Another 15 Minutes of Fame, part two
The Digital Authors/BCX Writer Conference ended yesterday. It was eight days long, starting last Saturday and Sunday, during the weekdays in the evenings and most of yesterday. It can be exhausting, but it is well worth the education. I skipped some of the self-publishing panels since I decided long ago that was not the way I wanted to go.
Continuing on the panel I was on, THINGS I WISH A PRO HAD TOLD ME WHEN I FIRST STARTED WRITING, here are some more of the questions and my responses:
What novel would you recommend? Why? That’s a tough one. My favorite novel is Frank Herbert’s “Dune”, but if you’re not writing science fiction, it probably won’t help you much. I think you have to find a book in your genre that you really like. If you’re into hard science fiction, then you should be reading Michael Crichton. In his novels, the science is crucial to the plot. If science fiction is more of a backdrop, then I would suggest Alen Dean Foster. He’s one of my favorite writers.
What would you tell new writers about self care? Yes, it is important to set a writing schedule and stick to it, but you don’t want to burn yourself out. Things come up in life that you have to take care of. It may not be possible to write every day. That’s okay, take a break. Sometimes you need to refresh yourself before continuing, as long as you do continue. Right now, I sometimes get stuck in the rut of work-write-sleep, work-write-sleep. I try to give myself the weekends off from writing. That’s when I spend time with my wife, hobbies and doing non-writing things like critiquing and… well, this blog!
Pick one single, best piece of advice. I have to go back to critique groups. They are the single, most important resource in the growth of my writing.
The next writer’s conference will be the California Creative Writers Conference, held from February 26th to March 6th, 2021. http://www.wcwriters.com/ccwc/ It will be held virtually on Zoom. The location button will take you to the Double Tree Hotel, but we don’t think we will be able to meet in person by that time. The good news is that you can attend from anywhere in the world. Tell them Dennis sent you. It probably won’t get you anything, but they’ll know someone is reading this blog.
Dennis Amador Cherry
35th article completed.
First Steampunk novel: 60267 words. Yes, I backtracked. Darn editing!
Another panel I attended was hosted by Debra Eckerling, author of the D.E.B. Method:
Determine your mission
Explore your options
Brainstorm your path
It’s about setting goals, keeping on track and achieving them. I need to get this book next. http://thedebmethod.com/
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