October 12, 2020 • 11 mins
Writing conferences are a great way to network and learn from other writers. This year, Melissa and I both benefited from the fantastic Teen Author Bootcamp, even though it was forced to be online. So, today we are happy to share some of the lessons we learned from TABC this year!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
T-A-B-C, what does that mean? Short for Teen Author Boot Camp.
(00:10):
My name is Ken Mears. And I'm Melissa Fales.
And welcome to Writer's World.
(00:36):
This year has been a weird one. Thanks to COVID-19, lots of things have changed.
As such, one of our favorite conferences, Teen Author Boot Camp, was postponed and put online.
Nonetheless, they also provided very interesting and helpful webinars to tide us over until the main event in September.
Today we are going to be sharing wisdom that we gained from both the webinars and the classes we took during the main event back in September.
(00:57):
Let's dive right in.
Yeah, Ken's definitely the one who encouraged me to go to T-A-B-C.
And then I ended up making my sister sign up and some other friends and it was going to be a party.
Unfortunately, COVID happened and I wasn't able to attend either the in-person or the online conference this year.
So all of the quotes and information I will be sharing comes from the online webinars they had before the conference.
(01:23):
First, we are going to share some of Ken's favorite quotes he heard during these events.
I got several fantastic quotes from the opening keynote with author Kirsten White.
She said such wonderful things as,
Stories can help us discover and feel who we are. Sometimes the only way to write a book is to sit down and write it.
If you have something you're struggling with, write a story about it.
And write yourself into everything you write.
(01:45):
Write with soul.
One other quote that really stuck out to me was during a class on twisting fairy tales.
The presenter said,
Even if you're a published author, you're still going to grow.
And I think that that is a very important thing to remember because even the most prolific and grand of writers can still learn and grow in their writing.
Very true. And now we are going to go mainly back and forth talking about the best advice we got from each presenter we were able to go to.
(02:11):
Ken, would you start us off?
Sure thing. The first class I took was all about twisting fairy tales.
Now, I am someone who loves stories where classic fairy tales like Cinderella and the Princess and the Frog are changed into something wholly new.
One of the most important things the presenter had to say is that you need to look at the framework and components of the fairy tale you are twisting.
(02:32):
Think about what the key elements are that make that fairy tale, that fairy tale.
Key components include the inciting incident, key characters, key scenes, climax, resolution, and theme.
These give you a jumping off point for things that you can change, add to, and work around.
She recommended that things as simple as changing the genre already does a ton to change the story.
What if Cinderella was an old west type story? Or Snow White played out on the moon?
(02:56):
Another huge thing that was mentioned was simply making the main characters more complex.
As in the classic fairy tales, most of the characters are pretty empty headed.
Continuing with changing the characters, you can change their motivations, backgrounds, and that sort of thing.
And of course, examine the plot and see what can be made different with it.
And now, Melissa, what did you get from your first class?
Okay, so the first online webinar that I went to was 20 Ways to Make Your Dialogue Pop by J. Scott Savage.
(03:23):
And first off, I liked how he began his presentation.
He said that, anything you hear today will be wrong.
What I mean is that there's no hard and fast rules.
We get to, we give you tools to put in your toolbox.
You don't have to use them and give yourself permission to fail.
All of these were super helpful as I tend to not like rules when I'm writing.
(03:47):
So it was really refreshing and nice to hear about that.
So something that he talked about was point of view and how in the first person,
the first person has a prism that they see the world through, is skin tight,
lets you show all the characters thoughts and feelings,
and gives readers the closest relationship with your protagonist.
And then he goes on to talk about second and third person.
(04:08):
But the key point that I got was why are you using that point of view?
And I hadn't really thought of it.
I kind of just pick a point of view when I'm writing a story.
So what I really enjoyed about this presentation was how he was like, why are you using that point of view?
Also something more technical, he said is that said is the standard verb,
which means that the point of dialogue tag is to inform the reader as invisibly as possible what is happening.
(04:36):
So simpler is better.
And so he said to combine the action and the speech and to keep the dialogue moving at the pace at which the action is going.
So does your character use slang, long sentences, humor, long words,
what do the characters call each other and so forth.
And in closing, he said that characters under pressure speak more quickly and in shorter sentences
(04:59):
and speak more slowly while pondering or planning.
And he said to use beats and I hadn't really thought about that.
And his final tip I'll share is to avoid having one character repeat what the other character just said.
Ken, why don't you go ahead and tell us about your second class?
I kind of find it funny that your first class here was all about dialogue
because the second class I took was all about dialogue and being better.
(05:21):
Now, dialogue is definitely something that a lot of folks struggle with.
The presenter even said that his first bunch of stories had hardly any dialogue because he was afraid of it.
He talked about why dialogue is so important,
such as the fact that it helps the reader connect better with characters
and the fact that it lets your reader hear the character's voice.
