June 22, 2009

How do you make good use of the notes and information gleaned at a writer’s workshop or conference?

A woman in my weekly critique group spent last week in Honesdale at one of the Highlights Foundation Founders Workshops on novel writing. The rest of our group was “pea-green with envy,” as Scarlett O’Hara said. From the enthusiastic email we received from her, she learned as much as she’d hoped and came home greatly encouraged. This Thursday at our critique meeting, we are setting aside an hour or more for her to share with all of us what she learned last week.

The book Networking at Writer’s Conferences: From Contacts to Contracts (Spratt and Spratt) has a section about what to do after the conference is over. In a chapter called “Where Do You Go from Here?”, the authors talk about returning from the world of the conference to your world of day jobs and the outside world clamoring for your attention. Before you get caught up in it again, how can you retain what you learned from your conference? I hope our friend’s mini-presentation at group on Thursday will do just that.

“Before you file them away [the conference notes]  for the future, review them (and your postconference evaluation) for new ideas, new information, and new possibilities gleaned from your conference…If your notes contain any gems dropped by conference speakers, post the most encouraging statements in your office or writing area where you will see them often–preferably every time you sit down to write.”

Share the Value

When our writing friend gives her talk to us on Thursday, I think it will help all of us. It will certainly be a treat for those of us who couldn’t attend the workshop to learn some “members only” insider tips and insights and techniques for writing deeper. I think the sharing process will also help my friend “cement” her revision ideas and talk through her critique suggestions.

I will also make sure she posts those very encouraging comments from the workshop leaders on her writing wall beside her computer. She will need the reminders as she delves into her four-week revision process.

 

Conferences are expensive and time-consuming to attend. So be sure you are well prepared beforehand, work hard during the conference, and take the necessary time to follow up when you get home. Sharing your new-found insights with other writers is one (generous) way to do this!

What thing(s) do YOU do when you get home from a conference or workshop so that you retain what you learned? Share some ideas!

4 Comments »

1. 

   I’ve only gone to one writer’s conference. When I got home, I took the information from all the workshops I attended and synthesized it into one gigantic outline, organizing it in a way that was meaningful to me. I’m new at this, and I wanted to absorb as much as possible.

   Comment by myrtle — June 22, 2009 @ 7:51 am

2. 

   Myrtle, that was a very SMART thing you did after your conference. Organizing all the bits and pieces and handouts into something meaningful to you–and that means something you can actually USE–is very wise. We really need to set aside, if at all possible, about two days after a long conference just to (1) organize the notes while they’re fresh, and (2) physically recuperate from the adrenaline high, too much food, and too little sleep.

   Comment by Kristi Holl — June 23, 2009 @ 6:02 am

3. 

   I like to take lots of notes in hardcover books, so I can read them again later (sometimes years later!). And I share with my writing group and students. As you say, it helps to cement the things you found were most valuable.
   My favourite quote was from Bruce Coville, who said you had to grab your reader by the throat, shove them up against the wall and keep them there for the whole story!

   Comment by Sherryl — June 23, 2009 @ 3:41 pm

4. 

   Sherryl, that sounds like something Bruce would say! Great quote! I, too, take tons of notes in hardcover books–and writing those notes in a notebook cements it in my mind. Sharing with students helps too, as you said. But if I don’t review them from time to time, they somehow leak out of my mind. I’m working on that!

   Comment by Kristi Holl — June 24, 2009 @ 7:10 am

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