Novel Writing on Edge - Development Notes From Algonkian Writer Conferences

DISCLAIMER: the aim of this article is not to defame, it is to challenge the Iowa notion that an imaginary genetic pre-disposition is necessary before a writer can ever be defined as a really good writer, and secondly, to demonstrate beyond reasonable doubt that a writer does not have to attend the Iowa Writers Workshop in order to learn to write really well. "I have come to believe that a great teacher is a great artist and that there are as few as there are any other great artists. Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit."                                                                                           -  John Steinbeck "I feel that if I just br...

Reprinted with permission from The 7 Secrets of the Prolific: The Definitive Guide to Overcoming Procrastination, Perfectionism, and Writer's Block  by Hillary Rettig A poll of writers regarding whether or not a writer should attend an MFA Program The question is often asked: are MFA programs worth it? Are they worth the tremendous outlay of dollars and time? Perhaps some more than others (see our note below) ... The following is what popular writer Hillary Rettig has to say on the issue. Meanwhile, the debate rages on. Need we say more? Yes, we need to say much more. _______ MFA programs promise training and mentoring that will improve your writing, but often don’t deliver. Tim Tomlinson, in the introduction to The Portable MFA in Creative Writing , writes, “Many people find it hard to believe that I passed through two years of an MFA program, four separate workshops, and received not so much as a comma back on a manuscript. But it’s true, and my case was not excep...

I see these lists all over Facebookon a regular basis so, just for fun, and hopefully to help you, I compiled my own list. I swore I wouldn’t, but a respectable period has passed, about three years, since that vow, so I think I can break it now.    Think less of me if you will. These are going to annoy you because most of them are deceptively simple. But, admit it, we often make life more complicated than it has to be so – trust me. You’re doing a lot of crap you shouldn’t and it’s unbelievably easy to fix in some cases. When someone doesn’t write well, I find it’s for two reasons: ego and ignorance. People who think they are amazing writers usually are not. Whenever someone tells me they’ve written an amazing story and they think the writing is really good, best seller material, I know eight times out of ten that I’m in for it as an editor. Ego. The ones who come from ignorance (untrained, unskilled) usually write stilted, often nonsensical (due to their use of a dictio...

C onversation With Author Pam Binder   Pam Binder is an Award Winning and New York Times Best Selling author. Pocket Books has published five of Pam's Fantasy Romance novels, including the New York Times best selling anthology, A SEASON IN THE HIGHLANDS. Pam is the President of Pacific Northwest Writers Association, an advisory board member for the Writer's Program at the University of Washington and an instructor in the University of Washington's Popular Fiction extension program. ______________ Under guided sessions, we learned how to make sure our pitches hit all the right notes. Our workshop leader was dedicated to not only helping us perfect our pitch, but acting as our mentor when we met with editors. - Pam Binder ______________ A New York Pitch Conference Review   NYC: How would you compare New York Pitch Conference to other writer conferences?   PB: This conference exceeded my expectations. It is a no-nonsense, no frills c...

In doing a clear out of books (always painful, but in a tiny house like mine, necessary), I came across Narrative Design by the fabulous Madison Smartt Bell . I studied with Madison at Goucher and still count him as mentor and friend (his wife, Elizabeth Spires , is a tremendous poet). They have both always been very supportive of me and their work has always inspired. So I took the appearance of this book as a kind of message to me from him, an answer to the question I'd been asking myself lately about the structure of a novel I'm almost finished writing. I'd even go so far as to say he was giving me instructions. Tucked between its pages I found a handout given to students in Madison's English 315 class. I can't remember exactly What English 315 was, surely a fiction workshop. The handout is called "Four Coordinates" and he describes it as "a set of measurements for evaluating technique in a work already composed. Even as such, it is too limit...