Pikes Peak Writers 2012

     The 2012 Pikes Peak Writers Conference celebrated its 20th anniversary with a blockbuster conference.  Incredible workshops, outstanding speakers, and record-breaking attendance made this the best one ever.  The all-day workshop by Donald Maass set the stage, beginning with simple words that mean so much from a writer's standpoint.  What makes a book a breakout novel is telling a great story, and telling it beautifully.  Then he took us through an all-day exercise that forced us to look closely at our protagonists and antagonists and make them real people with real problems, motives, strengths and faults.  Through question after question, we as authors came to see our own characters more clearly.  Some of my answers to his questions came quickly, others didn't come at all right then, and I will certainly revisit them before I call my manuscript finished.  I also loved his discussion on the importance of keeping up the tension in a novel.  I was particularly intrigued by his idea to toss thirty pages of your manuscript into the air, then reassemble them in random order and read each page, making sure there is tension somewhere on the page.  I've gone through the exercise of tossing up pages, but I generally followed it up with walking out the door.  His suggestion made sense to me, though.  Tension makes a book a page-turner.  Without it, the story begins to sag, and so does the reader.  I later had the pleasure of talking with him over breakfast, and hear about the young boy he adopted from Ethiopia.  I can't think of a more selfless deed than to afford a young child the opportunities that Donald and his wife are giving this little boy who is beginning to thrive. 
       On Friday, Linda Rohrbaugh prepared us for success.  She emphasizes that "even a poor plan, properly executed, will work.  It's all in the execution," and that "nothing can change when you're comfortable."  I repeated those words today as I delved into revisions. 
     There were so many wonderful workshops--Carol Berg's tools for revision; Mark Coker's information on e-books and Smashwords, and the agent/editor panels that help us get to know the individual agencies.  Then there were the keynote speeches--some of the best I've ever heard:  Donald Maass, Jeffrey Deaver, Robert Clais, Susan Wiggs, all breakout novelists themselves delivering blockbuster, motivational talks as they toasted the 20th anniversary of Pikes Peak Writers.
     Each year, PPW offers pitch sessions during which attendees can pitch their stories to agents and editors.  While it's a bit nerve-racking, it's an incredible opportunity, and I was fortunate to pitch to Kristin Nelson, whom I've heard speak many times and whose blog, Pub Rants, I follow because it provides many helpful hints pertaining to various areas of writing and publishing.  She deserves much credit for the amazingly successful agency she has created and grown in Denver. 
     I have to say, that a special night for me was Saturday night when I was cheered on by members of my critique group as I received my first place award in the "Childrens" category for my middle grade novel, HOOKED.  All in all, the entire weekend was one I'll always remember.