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Writing Wednesday | Things I Learned from #YALLSTAYHOME

05.20.2020 by Ashley // Leave a Comment

There was one good thing that came out of this pandemic for me, and that was the fact that I was able to attend webinars for #YALLSTAYHOME.  YALLWEST/YALLFEST are events that I’ve always thought it would be fun to attend.  However, due to the nature of my job and the timing of the events, I have known that I will never be able to actually attend them.  Fortunately for me, the regular event was cancelled and then reformed as a virtual event where participants could tune in from the comfort of their own couches.  I was so excited to get the chance to hear some of my favourite writers speak.

I ended up signing up for seven sessions.  Two of those were more fun, but the others I found were somewhat educational and informative.  I had fun sitting on my couch and listening to my favourite writers talk about their craft in various different areas of discussion.  As I watched, I tried to jot down a couple of notes, and I thought it might be fun to share some of the things I learned on this blog.

Modern Magic Worldbuilding

  • Fantasy can help create empathy.
  • Important to write because it’s a distraction, can help us understand our reality.
  • Find inspiration from around you – music, books, etc.
  • Worldbuilding from the ground up:
    • think about the details,
    • but be careful not to overwhelm yourself – you need plot and characters
    • think about history, culture, power structure – what are their motivations? How do the people interact/behave?
  • You don’t have to have everything figured out – readers like to fill in the gaps and the gaps allow for fanfiction.

Facing the Enemy: Hope, War, + Revolution

  • Inspiration can be found anywhere.
  • Hope is an important part of YA.

Suckage is a Part of Writing

  • It’s okay to not be perfect, and to just get the first draft out.  Just try.
  • It’s okay not to be joyful.
  • “Your book is going to poop with the bathroom door open at some point.”
  • Outline and then draft (or whatever works for you).  Revision is when the story talks back to you.
  • Keep thinking about the thing that made you passionate about the idea.
  • We are our own worst critics.  It’s a matter of self belief.
  • Suckage is the story you tell yourself, and it’s a burden you have to overcome.
  • There is magic in finishing.
  • Your taste is higher than your skills.
  • Just finish the thing: you don’t know what it is until it’s done.  The difference between amateur and professional is finishing it.
  • Be gentle with yourself.
  • You can’t edit a blank page.
  • Celebrate everything.
  • Write you “heart trash” – write for yourself.
  • Try other methods of creativity, and step away if you need a break.
  • Your first job is just to be human.
  • Remember: you get to escape into the world.

World Building Beyond Wikipedia

  • Set in someone else’s world:
    • what does it take to make it feel like that world?
    • What can you add?
  • Boomers: have meticulously documented their experience online.
  • Inspiration from ghosts.
  • Different things will tell you about a character.
  • Setting as a character in the story.
  • Character in a situation in a place.
  • Concept is connected to character.
  • “What is she doing?”
  • “What does this culture do with their dead?”
  • “You must never write history until you hear the way people can speak.”

Writing Empathy

  • Acknowledge that oppression exists but translate that in different ways.
  • It’s a story first.
    • These kids have a goal, but the bumps along the road need to be realistic.
  • We want a good story.
  • We are never just the one thing – we have ups and downs.
  • Think about all the things that create the greater character.
  • Make sure all the plot threads have equal attention and move the plot forward.

I felt so inspired after listening to all my faves talk about their craft.  I haven’t really done any writing since then, but I know that I want to get back into it.  Did you attend YALLSTAYHOME? Which sessions did you go to?

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Filed Under: Ashley, Writing Wednesday Tagged: lessons, opinion, reader, thoughts, writer, writing, ya, yallstayathome, yallstayhome, young adult

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Ashley’s Goodreads

The Complete Works
The Complete Works
by William Shakespeare
The First Part of the Contention Between the Two Famous Houses of York and Lancaster, &c., 1594
The First Part of the Contention Between the Two Famous Houses of York and Lancaster, &c., 1594
by William Shakespeare
All the Stars and Teeth
All the Stars and Teeth
by Adalyn Grace
I Am Still Alive
I Am Still Alive
by Kate Alice Marshall
Blood of Elves
Blood of Elves
by Andrzej Sapkowski

goodreads.com

Kari’s Goodreads

The Name of the Wind
The Name of the Wind
by Patrick Rothfuss
Contagion
Contagion
by Erin Bowman
Crown of Midnight
Crown of Midnight
by Sarah J. Maas
Queen of Shadows
Queen of Shadows
by Sarah J. Maas
Ruthless Gods
Ruthless Gods
by Emily A. Duncan

goodreads.com

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