I spent this past weekend in Boston attending a wonderful conference called The Muse & The Marketplace–my first writers’ conference. I have so much to say about the experience that it’ll be easier in an organized list.
MY GOALS FOR THE CONFERENCE WERE:
- to get inspiration and tips for my novel-in-progress from accomplished authors.
- to invest in my writing career.
- to spend time IN PERSON with some of the members of my virtual writing community.
- I’m happy to say I met every one of those goals!
HIGHLIGHTS:
- My Twitter and Writer Unboxed friends were as warm, welcoming, and clever in person as they are online.
- In the session with the editor of the Modern Love column in the Sunday Styles section of the New York Times, I randomly ended up next to Elinor Lipman, an author I adore. After summoning some courage, I turned to her and introduced myself as one of her biggest fans. I told her about the time I tweeted this: “The first chapter of The Inn on Lake Devine is the MOST perfect first chapter of any book I’ve read in the past few years.” She was pleased, which led to a discussion about Twitter, a topic that completely mystifies her. So what do you think I did? I gave her my card and noted my website, which includes . . . my Twitter series! Then we commiserated every time this one woman a few rows ahead kept asking the NYTimes editor inane questions like “what should be in the subject line of the submission email” and twice asked for clarification on the word count. Google the guidelines, lady! Ms. Lipman agreed. In other words, we’re now best friends. (I wish!)
- I ended up in an elevator alone with Ann Hood (author of The Knitting Circle, The Red Thread). I was so tongue-tied I twice informed her, “You’re Ann Hood.” I also said “You’re Elinor Lipman” to Elinor Lipman when she first sat down. Aren’t I smooth?
- I had lunch with Elisabeth Weed, a literary agent I’ve admired for years who represents some of my favorite authors. This lunch was part of the “star power table” program, which allowed an attendee to pay a little extra to sit with “stars” for the meal. I also got to sit with novelist Dawn Tripp. For those of you who don’t know how the agent process works, a fiction writer needs a complete and perfect manuscript before attempting to “land” an agent. I have two complete manuscripts, but they’re both embarrassing. It’ll be at least two years before I’m ready to seriously search for an agent. Considering the impending arrival of baby #4, it may be more like three years. Even if this agent or the others I met don’t remember me by then, which is highly likely, I’m still grateful for the experience of meeting a few agents in person and realizing they are–gasp–human. The lunch with Dream Agent was especially fun and relaxing. I’ll certainly be stalking–I mean querying–her when my novel is ready. [Edited in 2013 to say, I ended up abandoning fiction completely.]
- Ron Carlson’s keynote speech was a major highlight for me. Some of the bigger takeaways (paraphrased): The real writing happens when you stay in the room and tolerate the unknown; We write to discover our beliefs, not prove our beliefs; We should write from what we know towards what we don’t know; Write what matters to you; All writers are accompanied by doubt–we should worry when certainty sets in.
NOT-SURPRISING LESSONS:
- I am more extroverted than the average writer. I told some people there I’m actually quite introverted 80% of the time and that I both love and NEED plenty of time alone. Nobody believed me. Some laughed. But it’s true!
- I don’t like writing classes that include too many writing exercises where we spend a good portion of the time hearing all the students read from their notebooks. In a situation like The Muse where the classes are only a little over an hour, I want to hear from the teacher. My favorite classes were taught by Jenna Blum (subject was why we should avoid using flashbacks) and by Lynne Barrett (subject was structure). I heard Elinor Lipman’s class on dialogue and Ann Hood’s class on revision were both stellar. I’m sorry to have missed them. As a caveat, Jane Roper’s “hour of power” with writing exercises was wonderful. But the advertising was clear there. I knew what I was getting, and I loved it.
- Social media “know-how” was a HUGE topic throughout the weekend. It’s the one area of this business I seem to innately “get.” Now I just need the impossible-to-put-down and flawless manuscript. I wish it were the other way around!
- Four days on his own with the kids was about all Bryan could handle. A week-long conference would’ve sent him over the edge.
SURPRISING LESSONS:
- Most of the authors and students seemed to agree on avoiding the “frame story” structure. In other words, if the story you really want to tell takes place in the past, tell that story and that story only. Good to know.
- I suspect I could get some of the same instructional experiences out of a local conference with the added benefit of making new connections closer to home. I’m so happy I went to The Muse, but any conferences in the near future will have to be local for reasons of budget and practicality.