Not to mention the fact that dialogue is easier to read as it gives good white space and shows more than tells.
(05:44):
After explaining why we needed dialogue, he began to tell us how to write good dialogue.
The key thing I pulled from it was that you should read your dialogue aloud so you can catch clunky language
and also that the word said is great, as Melissa mentioned, because it's an invisible word that doesn't disrupt the flow.
You should also use action tags like John poured the cereal into his bowl
(06:04):
as those make it slightly more interesting and help anchor the reader as to where they are in the world.
Of course, there are some smaller things as well,
such as the fact that you should give each line of dialogue its own spaced line
and the fact that people generally don't monologue to each other.
It is also extremely helpful if dialogue can accomplish multiple things at once, like establishing names or location.
(06:25):
Keep in mind that as well that dialogue generally does not go from point A to point B.
It also takes tangents.
So what did you get from your second class, Melissa?
Okay, so the second class is nailing your description, setting your story up for success.
And so I do not have who the presenter of this was, but essentially they talked about what is setting.
(06:47):
And they said the place or type of surroundings where something is positioned or where an event takes place.
The setting provides the backdrop to the story and helps create the mood.
The setting of a piece of literature is the time and place in which the story takes place.
And they mentioned that you want it to be vibrant.
What part of my setting makes it unique to my story?
What can make it unique is the details that you add.
(07:10):
Actual locations might be unique, such as in a fantasy world or an unusual place in our world.
The way your character views their world is what truly makes it unique.
They also mentioned some other ways you can add effective descriptions is to evoke the senses.
What does your character see, hear, taste, feel or smell?
To build the mood.
Lightning.
(07:31):
Candlelight versus sunlight versus electricity.
Weather.
Warm.
Spring.
Snow.
Summer.
Living quarters.
Mansion versus apartment versus hut.
I'll completely change the setting and mood of the book.
Do you want it to be light and breezy or dark and cramped?
And then finally they talk about some symbols in setting.
How usually spring means rebirth or white means purity or how snakes are evil or the wind, snow, wind and snorms mean like anger.
(07:59):
And so we go on to talk about less is more so you don't slow the action in description, which I thought was super interesting.
And then they close off with purple prose, which I have mixed feelings about and would love to talk about more.
And then their closing thoughts were avoid overdoing it, including some unnecessary or unrealist thought details or using purple prose as doing so will pull your reader out of the story and slow your pacing.
(08:22):
So what I got out of this presentation was to be aware of the pacing and the description and how they play off of each other.
Ken, what would you like to close off with?
The last bit I would like to share in today's episode is from a little Q&A that happened during lunch with the author Marissa Meyer.
Just a few things stuck out to me, such as the fact that dreams can be a great starter for an idea.
(08:43):
She also mentioned that you shouldn't worry about info dumps in the first draft as they help you get to know the story better.
She also mentioned that it is totally okay to jump around between the stories you are under contract to deliver and your quote unquote secret project stories that you have on the side, as that can keep it from getting boring.
I absolutely loved one of the last things she said, which was that it is all about coming back to your love of story to power through the negative.
(09:06):
And I think with that piece of beautiful advice, I will end off my thoughts for this episode today.
You may be thinking that was short, but don't worry.
Today was part one, and then later on we'll go ahead and do a part two.
And kind of, we didn't plan this, but my third class that I will be talking about is also Marissa Meyer's and the magical science of ideas.
(09:28):
And so the question she asked was, where do you get your ideas?
And she said that the answer was everywhere.
And then people would be like, but really, where do you get your ideas?
And so she ended up presenting the information.
And in the end, she said that our brains are just trying to connect all of the information that is in our brains.
And so how do we generate more ideas?
(09:49):
And she said to number one, gather sticks.
The more stuff you have in your head that you can have, the more potential your brain has to connect ideas for this.
So go to a museum, take a class, travel, do something that scares you.
A really great way to gather sticks is to talk to people.
Having as much kindle means more potential for stories and the ability for it to grow.
(10:11):
Number two, have periods of rest where all of this connecting, it does happen subconsciously.
She said, don't worry about it, let it go.
And then number three, listen.
Listen to your subconscious.
Step back from the to-do list, school, and listen.
Take a walk, a nap, let your brain be born, and connect.
And then her fourth tip was to be brilliant, which is kind of an interesting tip.
(10:36):
But she just goes on to talk about how your brain is amazing and able to connect all of these ideas.
So we hope today's episode was helpful and informative and fun.
Look out for part two.
If you like our podcast, please share it with your friends and family.
For sources in the transcript, visit writersworldpodcast.weebly.com.
Our Instagram and Facebook is at writersworldpodcast and our Patreon is patreon.com slash writersworldpodcast.
(11:02):
And if you want your questions or concerns answered, our email is writersworldpodcast at gmail.com.
