Writing Panels

[hafoc]

I'm starting to get ready for the Further Confusion convention. It's in San Jose' in January.

Got an email from one of the better-known people out there asking me whether I would like to serve on writing panels. I should do that. It would be fun, but it might also serve as advertising. Maybe it would influence somebody to actually READ one of my silly little stories.

I feel kind of dirty for even considering "charity work" that might have some personal gain involved. No wonder I'm no good at self-promotion!

But also, even though I'm going to do it I don't think I'm well-suited for such panels.

How to get yourself published, reach an audience, market yourself, make money at this? Puh-leeeze. I'm happy with the audience I have because they are people I know, or love, or admire, or any combination thereof; but if I have any audience beyond close friends who started reading me because I personally asked them to, I'm not aware of it.

How to come up with characters or plots and develop them? I have no idea. No, really, I don't! I've said it many times, and it's true: I don't know how to write, I just DO it. Oh, of late I'm starting to develop a bit of an ability to write on demand, especially if someone proposes for me a situation or some characters. But my method is to put a story on order, and usually two or three days later an idea comes bubbling up from somewhere. It will happen in the middle of driving to work or typing an activity report, as often as not. At some time when I'm thinking of anything but writing a story. I have no idea where the ideas originate.

I'm an intuitive writer, I suppose. That's scary. I have a lot of emotion invested in each and every story idea I have, because not knowing where they come from I have no idea if there will ever be any more.

I've started to get a little confidence, though. This is getting easier the more I work at it, so far. I'm to the point I can put one project aside, when it's not going well, and work on something else. I'm not totally obsessed on one project at a time any more, and perhaps as a result I get more projects. The ones that I set aside usually work out too, once I figure out what they really need. So it's working out better all around.

Still, this approach doesn't leave me that much I could teach to anybody else.

About all I could suggest is that you should invent a character that interests you. Ask lots of questions about them. What would they do, what wouldn't they do? What color jacket do they wear? Dill pickles or sweet pickles? Beer, whiskey, or tea?

Ask yourself any question you can imagine about your character, until you develop an instinct for what they'd do in any given situation. And then throw them into Hell. Or Heaven. Or even Chicago. Throw them in there and see what happens. And for heavens's sakes, make sure to listen to whatever the character tries to tell you!

You might not end up with the story you wanted, but if your characters lead you to a different story, it will be a better one.

Comments

Hmm...

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

It sounds like you're on the wrong track. If you're not good at riffing on writing-related panels, you'd probably do better pitching your own panel ideas than letting the con-com put you wherever they've got an empty seat. You might have more fun with a topic that you're passionate and experienced about.

[ounceofreason.livejournal.com]

If you get nervous, just go out for some Quality Donuts. They'll set you right.

[spaceoperadiva.livejournal.com]

You're a passionate writer and a thoughtful informed critique giver. These things alone qualify you to talk about writing, IMO. If you talked only about the things you've talked about in this post, I think you'd be a wonderful addition to a writing panel. The last part about characters that interest you and the interests that drive them and how that drives your story is a panel topic all by itself. :)

Luck to you and I hope you have a lovely time.

[silussa.livejournal.com]

In other words, you have a character and a problem they have to deal with?

[hafoc.livejournal.com]

An interesting situation, not necessarily a problem. Of course conflict is the soul of a story. But the conflict doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing.

For example... heh heh... you might want to take a look at http://www.anthrozine.com for this two months. Have a story on there called Sorceror, where there is conflict, internal to the character and between characters and the world, without needing to have much in the way of severed body parts flying about, big explosions, etc.

What do you do when someone is faced with a situation they think is a problem, but it really isn't? That's a story too.

But all that is pretty basic to any creative writing class. They'll all tell you much the same thing. My point is that I usually do things "backward" compared to the way writing teachers tell you to do it. They want you to outline a plot-- just what the heck is it with teachers and outlines, anyway? I've NEVER had to outline anything since I left high school-- anyway, they want you to outline a plot and pretty much put some person in the plot and have them grind through. While I tend to start with an interesting character. If the character has some distinctive physical or personality features, that gives you hints about the world they came from, so there's your setting. Knowing the character and the world and asking yourself about the history of your character gives you the kind of problems or opportunities they faced in their life, and knowledge of how they responded to them. And there's your story.

Or it is some past or future or other life, and I'm just remembering it. It sure seems awfully real, and all the details are just there, on those rare occasions when I'm 100% in the zone.

I'm not dismissing spooky explanations. The experience itself is.. what's a nice kind of spooky? Something that makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck, and chills down your spine, and you grin BIG and shout to yourself GODS yes, that's exactly what happened? Creepy and spooky and grand at the same time. Kind of like that.