- Apparently, the North End of Boston is my favorite place on Earth.
I know I must be leaving out tons, but I’m sure I’ve bored you enough already. If you’re on Twitter, search the #Muse2011 hashtag and you’ll see plenty of informative tweets from people who attended.
Have a wonderful week everyone! Nina
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Nina Badzin hosts the podcast Dear Nina: Conversations About Friendship. She's been writing about friendship since 2014, co-leads the writing groups at ModernWell in Minneapolis, and reviews 30+ books a year on her website.
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38 Responses
Hey Nina! Lucky you, sounds like a great conference, and you really got your time/money’s worth in lessons learned. Must ask, how did you finagle lunch with dream agent? You are slick!
I totally feel you on the introvert thing. When I attended a pitch conference last fall people had the same reaction to me. “You’re not an introvert!” Really, I am, I’m just good at faking it. Seriously sweating inside.
Also can agree on four day limit on husband alone with kids. If you do a full week you will have to staff up. Hopefully you are surrounded by money-hungry teenagers looking to babysit– especially once #4 arrives! Brave lady. 🙂
Oh! Maybe I should clarify that in the post. Meeting Dream Agent was part of lunch one day where attendees could pay a little more to sit at “star tables.” In addition to dream agent there were two authors I loved talking to and the editor of a lit mag I greatly admire!
Okay, I just edited that part. FYI. 😉
Oh, Nina. Thanks so much for sharing. I didn’t know about this conference (because, honestly, conference going wasn’t as much on my radar a year ago as it is NOW). But once you blogged about Muse 2011, I looked it up and was pleasantly shocked by the number of stellar authors and agents (about six of my top agent picks were there). Wow. I’m still SO kicking myself for not going. And … are you going to spill the dirt on who your dream agent is (even if you DM me?)… Inquiring minds want to know!
I almost think that the way you approached this conference is THE way to go: attend WITHOUT the polished ms in hand. Don’t you think that allowed you to focus more on the ‘experience,’ rather than being a bundle of nerves where you knew you’d be “selling,” “selling,” “selling”? For me, I think I’d be able to be myself more, with that kind of pressure removed. You and Natalia Sylvester are the first who have made it clear (to me, at least) that attending a conference even without a finished manuscript can reap significant dividends. Thanks for the wonderful insight.
Hi Melissa! I only knew about the conference from Twitter. All of my Writer Unboxed pals were chatting about it and I wanted to do a conference this year so I chose that one. I 100% agree that it was a pleasure to attend and enjoy and meet people WITHOUT the added stress of worrying about whether they’d read the partial submission yet, etc. I was able to just be myself and have a good time and learn. It sounds like there are some great conferences in the SW area though. I’d recommend looking local too.
Soooo awesome!! So jealous! 🙂 Can’t wait until I can afford to go to a conference myself—and in more ways then one: I’m probably going to have to hire a sitter to help Jay! lol
Good for you for going. I’ve never been to Boston, but I’d love to go! What a great place for a conference. I’ll have to google local conferences. Closest big cities to me are Baltimore and D.C. (which is a hike, but still about 2 hours away).
Thanks for all the tidbits—at least I could be there vicariously! lol You weren’t boring at all.
L
Yes–I’d for sure get help for Jay if you ever want to leave for a few days again in the future. I had PLENTY of help for Bryan–combination of babysitters and help from family and friends. It’s KEY.
You met Elinor Lipman and Ann Hood! It sounds like a great conference.
I’m interested in the comment about “frame stories.” So many agents and reviewers fault writers for setting a story in anything but the immediate present. (I just read a NYT review of The Weird Sisters, faulting it for trying to be “timeless” and not including 21st century pop culture references.) How do we do that if the main story happens in the past, I wonder? Historicals have to be set more than 50 years ago. So it seems you have to write a book in a day and a half so it’s up to the minute, or wait to write until you’re at least 65. Figuring out the rules can be a life-long job, can’t it?