Until next time, I have been Melissa Fales and I've been Ken Mears with Writers World.
And keep on writing.
T-A-B-C, what does that mean? Short for Teen Author Boot Camp.
(00:10):
My name is Ken Mears. And I'm Melissa Fales.
And welcome to Writer's World.
(00:36):
This year has been a weird one. Thanks to COVID-19, lots of things have changed.
As such, one of our favorite conferences, Teen Author Boot Camp, was postponed and put online.
Nonetheless, they also provided very interesting and helpful webinars to tide us over until the main event in September.
Today we are going to be sharing wisdom that we gained from both the webinars and the classes we took during the main event back in September.
(00:57):
Let's dive right in.
Yeah, Ken's definitely the one who encouraged me to go to T-A-B-C.
And then I ended up making my sister sign up and some other friends and it was going to be a party.
Unfortunately, COVID happened and I wasn't able to attend either the in-person or the online conference this year.
So all of the quotes and information I will be sharing comes from the online webinars they had before the conference.
(01:23):
First, we are going to share some of Ken's favorite quotes he heard during these events.
I got several fantastic quotes from the opening keynote with author Kirsten White.
She said such wonderful things as,
Stories can help us discover and feel who we are. Sometimes the only way to write a book is to sit down and write it.
If you have something you're struggling with, write a story about it.
And write yourself into everything you write.
(01:45):
Write with soul.
One other quote that really stuck out to me was during a class on twisting fairy tales.
The presenter said,
Even if you're a published author, you're still going to grow.
And I think that that is a very important thing to remember because even the most prolific and grand of writers can still learn and grow in their writing.
Very true. And now we are going to go mainly back and forth talking about the best advice we got from each presenter we were able to go to.
(02:11):
Ken, would you start us off?
Sure thing. The first class I took was all about twisting fairy tales.
Now, I am someone who loves stories where classic fairy tales like Cinderella and the Princess and the Frog are changed into something wholly new.
One of the most important things the presenter had to say is that you need to look at the framework and components of the fairy tale you are twisting.
(02:32):
Think about what the key elements are that make that fairy tale, that fairy tale.
Key components include the inciting incident, key characters, key scenes, climax, resolution, and theme.
These give you a jumping off point for things that you can change, add to, and work around.
She recommended that things as simple as changing the genre already does a ton to change the story.
What if Cinderella was an old west type story? Or Snow White played out on the moon?
(02:56):
Another huge thing that was mentioned was simply making the main characters more complex.
As in the classic fairy tales, most of the characters are pretty empty headed.
Continuing with changing the characters, you can change their motivations, backgrounds, and that sort of thing.
And of course, examine the plot and see what can be made different with it.
And now, Melissa, what did you get from your first class?
Okay, so the first online webinar that I went to was 20 Ways to Make Your Dialogue Pop by J. Scott Savage.
(03:23):
And first off, I liked how he began his presentation.
He said that, anything you hear today will be wrong.
What I mean is that there's no hard and fast rules.
We get to, we give you tools to put in your toolbox.
You don't have to use them and give yourself permission to fail.
All of these were super helpful as I tend to not like rules when I'm writing.
(03:47):
So it was really refreshing and nice to hear about that.
So something that he talked about was point of view and how in the first person,
the first person has a prism that they see the world through, is skin tight,
lets you show all the characters thoughts and feelings,
and gives readers the closest relationship with your protagonist.
And then he goes on to talk about second and third person.
(04:08):
But the key point that I got was why are you using that point of view?
And I hadn't really thought of it.
I kind of just pick a point of view when I'm writing a story.
So what I really enjoyed about this presentation was how he was like, why are you using that point of view?
Also something more technical, he said is that said is the standard verb,
which means that the point of dialogue tag is to inform the reader as invisibly as possible what is happening.
(04:36):
So simpler is better.
And so he said to combine the action and the speech and to keep the dialogue moving at the pace at which the action is going.
So does your character use slang, long sentences, humor, long words,
what do the characters call each other and so forth.
And in closing, he said that characters under pressure speak more quickly and in shorter sentences
(04:59):
and speak more slowly while pondering or planning.
And he said to use beats and I hadn't really thought about that.
And his final tip I'll share is to avoid having one character repeat what the other character just said.
Ken, why don't you go ahead and tell us about your second class?
I kind of find it funny that your first class here was all about dialogue
because the second class I took was all about dialogue and being better.
(05:21):
Now, dialogue is definitely something that a lot of folks struggle with.
The presenter even said that his first bunch of stories had hardly any dialogue because he was afraid of it.
He talked about why dialogue is so important,
such as the fact that it helps the reader connect better with characters
and the fact that it lets your reader hear the character's voice.
Not to mention the fact that dialogue is easier to read as it gives good white space and shows more than tells.
