Tuscon Saturday

The convention was a lot of fun today. Very good panels, talking about publishing and writing. I always find it very interesting to listen to other writers talk about the craft. We all have our different approaches, but there are fundamental similarities to what we do:

We write.
We finish what we write.
We do multiple drafts to make it the best we can.
We know that not every word will be perfect, nor will every word be immortal, and that sometimes the thing you love the most is the thing you most urgently need to cut.

After that, it’s a free-for-all. It’s important for folks who want to write to know that. If you take any writer’s word that what he’s saying is the only way to do things, you know he’s off. I always urge students to buy and read books by writers they listen to talking about writing, or writers from whom they have taken classes. This is to makes sure the writers actually know what their doing.

The fact of the matter is that not all writers do what they say they do. Some never really analyze, some analyze but do it poorly, and a few, a very few, analyze and then lie about what they do to protect their secrets. And even those who analyze and do it correctly may not have a clue about how to teach what they to do others.

We all agreed that writing is something you only get better at by actually writing. This point ought to be intuitive, but it isn’t. On the other hand, the dictum some cite that “the first million words is garbage” likely isn’t true either. Writers will grow through the stages of writing at a pace matched by their native intelligence, their willingness to learn about and perfect their skills, and the time they put into actually putting words on paper and then learning to edit them.

Put in the time, do the work, and you’ll get better. And you’ll get good enough to get readers and get published.

One interesting thing I saw at the convention was at the Mythoscon party. They had the single largest pizza I’ve ever seen. Had to have been 24 inches in diameter. It was huge! The box itself took up the top of a normal card table! And these guys bought a dozen of these pizzas for their party. They threatened me that I’d have to take one back to Phoenix with me. I couldn’t do it, however, unless I put the back seat down in the car. And the pizza was good, which means I’d be moving something that could be classed as a controlled substance, and that won’t do when I’m going back into the county ruled over by Joe Arpaio!

No writing done per se, today, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t working. Just wandering around I had a few “connect the dots” moments in which I made notes of things to put in this first novel. I love those moments. The idea pops up and I think, “Oh, now that is just nasty!” which means I know you will all love it (or hate it, either works).

Tomorrow more panels, then rolling back down into the valley!