SiWC 2015
As anyone reading this likely already knows, I have just wrapped up a full year of work that culminated, as it always does, in the gathering of hundreds of writers at the Surrey International Writers’ Conference. It’s always bittersweet for me when the conference is over. It’s wonderful to experience the conference through the eyes of the attendees, volunteers, and presenters who take the time to share with me, and it’s gratifying to see people discover the nugget that makes the whole event worthwhile for them. I love that. But it’s also sad to see it end, and to know, much like cooking a very complicated meal and watching it be eaten, that it will live only in memory, fully consumed and never to be experienced in exactly the same way ever again. This September, I had the privilege and pleasure of participating in the Writing Excuses Retreat with Mary Robinette Kowal, Brandon Sanderson, Howard Tayler, Dan Wells, and more than a hundred other writers aboard a cruise ship in the Caribbean. Over drinks one night on the ship, someone asked me about SiWC. When I finished talking (probably too much) about it, one of the guys told me I light up when I talk about it. I have no doubt that’s true. It’s because this work is a labour of love, and it means more to me than I can express, almost entirely because of the people who come and make it special for me and for each other every year. Every year, I do my best to slow down every now and again in the midst of the craziness to be present for conversations and to really hear what people have to say and to get to know them a little. This year, that resulted in a lot of teary eyes – mine and theirs – and some lovely connections, too. These are the things that make the conference especially meaningful for me. Thank you to all of you. I won’t come close to mentioning you all here, because there are more of these moments over four days than I can possibly mention in one post, and I don’t want to betray any confidences, but here’s just a tiny, anonymized (how do you like that made up word?) sample of my own personal highlights of this year’s conference. I think those of you who find yourselves described here will know who you are. – Talking to a first-time attendee who’d decided by Friday night that we’re going to be her annual conference, in part because she felt at home and comfortable and safe with us. When I hear something like that, it makes me feel very much like we’re doing something right, and it meant the world to me. – Discovering that a repeat attendee I already like very much took it upon herself to invite newbies to sit with her at meals and join her in the bar. I don’t know if she knows she made me cry listening to her talk about that, and what it meant to her, but she did. – Managing to say the exact right thing at the right time to someone doing a very good job who needed to hear it. (Yes, more tears.) – Meeting new people who felt like old friends. – Meeting old friends who came into my life through this conference or the Compuserve Books and Writers forum and finding once again that we pick up where we left off whenever we get together. – Being blown away by the lengths people – attendees and presenters alike – went to to contribute to our silent auction or simply to get to the conference when the odds were stacked against them. – Watching a dear friend speak bravely to a captivated audience, and hearing afterward about some of the people who’d really needed to hear what she had to say. – Seeing attendees connect with others, light up because a workshop resonated with them, shine because they got work requested or had a blue pencil that went especially well, and go home exhausted and inspired all at the same time. And of course there is so much more. I hope some of you know who you are and what you and the moments we shared at SiWC mean to me. Thank you to all who came to the conference and added to the magic this year. I appreciate each and every one of you. You make this job a very special one I am very lucky to have. Share...
Scotland Photos
A few people have been asking me to see photos of my trip to Scotland in May. I flew to Edinburgh, and from there worked my way up to Elgin, where I met up with my parents, who were touring around, too, to spend several days touring all the family history areas of the country in Morayshire and the West Highlands. After that, I worked my way down the west and back to where I started, ending my trip in Dunfermline, with a day trip to St. Andrews on my last full day before I flew out of Edinburgh for home. You can see a gallery of my pictures here, if you’re interested. Share...
Stopping to Listen
I’m not writing today. I’m tempted. I have a story that’s been talking to me for a couple of weeks now, asserting itself with scene ideas when I’m trying to sleep, keeping my mind occupied when I’m running errands or working out or doing any of the thousand things we do in a day that don’t need our full, undivided attention. It’s alluring, the thought of opening up the word processor and getting some of it down on paper. And I will. But not yet. A month ago, just before I went away to Scotland for two weeks, I turned in a manuscript to my agent. I’d spent weeks rewriting and editing it, and was thrilled to get it off my plate before I left. Once I hit send, I was free to take a holiday from writing. None of the other projects I have on the back burner were talking to me, and it was time for a much-needed break. While I was away, I took time to breathe, to look, to see new things and soak in all I could. Apart from keeping a journal of how I spent my days, I didn’t even think about writing until the second-last night, when an unexpected conversation with new acquaintances meandered wonderfully for hours. Even then, I was in the moment, enjoying terrific people I’d never have met if I hadn’t taken this trip. At one point, one of them said, “this will all be fodder for your next novel,” and we all laughed and continued on to other things. Two days later, on the flight home, I got an inkling that he could be right. A new story started to whisper in my ear, the genesis of it formed in those few hours in the company of strangers who seemed like friends. In the couple of weeks since I got home, I’ve discovered afresh something I tend to forget in the busyness of life and the desire to fit writing into any available minute, always looking for forward progress: there is a difference between procrastination and stillness. Writers are notorious for the former. Not writing is so much easier than writing that we can easily become masters of procrastination. But when we try too hard to battle against that, making ourselves write even when we’re not ready, we can get stuck in the idea that only words=progress, forgetting that thinking and listening and percolating are all part of the job, too. Sometimes, it’s good just to listen to the world around us and to what our subconscious sends up for us to think about along the way, to let an idea grow quietly and assert itself until listening isn’t enough and it demands to be transcribed. I’ve consciously stayed away from starting this story, focusing instead on jotting down notes and ideas as they come to me. If I’d started it when I got home and the idea was too fresh, I’d have struggled through part of a scene, with no idea where I was going next, and stalled. I’ve killed other ideas that way, so I know exactly how easily that can happen. But now, with a couple of weeks to let the idea grow and gel in my thoughts, I have at least half a dozen characters who are pretty clear in my mind, a setting, a sense of what this story might look like, and ideas for at least a handful of scenes. I still don’t know where it’s going, but I have enough to go on. Soon, I’ll put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard, and start. But I’ll try to remember to stop once in awhile, too, and listen. Share...
