revision work for me in the long run, I’m glad to have had this confirmed in all three critique groups before I delve into my revisions later this summer. When I am ready to revise, I’ll have a much clearer plan than I would otherwise have had.
FACULTY
The Futrescapes faculty were really the shining star of the workshop. I personally got to work with Navah Wolfe (editor at Saga Press, Simon &Schuester’s SF imprint), Mary Robinette Kowal (Hugo award pinning writer, voice actor, and podcaster), and DongWon Song (Literary agent extraordinaire). There were so many other wonderful authors, editors, and agents to work with as well, including Scott Lynch, Elizabeth Bear, and Fran Wilde.
FAVORITE QUOTES
“Smuggling exposition in under the cover of dialogue.” – Joshua Johnson
“You are not broken.” – Navah Wolf on writing book 2 in a series
“Trust your own taste.” – Mary Robinette Kowal
“Do what makes you happy and do what scares you a little.” – Fran Wilde
“Finish your shirt.” – Fran Wilde
“…chattering head monkeys, bears of self-doubt.” – Mary Robinette Kowal
“They appear in fog with a manuscript every 15 years. No one knows where they go in between.” – Scott Lynch on writers who publish infrequently
“There are eyes and brains outside your eyes and brains to assist you.” – Scott Lynch on working with an agent and editor
“You shouldn’t be afraid of an idea, and you shouldn’t be afraid that you’ll never have another one.” – Seth Fishman
“If you’re not pushing forward, you’re backsliding.” – Elizabeth Bear
“Find a way to keep THE WORK from transmuting into THE INTERMINABLE CHORE THAT WILL NEVER END.” – Scott Lynch
FAVORITE ADVICE
- If you’re having trouble coming up with comparison titles for your pitch/query, go to the library and keep describing your book (without giving away the title/that you wrote it) until the librarian starts giving you titles.
- As a world-building exercise: have one character give another character instructions on how to do a basic task in your world (ex. boil water, turn on lights, etc.)
- From Scott Lynch: “Mind your posture, you idiot.” (This particularly spoke to me following my recent carpal tunnel/tendonitis episode. Posture may not seem that important, but when your body hurts so much that you can’t type for a month, that’s a problem).
- Don’t compare your first draft against a finished draft.
- When you’re stuck in a revision cycle sit down and just read your story. Don’t try to fix it, just read it like a reader.
- Putting a draft in the drawer: I’ve heard this advice before, but it’s always good to have it reinforced. When you feel like your draft is terrible (or conversely, when you feel like it’s bulletproof) put it aside for a few weeks or a few months and when you come back to it, you’ll be able to see the good in it (or the flaws).
- Find a way to preserve the fun in your life, because when you write for a living, it becomes a chore when before it was fun.
- Celebrate every win, or in the words of Fran Wilde “Buy the shoes.”
- Finding the right agent is hard and a lot of writers feel pressure to go with the first agent to make an offer, but just because they offer doesn’t mean they’re the right agent (same goes for selling to a publisher).
- A bad agent is worse than no agent and there are two types of bad agents: those who are flat-out scammers and those who just aren’t good at their jobs (i.e. don’t have many sales and don’t have the right connections).
- You’re allowed to ask questions before you sign with an agent. In fact, you should ask to speak with their other clients (if they don’t let you, that’s a red flag).
- Keep as many rights as you can: Film and TV, Merchandise, Audio (this is changing, but make sure to have a reversion clause if you sell and the buyers don’t do anything with these right), Graphic Novel, and Translation.
WHAT’S NEXT
I’ve spent the last two weeks recovering. I always have a downward slide after a workshop so this time I scheduled in downtime. I told myself I wasn’t allowed to do any serious writing until May 1st. Now that it is May 1st I feel recovered and ready to go. I’m going to set the draft I completed back in March aside for a few months before diving into revisions (more on this next blog) and now I’m going to work on a pirate story that I’ve been holding hostage in an effort to get the last project done.
Thanks for reading.