2010 Baltimore Writer's Conference: Notes and Remarks

On November the 20th, I attended the Baltimore Writer's Conference at Towson University with a few friends. The keynote speaker, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, gave an inspring speech on the art of writing and her personal journey as a writer. The workshops included topics on freelancing, how to write a good opening, and how to write about sex. Attendees also had a chance to have their work critiqued by several presenters. The experiance was amazing and I'm even more excited for the AWP Conference. Below are my notes from the workshops I attended, I hope they will help you as well.

Freelance Writing

·         Explore a variety of areas; don’t just focus on just one subject area, but it helps to have a few things you know well.

·         Familiarize yourself with markets; send to the right place (and person). (Cite a prev published story that’s similar and call? the editor) and focus on special issues. Suck up. Flatter, bs.

·         Hard to get in for the first time, once you’re in you’re in.

·         Know the mag well; know where it will fit and what department it will fit in: send to that editor. Know recent features. Look at several pieces, not just one.

·         Mags have long lead times… don’t worry about being too early, just too late. Why should they run your piece at a specific time?

·         Be easy to work with. Follow word guidelines, triple check facts, be easy to communicate with.

·         If you’re extreme with marketing (calling, showing up, lunch, etc) be sure your piece is a good fit for the ‘zine.

·         Personal essays: they can pop up unexpectedly in ‘zines you don’t expect

·         Exposure helps break into national scene; NETWORKING

·         Journalists have agents? Request they not take a fee for stories

·         Which comes first? The story or the market?

o   Write the essay first, then submit

o   For longer narratives, preliminary research and write a proposal

·         Pay: Negotiable? Initial offer, don’t haggle early on. Eventually, agent can fight with HR.  Always nicely ask for more…remember that “investment” equals less money to begin with.

·         NETWORKING TIP: email someone who writes something you like; develop a relationship and keep contacts.

·         “Writing a story for” to get sources; can get interviews without assignments though. Don’t assume that you’re bothering people, be assertive.

·         “On spec” no contract, but they’re interested.

·         Read other interviews with the source, know what you want to ask first. Prepare for interview: flow chart or other organizer. If looking for facts, be specific. If looking at person as character, approach with a more conversational tone. See the in their environment. Usually there are opportunities for follow up questions. If they do a lot of interviews, don’t let them take control.

About Openings

·         Ambassador to the story, operating instructions

·         Read last page and then first page over and over several times. How do they connect? How do they echo with each other.

·         Opening commands attention: Introduce conflict; there's a point. What's the occasion?

·         Tonal choices; use description with caution.

Writing about Sex

·         Sex reveals character (just expository=porn)

·         True love and great sex is boring (unloading this dishwasher)

·         Sex is like stories: tension and release.

·         Getting there, not being there (reading it for the dirty bits)

·         There has to be something wrong to be interesting; sex as substitute for love, etc, trouble.

·         Sarah Cole (A Love Story) ß read à The Girl on the Plane, Patriotism

·         Language should be character specific, be true to the character.

·         Be wary of title when submitting; but language should be ok.

·         Laced with a brilliant eye or ear as opposed to emotions (sex is weird and funny)

Read more of Adichie here.