Query Tips From My Inbox
I don’t claim to be an expert on query letters, and I’m not a literary agent. But in my day job as a conference coordinator, I get a LOT of inquiries from people who are interested in being part of our conference. Most of these are perfectly reasonable emails, but by around this time every year, enough problematic ones have arrived that the common mistakes people make in writing and sending queries become astoundingly obvious. And if they’re obvious to me, with my relatively small number of queries received, imagine how they look to literary agents who deal with thousands of queries every year. So, for what it’s worth, here are a few of my tips for cleaning up your queries, based on the repeated mistakes I encounter: 1. Follow the directions. Yes, hoop jumping can be frustrating. But showing you can jump through the requested hoop shows you’re reasonable to work with and avoids annoying the recipient by wasting his or her time. There are reasons for the directions. One of the things I ask for, for example, is for proposals to include where the person lives. This is important information for our board in allocating travel budget, and I don’t want to have to go hunting for it. It may seem like a nothing thing, but including that bit of requested information puts you ahead of the people who don’t bother. 2. Use email unless otherwise instructed. Whether it’s a query@ address, a direct email address, or a contact form on an email, there is almost certainly a correct, requested place to send your query that should not be difficult to find. Unless you are specifically asked to by the person you’re querying, NEVER use social media for queries. Facebook, Twitter, etc., are great, but they are not the place for business communication unless that’s what the instructions say. 3. Remember you are writing to a human being. Your goal is to establish a professional working relationship. Queries and proposals should not be generic press releases sent without context or salutation. In the same vein, you are a human writing to another human. This isn’t the place to talk about yourself in the third person. (If you’re later asked to send a bio, however, third person is great!) 4. A query is a business letter. Conferences and publishing are businesses. Want to stand out from the crowd? You don’t need to be fancy. Write a clear, informative business letter that includes all the relevant information and is grammatically correct. There is no magic here. I know people fret over writing these letters (I have, too!). If you’re going to agonize over anything, agonize over writing an intriguing blurb about your book or for your proposed workshops. Then surround the blurb(s) with a friendly, straightforward letter that contains any requested information, and you’ll be ahead of 9/10 of the other people sending queries. Most of this won’t be new to most of you, but I’m throwing it out there in hopes it’s helpful to someone! Feel free to add your own tips or thoughts in the comments. Share...
Help My Husband Make a Movie
Hello, all! Probably easiest to let my husband speak for himself here, since he knows the details. His note is below. If you’re able to help with a few minutes of your time, either by becoming a fan to support Hyde+Seek yourself (details below) or simply passing the information along to others who might be interested, I’d really appreciate it! Thank you. Kathy Hey friends and family, As you may know, I’m entered in the Cinecoup movie contest with a great local production cast and crew. The prize is $1M in funding to complete the movie, called Hyde+Seek, and and make its way to a theatre near you! We would love your support to help take us through several voting rounds as we progress to the final stages for consideration. There will be many future challenges and hoops that the team have to jump through to prove we’re worthy of the ultimate prize. I think we have a really great science fiction Jekyll and Hyde concept that should be an intelligent and thrilling ride into the near future, where the lines between humanity and technology get blurred. What happens when always-on connectivity and implanted bio-technology get hacked? You can watch our 60-second trailer here: http://www.cinecoup.com/hyde-and-seek/trailer How you can support us: A) Fans… Please sign up as a Fan on Cinecoup if you can. Fan votes and ratings have more impact than non-Fans, but you have to review and comment on OTHER projects to validate your Fan status. Please ask any of your film critic/most supportive friends to take this step in support of us. Unlike Kickstarter or Indiegogo, we aren’t asking for money, just support through likes, shares and referrals. B) Non-Fans… as above mentions, sharing the video page even without the viewers’ ability to rate/review helps. Thanks so much for the support, and please pass this on to others through email, Facebook, or Twitter. Martin FB: facebook.com/hydeseekmovie Twitter: @hydeseekmovie Share...
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