Did you know that around 10,000 books are published every day? How can someone trying to enter such a crowded career hope to rise above the noise?
When you want to learn the craft of writing, there really isn’t a better way than to read a lot. A lot, lot. And not just reading for enjoyment, but reading with a critical eye, trying to dissect scenes, characters, narrative arcs, and figuring out all the nuts and bolts. You can do this, by yourself, over months and years.
For me, I tried to figure out the tricks of the trade by paying attention to the authors I admired and trying to learn from them. Twenty years ago, this wasn’t that easy. The opportunity of meeting my favorite authors was limited by when/if they came within the vicinity of where I lived. Sometimes they produced a memoir (On Writing, Sometimes the Magic Works, Charlie N. Holmberg’s Book of Magic, Your First Million Words) which shared some of their secret sauce. For me, my life literally changed when Terry Brooks came to Northern California and I was able to attend an all-day workshop with him. But such opportunities can be rare and expensive.
Another thing I did to try and learn from the authors I admired was to create my own magazine, Deep Magic. Running a magazine gave me an editor’s eye, a vehicle to publish my own stories, a way to attract an audience that wanted the kind of fiction I wrote, and (very importantly) access to other authors I admired where I could interview them and learn from them. I learned a lot during those years, but it was still a lot of trial and error.
What I believe helps even more to accelerate the learning curve is to attend writing conferences. Yes, it costs money to travel there. But even more importantly, rubbing shoulders with other authors and learning from the masters of the craft really can save a lot of time. Writing conferences aren’t a guaranteed success, but they are a great way to network, meet and learn from successful authors, and provide shortcuts in methods that might take years to learn otherwise.
I wish more of these had been available when I was starting out, but here is a list of many noteworthy conferences that happen regularly.
- Storycon (Location: Salt Lake City, UT) – every February
- LTUE (Location: Provo, UT) – every February
- Gotham Writers (Location: New York City) – usually March & October
- Storymakers (Location: Provo, UT) – every May
- Inkers Con (Location: Dallas, TX) – every June
- Realm Makers (Location: varies) – usually July
- NINC (Location: St Pete’s Beach, FL) – usually September
The publishing industry is changing all the time. Advice that worked ten years ago isn’t working the same today. If you are writing for the love, there is nothing wrong with that. But for those interested in making a career out of it, the more you know, the better prepared you are.
If traveling isn’t ideal, there are on-line classes available as well.
- Master Class series (cost $180, billed annually)
- Writer’s Block (cost $30 per class, discounts available)
One of the advantages of Writer’s Block (which I created with some author friends of mine) is that the instructors are also available to answer questions about the class content they offer. Those who have enrolled in classes have access to the Q&A feature. By signing up for the newsletter, you also get a free class to give it a try.
Malcolm Gladwell said that the key to mastery or expertise takes 10,000 hours of practice – but not just any practice. The Beatles didn’t become the Beatles overnight but after playing over 1,200 times in clubs in Germany to hone their experience, receive feedback, and improve. They wouldn’t have become the Beatles if they’d stayed a garage band in Liverpool. Acquiring experience will always take time, but it is possible to speed up the process with expert advice.