Anne–
I read that review, too, as well as the book. I felt they were saying the issue was that in some ways it seemed Brown wanted it to take place NOW but she gave no sense of time. I heard a lot this weekend about orientating your reader and how important that it is. I don’t think it matters when the book takes place as long as it’s clear and consistent. Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld is a great example of a book that takes place in the 80s without any formal “frame.” We get that it’s Lee’s older “self” telling the story, but her 80s persona is still the stronger narrative voice. Same goes for The Wednesday Sisters Meg Waite Clayton, which takes place in the 60s with the current “looking voice” popping up now and then to say things like “That’s how we felt about things back then.” But it’s the 60s “self” or character who conveys the story. I think in a formal frame story, we’d have the 2011 character run into someone from her past or something like that and then dive into that important part of her past and stay there until we’re back on that sidewalk. That’s a bad summary but you get the idea. This is different from a story that goes back and forth in time with two concurrent plot lines like in Jenna Blum’s Those Who Save Us or in Rebecca Rasmussen’s The Bird Sisters.
Ah–so much to think about, especially since as of now my novel-in-progress takes place in the mid-late 90s and I don’t intend to use a frame.
Hope this helps a little! I’d love to discuss with you further. I agree it’s tricky.
Great answer. I hope you’re right. I’ve written several books set partly in the 70s and 80s, going back and forth in time. Or starting in the past and coming up to the present. Some agents hate it, but maybe I’ll find one who doesn’t. Trying to be up-to-the minute is so hard when books take so long to get published.
Not that anyone cares, but I HATE pop culture references in books. I don’t mean alluding to current events so you get a sense of time, I mean blatent “ohh I love Glee… I can’t wait to see what happens next week on True Blood…” stuff. LOL just giving my opinion as someone who hopefully one day will read your novel.
Thank you so much for the wrap up! I wish I could have been there, but this makes me feel much better. Great post!
I read this eagerly, Nina–thank you for taking the time to share all this with those of us who weren’t there. Muse sounds like a perfect conference–informative, fun and with an emphasis on building community.
Ha ha, so funny about the inane questions in the Modern Love session. I thought I was the only one thinking that and had no one to commiserate with. I don’t think she will ever get anything in Modern Love, do you?!
Ha! It was a great session though. I really appreciated how he cut to the chase and told us what he knew we all really wanted to know like what he likes and doesn’t like, etc.
I wish I could have been there but it sounds like you made the most of it. You bring up a question for me, though. I’ve come across several people who have sold novels on a proposal and 100 page sample. That flies in the face of the current wisdom that the ms. must be finished and polished. Did you hear any discussions along those lines?
Helen–I know for non-fiction it’s normal to submit a proposal and sample chapters. I’ve personally only heard of people selling second novels on a synopsis and sample pages. I’ve never heard of that for truly debut authors, but if you’ve seen it then I suppose it can happen. I wouldn’t say it’s the norm.
SUCH a good conference. SO fun to meet you, Nina, and Anne, and Jenna Blum, and dozens of other people. Wish we could do it every weekend.
Great recap! I’ve only ever been to a few regional SCBWI conferences, which were certainly great, but you’ve encouraged me to start thinking about attending more, so I better start looking! I tend to be on the more introverted end of the scale, so I worry that I might not get as much out of it — but you make it sound so fun and worthwhile that I think it’s time to put my discomfort aside and give it a try! Thanks for the terrific recap and suggestions! (p.s. I agree that the North End of Boston is one of the best places on Earth!)
Hi! I think introverts for sure get a ton of a conference or there wouldn’t be so many writers’ conferences! (I’m telling you, you’re not alone on the introvert scale.) I think the key is the quality of the classes, lectures, etc.
Sounds like you had a good time and learned a lot! Congrats! And ummm how did I miss that you’re pregnant?!?! Congrats on that too!!
I’m not a writer but I’m a reader and I find this all very interesting!! I love that you told that other author that you tweeted about her. I always think I sound awkward when I say “the other day I tweeted…” and lots of people look at me funny. But it’s the equivalent of “the other day I had this conversation and…” for me.
Hi! The first time I mentioned baby #4 was in last week’s post so you’re not too far behind. I’m somewhere between 13-14 weeks now.
I liked your comment from a reader’s point of view in response to ANNE above. I 100% agree about avoiding “uber” pop culture references . . . stuff that’s too of the moment. However, if I book is supposed to take place NOW, I think the reader needs and wants some sense that people are using cell phone, texting, etc. That’s just one example of a sense of time without giving names of TV shows. In this day and age it would be pretty unrealistic to be completely out of touch because of our use of phones and the internet. There are certainly people who have tried to stay away from all that. That’s a certain kind of character and the author would have to make a point of explaining that character’s choice. My current work-in-progress is set in 1998, which I love because while people have phones and email it was not nearly as prevalent at all. THere was still some sense of privacy and being out of the loop.
