Start spreading the news… I’m New York bound tomorrow! Wish I had more energy. I’m feeling like a slug today, and I tend to get this way between projects. When I finally let myself breathe, I realize just how tired I am. It’s been raining all day and what I’d love to do is crawl back into bed with Salem’s Lot (which I’m reading for the third time), and instead I have to pack. And I hate packing.
So this is my agenda for the week.
Tuesday – Travel day
Wednesday – Day 1 of ThrillerFest’s CraftFest
Thursday – Day 2 of ThrillerFest’s Craft Fest
Friday – 8 hour bus tour of New York City
Saturday – Museum of Natural History, and then somewhere at night to watch UFC 100
Sunday – Travel day
These are the workshops I’m planning on taking on Wednesday and Thursday. There are three choices in each timeslot and some timeslots seem to have more than one “good” one, so I’ll probably end up deciding at the last minute.
WEDNESDAY:
10 am:
Catching an Agent’s Attention: Writing a Knockout Query and Synopsis
by Robert Dugoni
or
The Business of Writing
by David Morell
(I need to learn to write a good query, but I’d love to hear the guy who created Rambo speak!)
11 am:
Living on the Ritz: How to Hit the Times List in Five Years or Less
by Lisa Gardner
or
Make ‘Em Laugh, Make ‘Em Cry: How to Put Emotional Muscle Into Your Fiction
by Peter Rubie
(Leaning towards the first one, though that’s awfully presumptuous of me!)
12:30 pm:
Thriller Hold ‘Em: The First Hundred Pages
by Eric Van Lustbader
or
The 6 C’s of Story
by Steve Berry
or
Plotting Evil: Creating the Baddest Bad Guys
by D.P. Lyle, MD and Michael Weiner, MD
(Damn, these all sound good. I love Steve Berry as an author but the other two sound even more interesting.)
2 pm:
Creating a Series Character
by Lee Child
or
Ten Basic Ingredients of a Successful Thriller
by Gary Braver
(Will probably sneak into both of these.)
by Lee Child
or
Ten Basic Ingredients of a Successful Thriller
by Gary Braver
(Will probably sneak into both of these.)
3 pm:
Successful Rewriting: Paring Down and Fleshing Out
by Lisa Gardner
(Ha, where was this three months ago?)
4 pm:
Story Structure: Organizing Your Story for Maximum Impact
by William Bernhardt
or
It’s All a Matter of Viewpoint
by David Morell
THURSDAY:
9 am:
Sorry, Your Villain Isn’t Scary
by Donald Maass
(This guy is the founder of one of the most successful literary agencies in the world.)
10 am:
Essential Tools for Suspenseful Dialogue
by James Scott Bell
or
Story is Character
by Allison Brennan
11 am:
Character Development: Good Heroes and Greater Villains
by Steve Martini
or
Motivation and Pacing: How to Write Three Novels a Year and Still Have a Life
by James Rollins
(Ha, as if I could write three novels a year! Well, maybe I could, but they’d suck.)
Then there’s lunch with a keynote speaker, book signings, and a reception to follow.
My main goal for the week is to learn as much as I can. And maybe snag an autograph or two.
Haven’t decided if I’m bringing my computer with me. You’ll know if I blog this week. If I don’t, send me good vibes and I’ll be back next week with all the details!