News – updates on books, events, appearances, etc.

I have finished the final drafts of my two presentations for the LDStorymakers conference which will be held next Friday and Saturday, May 10-11, 2013 in Provo, UT (usually a glorious time along the Wasatch Front in Utah).

“Vivid and Clear” – Despite the often repeated 11th commandment for writers—show, don’t tell—writers NEVER show. They can’t. It’s all tell, tell, tell. The trick is to tell in a way that helps your readers imagine the situation (action, thought, dialogue, description, etc.) with such vividness and clarity it can trigger an emotional response.  In this hour we’ll explore a number of simple but powerful prose techniques that help you do just that. That includes:

• The three main types of telling
• What “showing” really means
• 5 key techniques for making that telling vivid and clear
• Lots of examples so it’s all clear

“Story Turns” (they’ve got me scheduled to do this one twice) – Story turns, cliffhangers, rugpulls, plot twists, reversals, surprises, revelations (and more)–are a core part of an exciting plot, pacing control, and making a reader want to turn the page. In this workshop we’ll explore the main types of story turns and how they work so you can use them in your writing.  This includes:

• A clear definition of what turns are and do in general
• The 5 main types of turns
• A whole bunch of examples to make it all clear
• 3 tools I find helpful when developing turns
• A session where we actually will use the tools to develop turns for a scenario I’ll bring

I’ve got to run through both presentations to make sure they have the zing I look for in these things and that I don’t have too much content for the time allotted. I’m very excited about both. And, as always, I learned a lot bringing all my ideas together on these topics.

I’m planning on having a great time giving these AND listening to the other presenters AND chatting with folks I know AND meeting others. Last year was fabulous! This year looks to be even better.

For those of you who haven’t heard about the conference, it features 2 days of excellent programming focuses on helping writers who are serious about writing but who also want to have fun doing it–let’s call them hard-working, laffy bees.  Special guests include goddess of mystery Anne Perry plus a bunch of great agents and an editor from Harlequin’s new line focusing on “wholesome contemporary romances that celebrate traditional values, strong communities, family connections and true love.”

Although I have to say that if I were thinking of submitting to Harlequin, Kris Rusch’s posts would give me pause:

• “The End of Reversion Clauses: Deal Breakers 2012”
• Anti-Published” (read in the comments of this one)

I think registration is still open. For those of you already planning to go, please come up and say hello.

BTW, I’ll post a PDF of both the presentations and my notes here afterwards.

You’re waiting. I’m waiting. And I’m going nuts. I initiated a process last summer that I thought for sure would be completed by October. Well, that was six months ago.

I was told in January to give it six weeks.

We blew past that.

And so I’m waiting.

The oxen are slow, but the earth is patient.

I cannot share any details at the moment, but just know that news about the Dark God series is coming in a few weeks. This isn’t me saying “I hope to be able to share news.” This is me saying discussions have occured, decisions have been made, and it’s going to take a few weeks before it’s all finalized. 

I want all of you who have contacted me in various ways the last 2-3 years expressing your enjoyment of SERVANT and interest in CURSE to know that I appreciate your letters and tweets and emails and comments.  I will, at long last, be able to answer your questions. Stay tuned.

I’ll be giving two presentations at LDStorymakers this year.

“Vivid and Clear” — Despite the often repeated 11th commandment for writers—show, don’t tell—writers NEVER show. They can’t. It’s all tell, tell, tell. The trick is to tell in a way that helps your readers imagine the situation (action, thought, dialogue, description, etc.) with such vividness and clarity it triggers an emotional response.  In this hour we’ll explore a number of simple but powerful prose techniques that help you do just that.

“Story Turns” — Story turns–cliffhangers, rugpulls, plot twists, reversals, surprises, revelations (and more)–are a core part of an exciting plot, pacing control, and making a reader want to turn the page. In this workshop we’ll explore the main types of story turns and how they work so you can use them in your writing. (They’ve got me scheduled to give this one twice.)

More importantly, I get to attend some very interesting looking presentations from other writers when I’m not on stage. I had a blast last year.