Tips from Yet Another Writing Conference

I wrote last year about attending the writing conference at Johnson County Library. I was there again last month for the 2019 Writing Conference.

In somewhat arbitrary categories, here are my favorite tips from the conference this year:

ON WRITING:

1: Writing is work. If you show up and spend the time, you will get results. Don’t worry about being talented enough, just do it. Treat your writing like the job it is.
2: As writers, we are part of a tribe, though we do most of our work alone. You need fellow writers to be your tribe and to hold you accountable.
3: Comparing your writing to others’ work is fruitless. Don’t let good writers intimidate you, but study them to figure out what’s working.
4: Write however you write. It doesn’t matter what your writing process is, if it works for you. But know what works and what gets in the way of your writing.
5: Don’t let research become procrastination.
6: Your book should ask and answer one juicy question. You may not know the question until you’re well into the book, but the earlier you identify it, the easier your writing will be.
7: Write your back cover blurb early in the process. That will help you focus.
8: The adrenaline of starting a new project gets you 30 pages into a novel. After that, you need an outline. At least of the next few scenes or chapters. (But everyone writes differently.)
9: If you want to leave your day job, have a plan, a budget, and some savings.

ON INCLUSIVITY:

10: When you’re writing about a character who is different from you (another race or culture or religion, etc.), write with respect and focus on the human characteristics you have in common.
11: What we write consists of both our personal experiences and also who and what we read, watch and listen.
12: If we don’t go beyond our own and the dominant culture’s experience, that is all we can write. Widen who and what you read, watch, and listen to.
13: When writing about other races and cultures, be careful of your blind spots. Don’t fall into using stereotypes or irrelevant references to race and ethnicity that will reduce the inclusivity of your writing. Do the work to make your characters authentic in their culture.

ON MARKETING & SELLING YOUR BOOK:

14: Readers need to fall in love with your first page.
15: The book you write should be the book you want to read. Don’t chase genre trends.
16: Publishers won’t promote your books unless you’re successful already. So marketing has to be part of your writing discipline. Do something to promote your work every day.
17: f you want to be traditionally published, look for an agent who is interested in more than just one book from you.
18: Always have another writing project in the works. One published book doesn’t create an income stream.

ON VILLAINS:

19: If you’re writing about a character who’s a monster, make the character likable, and also identify the character flaw that turns them to darkness.
20: Make your villains worthy of your protagonist. In other words, your villains should grow and change also so that they are true dangers to your heroes. Your villains should be interesting, not flat. Let them control their own destiny.
21: Make your villains human. Give them vulnerability and ambiguity. Let us worry about our own potential for villainy.

Writers, which of these tips do you forget most often?