(05:44):
After explaining why we needed dialogue, he began to tell us how to write good dialogue.
The key thing I pulled from it was that you should read your dialogue aloud so you can catch clunky language
and also that the word said is great, as Melissa mentioned, because it's an invisible word that doesn't disrupt the flow.
You should also use action tags like John poured the cereal into his bowl
(06:04):
as those make it slightly more interesting and help anchor the reader as to where they are in the world.
Of course, there are some smaller things as well,
such as the fact that you should give each line of dialogue its own spaced line
and the fact that people generally don't monologue to each other.
It is also extremely helpful if dialogue can accomplish multiple things at once, like establishing names or location.
(06:25):
Keep in mind that as well that dialogue generally does not go from point A to point B.
It also takes tangents.
So what did you get from your second class, Melissa?
Okay, so the second class is nailing your description, setting your story up for success.
And so I do not have who the presenter of this was, but essentially they talked about what is setting.
(06:47):
And they said the place or type of surroundings where something is positioned or where an event takes place.
The setting provides the backdrop to the story and helps create the mood.
The setting of a piece of literature is the time and place in which the story takes place.
And they mentioned that you want it to be vibrant.
What part of my setting makes it unique to my story?
What can make it unique is the details that you add.
(07:10):
Actual locations might be unique, such as in a fantasy world or an unusual place in our world.
The way your character views their world is what truly makes it unique.
They also mentioned some other ways you can add effective descriptions is to evoke the senses.
What does your character see, hear, taste, feel or smell?
To build the mood.
Lightning.
(07:31):
Candlelight versus sunlight versus electricity.
Weather.
Warm.
Spring.
Snow.
Summer.
Living quarters.
Mansion versus apartment versus hut.
I'll completely change the setting and mood of the book.
Do you want it to be light and breezy or dark and cramped?
And then finally they talk about some symbols in setting.
How usually spring means rebirth or white means purity or how snakes are evil or the wind, snow, wind and snorms mean like anger.
(07:59):
And so we go on to talk about less is more so you don't slow the action in description, which I thought was super interesting.
And then they close off with purple prose, which I have mixed feelings about and would love to talk about more.
And then their closing thoughts were avoid overdoing it, including some unnecessary or unrealist thought details or using purple prose as doing so will pull your reader out of the story and slow your pacing.
(08:22):
So what I got out of this presentation was to be aware of the pacing and the description and how they play off of each other.
Ken, what would you like to close off with?
The last bit I would like to share in today's episode is from a little Q&A that happened during lunch with the author Marissa Meyer.
Just a few things stuck out to me, such as the fact that dreams can be a great starter for an idea.
(08:43):
She also mentioned that you shouldn't worry about info dumps in the first draft as they help you get to know the story better.
She also mentioned that it is totally okay to jump around between the stories you are under contract to deliver and your quote unquote secret project stories that you have on the side, as that can keep it from getting boring.
I absolutely loved one of the last things she said, which was that it is all about coming back to your love of story to power through the negative.
(09:06):
And I think with that piece of beautiful advice, I will end off my thoughts for this episode today.
You may be thinking that was short, but don't worry.
Today was part one, and then later on we'll go ahead and do a part two.
And kind of, we didn't plan this, but my third class that I will be talking about is also Marissa Meyer's and the magical science of ideas.
(09:28):
And so the question she asked was, where do you get your ideas?
And she said that the answer was everywhere.
And then people would be like, but really, where do you get your ideas?
And so she ended up presenting the information.
And in the end, she said that our brains are just trying to connect all of the information that is in our brains.
And so how do we generate more ideas?
(09:49):
And she said to number one, gather sticks.
The more stuff you have in your head that you can have, the more potential your brain has to connect ideas for this.
So go to a museum, take a class, travel, do something that scares you.
A really great way to gather sticks is to talk to people.
Having as much kindle means more potential for stories and the ability for it to grow.
(10:11):
Number two, have periods of rest where all of this connecting, it does happen subconsciously.
She said, don't worry about it, let it go.
And then number three, listen.
Listen to your subconscious.
Step back from the to-do list, school, and listen.
Take a walk, a nap, let your brain be born, and connect.
And then her fourth tip was to be brilliant, which is kind of an interesting tip.
(10:36):
But she just goes on to talk about how your brain is amazing and able to connect all of these ideas.
So we hope today's episode was helpful and informative and fun.
Look out for part two.
If you like our podcast, please share it with your friends and family.
For sources in the transcript, visit writersworldpodcast.weebly.com.
Our Instagram and Facebook is at writersworldpodcast and our Patreon is patreon.com slash writersworldpodcast.
(11:02):
And if you want your questions or concerns answered, our email is writersworldpodcast at gmail.com.
Until next time, I have been Melissa Fales and I've been Ken Mears with Writers World.
And keep on writing.
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