Thanks for the recap of the conference. It sounds wonderful. It may be a while before I can get to one and I live vicariously through the reports of others who attend around the country. This one seemed to be exceptional 🙂
So glad to hear you had a great time! (Like you wouldn’t with Jenna, Sharon, Therese, Jael, and Anne!) I have always been worried that if I went without a finished manuscript that I would be wasting my time. I am dying to go to one and it is refreshing to hear that ALL are welcome, not just the ones with something to sell.
We will have to figure out a Midwest conference to go to! Geez, do they have any?!
Anyway, thanks for sharing and so happy that you made some great connections!
It was wonderful to go purely as a student and not someone desperate to get a certain connection out of it. A very relaxing way to approach the conference! I think someone said AWP will be in Chicago next year. You should check on that. I know nothing about it. Also, Iowa Writers’ Workshop has great stuff for weekends or longer.
Hi Nina!
What a great wrap-up of your first conference … and The Muse, no less! I think you’ve just sold me on the next conference I dream of attending. It sounds excellent.
Congratulations on your next little bundle on the way! I’ll be cheering you on as you approach the finish line little by little on your next novel. You can do it!
-Jennifer
That sounds like an amazing conference! I’ve always shied away from creative writing conferences, mostly because I didn’t think that the benefits would outweigh the costs. However, your post is quite inspiring. Maybe I’ll look into it some time when I’m less busy/have more free funds! Thanks for posting.
If you can find someone local at least the cost part would be less. 🙂
“You are Nina Badzin.”
I LOVE that your encounters with some of your favorite people began with you announcing who they were. To them.
You are adorable.
And thanks SO MUCH for this wrap up. Now I have to look at my WIP and see if I’m spending too much time doing flashbacks – (note to self: avoid “frame story” structure.)
I think it may be three years before my manuscript is bright and shiny enough to see the light of day, too.
And I’m not pregnant…
Planning a day of focused writing. I will think of you as inspiration!
Nina,
Terrific recap! So happy to hear it was such a fruitful conference for you. I really enjoyed meeting you in person as one of your Twitter pals.
I too did one of those Star Power lunches, and it ended up being one of the best investments I’ve ever made. I got to chat with Ann Hood, Dan Jones, and two very interesting literary agents. I did sit in on Ann’s revision session. So much fodder out of that – including this: Turn off our time clocks. Don’t set a deadline for something like a novel or memoir – if that means rushing it out before it’s really, really ready. Doesn’t mean dawdle. It means do it right. Do it the best you can. Get great eyes on it, etc.
Anyway, this was a terrific post, and I hope it inspires other writers to go to conferences if they haven’t. Good luck with baby #4 as well as your writing.
Linda
Thanks Linda! I loved meeting you. We’re both lucky we had the chance to take some of our Twitter friendships off the screen. What a great table you had!!!!!
I am going to share my notes from Ann Hood as soon as I type them up. You would have LOVED her! So great to meet you at the Muse.
So great to meet you too! And PLEASE send me the notes. I’m so jealous you took that class. I would have made some different choices knowing what I know now. You can use this email or the one on my card. I so appreciate it. Thank you!
Ron Carlson’s keynote speech was a major highlight for me. Some of the bigger takeaways (paraphrased): The real writing happens when you stay in the room and tolerate the unknown; We write to discover our beliefs, not prove our beliefs; We should write from what we know towards what we don’t know; Write what matters to you; All writers are accompanied by doubt–we should worry when certainty sets in.
I really liked this primarily because that is what I do. Writing is where I discover and learn more about myself and life. And if you are writing for yourself than it seems natural to me that you write about what matters to you. You can’t fake real passion.
What a great summary of a rich, fascinating weekend. Ann Hood’s session on revision WAS stellar. Loved meeting you and am glad to know of your blog! xox
I’m so happy to hear that you loved your conference so much! And the North End of Boston?! Love how you threw that in.
YAY for your Twitter series!
So glad that you went, Nina, and achieved all of your goals (and then some). I’m really hoping to make it to the SCBWI conference this summer, and hope I’ll have a similar experience. Thanks for sharing the highlights — I bet your writing energy has been recharged quite a bit.