SCBWI Conference Report: The Power of Self-Definition

Posted on by
1

Hello, everyone! I have a guest post today over at Kourtney Heintz’s blog, with my thoughts on one of the keynote speeches at the SCBWI 2012 Winter Conference in New York City. Those who follow me on Twitter know I was lucky enough to attend this conference two weeks ago. It was an amazing experience, so I also wanted to post my general impressions of the trip on this blog.

Swag from the conference!

I have to admit, I don’t always think of myself as an aspiring author. I’ve been writing stories since I was in elementary school, but my goal to become a professional writer is a recent one. So when I signed up for the conference, I was nervous. I even reserved a spot in the Writers’ Roundtable, where the first two pages of my manuscript would be critiqued by professional editors—as well as my fellow writers. Which meant strangers would be reading my work. Talented strangers with OPINIONS, most of which I assumed would be negative. I spent the night before my flight to New York having a nervous breakdown—and rewriting the first two paragraphs of my story from scratch.

Well, you can probably guess how this story ends. The conference was wonderful. Having my manuscript critiqued (and marked up by senior editors from Random House and G.P. Putnam’s Sons!) was a privilege and a great help. The attendees at my table complimented my work, which was a pleasant surprise. But more importantly, I had a great time. I met writers from around the country, brilliant people who understood the joy of storytelling and the frustration of revising and the pain of rejection. I read several promising manuscripts, and heard advice from some of the greatest professionals in the children’s book industry… Professionals who had a hand in publishing Harry Potter and Goosebumps and The Babysitter’s Club. Professionals who, in other words, were directly responsible for a good portion of my childhood.

I also went to see Seminar, a witty and provocative play about writing. It starred Alan Rickman as a sharp-tongued teacher of the craft. (Hilarious, and appropriate after a day of critiques! Also, ALAN RICKMAN. Enough said.) On the last day of the conference, Cassandra Clare signed my copy of Clockwork Prince. She asked what kind of stories I wrote, and I was able to thank her for writing a Victorian fantasy series.

Fan art for Leanna!

I gave this fan art to Leanna on Sunday. The characters are from her gorgeous YA novel Darker Still. She even posted it on her blog!

Best of all, I spent Sunday afternoon with my favorite author, Leanna Renee Hieber. I tend to gush about Leanna, because I am hopelessly in love with her books. (I recommend them to everyone I know. Since you are visiting my blog, that now includes you!) She is also extremely kind and generous. She showed me around the East Village, which I had never visited, and we discussed our latest projects. To talk about writing with my favorite author not only as a fan, but as a fellow creator, was the most thrilling experience in my career to date.

So what I learned from my first SCBWI conference was this: If you want to be an author, treat yourself like one. Go to conferences, and network like any other professional. Introduce yourself, and be brave. Open yourself up to criticism. Talk about writing. Put your money where your dream is. Get a website. Make some business cards. Join a writing organization like SCBWI and make friends. I know these things aren’t easy to do, especially for introverted people like me. So why do I recommend them so heartily?

Simple. Because I did them, and wonderful things happened. Things I only dreamed were possible, things I never really dared to imagine.

So did I get discovered by an agent or editor at my first SCBWI conference? No, I didn’t, but I’m not disappointed in the least. Instead, I learned something important, something I should have known from the start: I am a writer. I already am the person I want so badly to become. Knowing that, I will do whatever it takes to realize my dream, no matter how long the wait. I hope you won’t hesitate to do the same, whenever opportunity crosses your path.

Now, back to another round of revisions!

On the Impossible

Posted on by
3

Welcome to my writer’s site! My first post is a repost of an entry from Kat in Socks, my regular blog.

Drawing of my heroine by me. Books by awesome people.

Right now, I am preparing the final edit of my manuscript. After that, I will officially be on submission. This has led to a lot of introspection and reminiscing on my part, most of which is interesting only to myself. It also inspired me to write about some of my hopes and fears during this process. I’ve been meaning to start blogging again. What better time than the present, and what better topic than my current state of mind?

Today, I want to talk about impossible dreams. Sounds like a scary subject, doesn’t it? Well, it certainly is for me. Perhaps more than anything else in the world, I hate the idea of having a cherished dream I will never achieve. That fear has held me back in the past, and it lingers like a shadow over my present.

What if I never write a novel good enough to publish? What if I never see my name on a book cover? This is the biggest dream I have, and it may be too big for me. At best, it’s improbable, and it will take a great deal of time and effort to achieve. At worst, it’s the towering giant in my life I will never slay.

Then I remember this is exactly what my manuscript is about. It is about slaying giants, and dragons, and all sorts of shadows—some twisted and evil, some not as evil as they seem at first glance. Most of all, my manuscript is about an impossible dream.

The heroine of my story wants something she cannot have. This is vital to the premise of the manuscript. (It also dictated the setting, and almost everything else about it.) She absolutely cannot be what she wants to be. It’s impossible, because the occupation no longer exists in her world. What’s worse, she can’t be anything like it, because her society tells her she must do one thing and one thing only. She can’t be a hero, because she has to get married and keep house.

Then, impossibly, her dream comes true. She becomes exactly what she wants: a knight straight out of a fairy tale. Of course, this fairy tale is not as perfect as she hoped. (I am not foolish enough to think being a published writer is a rose garden full of sparkledust, either.) But what drew me to my heroine was that ridiculous dream of hers, and how she kept dreaming even though she knew it could never happen. In the immortal words of Goethe, “I love those who yearn for the impossible.” Every day, my heroine reminds me of the importance of dreaming on an epic scale, and doing what I feel called to do at any cost, with as much bravery as I can muster.

I will keep writing. I will try, and I will fail. And voices both inside and outside my head will continue to say the odds are against me, I will never get what I want, and I shouldn’t bother trying. But the ability to ignore those voices and press on toward a goal is the one thing that can make the impossible a reality.

Personally, I want to see more of the impossible made real. Which is why I keep writing in the face of inevitable rejection, and my own fears.

It’s a little crazy, but it’s one thing my heroine and I have utterly in common.

And if you’re a writer with unrealized dreams of publication, you know exactly what I’m talking about.