NESCBWI Conference Highlights
Posted by annastan on May 17th, 2010. Filed under: Craft, Enchanted Inkpot, Events.On Saturday I headed up to Fitchburg, Mass. for the New England SCBWI conference. I only stayed for the day, but I left there mentally energized and inspired. The keynote speakers were Cynthia Leitich Smith, Marla Frazee, and Marla’s editor Allyn Johnston. Their speeches were all filled with brilliance. Here are some highlights:
Cynthia Leitich Smith
-Writing across formats [picture books, MG, and YA] will make you a better writer.
-Write a discovery draft and then delete it. Then you can start over with a clearer vision of what the story is about.
-”Write fierce. Be brave. Open your teeth and howl if you have to.”
Marla Frazee and Allyn Johnston
-In picture books, the “mother of all page turns” is the last one.
-”Endings should disarm us.” They should be satisfying and mysterious at the same time.
-You need to know what’s “at the core, the beating heart, of the story.” That’s what gives a book resonance.
I also attended workshops by J.L. Bell, Richard Michelson, and Kate Messner. I took pages and pages of notes – it was fantastic! And best of all, I saw lots of my students, friends, and internet buddies, and I even met some new people. It was like a giant party. Here are a couple of pictures.
This is me at lunch with some other clients of the Erin Murphy Literary Agency. From left to right, that’s Cynthia Levinson, Tamara Ellis Smith, me, Lynda Mullaly Hunt, and my wonderful agent Joan Paquette.
And this was me with some blogging buddies at the end of the day (we all have that “been sitting in a hot room for hours” glow). That’s Kris Asselin, Karen Schwartz, Heather Kelly, and me. Laura Pauling took the picture, and of course I’m a dummy and forgot to get one of her. But luckily there are lots of pictures floating around on everyone’s blogs. I wish I’d taken more pictures but the whole day was a bit of a whirlwind.
The conference came at the perfect time. My semester just ended so it’s time to dive back into writing. Wish me luck!
In other news, check out my post on the Enchanted Inkpot today: “Do You Read for the World or for the Characters?” I’d love to hear your thoughts, so please comment if you have a minute!
May 17th, 2010 at 9:55 am
Cynthia Leitich Smith was definitely inspiring! BE brave and howl! I loved that. And it’s so true. We can’t be timid in our writing. I agree – it was a whirlwind.
May 17th, 2010 at 10:09 am
So glad you had a great time! Someday I really want to go to, when my schedule will allow!
May 17th, 2010 at 10:32 am
That sounds fantastic. I hadn’t heard of deleting the discovery draft (yikes) but I was given the tip to start the second draft on a blank page so you’re not tempted to keep material that should be cut. When you have to choose whether to move it from one draft to another, you give more thought to its value. Thanks for the inspiring post.
May 17th, 2010 at 11:06 am
I loved Cynthia’s presentation – she scared me to death about deleting the first draft!
It was awesome to meet you! It was such a great weekend. But, why are my eyes closed in the picture!?!
May 17th, 2010 at 11:56 am
I’m jealous! I love a good conference. Can’t wait for SCBWI this summer!
May 17th, 2010 at 12:02 pm
Laura, it was so great to meet you! I’m glad we’re all so pumped up from the conference. That means we better get to work!
Lydia, it was my second SCBWI regional conference and I got SO much more out of it this time around. Part of it was seeing lots of people I knew, but mostly it was signing up for workshops that I wanted to go to, not the ones my friends were going to!
Tricia, everyone gasped when Cynthia said she deletes her first draft. I think I like the approach you described better – it’s not nearly as scary!
Kris, your eyes were closed because you were savoring the moment!
Lisa, you’ll have to report back on SCBWI! I love hearing about other conferences.
May 17th, 2010 at 12:17 pm
Funsies! I am glad you took so much away from the experience.
May 17th, 2010 at 4:17 pm
Hi Anna,
It was great to see you again. Wish we could have talked more. I didn’t do well with taking pictures either, the whole experience was so overwhelming! Will check out your post on EI!
May 17th, 2010 at 4:40 pm
I DID see you’re a Writers Digest Top Tweeter, Too. I was about to come over and congratulate you when I saw your comment on my blog. Jane Friedman rocks!
May 17th, 2010 at 4:56 pm
I’m actually giving serious thought to deleting the 23rd (I’m not sure how high I actually am…) draft… kind of kidding, kind of not. The conference was a whirlwind! I loved that quote as well. Let’s all howl!!! So inspiring! And, once again, I must exist, since I’m on your blog!
May 17th, 2010 at 5:11 pm
Jon, “funsies” is the exact right word to describe the experience. You might just be a poet.
Nandini, it was pretty overwhelming! When I got home, I talked at my husband for a good hour telling him about everything that had happened. I think I needed to process it all.
Anne, yay! Jane Friedman certainly does rock!
Heather, don’t delete it! If you must, open a new document. I don’t care what Cynthia said – deleting is bad!
May 17th, 2010 at 7:15 pm
Sounds like it was a GREAT conference. I love going to conferences. Cynthia Leitich Smith is going to be at the FL SCBWI conference in June. I can’t wait to hear her speak.
May 18th, 2010 at 11:41 am
The conference sounded wonderful. I’m hoping the Sunshine Award I’ve bestowed on you, over at my blog, will be the icing on the cake. Enjoy!
May 18th, 2010 at 7:12 pm
Karen, it was a lot of fun. Cynthia was very inspiring – I’m glad you’ll get to hear her speak in June!
Aw, thank you Andrea! I’ll pop on over to your blog.
May 20th, 2010 at 10:15 am
Cynthia LS is fabulous, isn’t she. I love hearing her speak!