WORDfest’s virtual incarnation + WRiTE CLUB mayday

I remain awed by human ingenuity in the face of disaster. Scarcely had last weekend’s North Texas 2020 WORDfest been cancelled by quarantines to combat the COV-19 pandemic than its organizers put up an online version so amazing – with multiple days of workshops, games and word sprints -- that I’d root for it to be an ongoing phenomenon. 

True, participants weren’t able to gorge on freebie candy from authors and vendors, but we could sign in, not just from North Texas but from anywhere in the world through Zoom and multiple social media outlets. And though nothing quite beats being shoulder to shoulder with fellow writers, not to mention being sneezed on by them or having to line up for restroom stalls, may I plead with next year’s organizers to consider hosting a virtual WORDfest alongside the in-person one?

Shayla Raquel

Whether virtual or in-person, there’s always too more than one person can take in, so I’ll only provide snippets of a few workshops. Please excuse the even less than usually perfect pictures – they’re screenshots of often in motion presentations, beginning with Character Sketches: Know Your Protagonist Inside & Out, by writer/editor/marketer Shayla Raquel.

To the writer’s version of the chicken vs. egg conundrum – character vs. story – Raquel’s answer is both. “I’m going to talk about your story because characters drive story. . . a character sketch is an outline that asks and answers questions about your novel’s character.”

Admitting not everybody does this, she feels it’s important even for pantser writers “to know how your character will behave and react in any situation.” 

She breaks character sketches into The Basics (name, gender, age, nationality/ethnicity, religion); Backstory (including family); Physical Characteristics (height, build, hair/eye color); Distinguishing Physical Characteristics (mannerisms, habits, physical flaws such as scars and tattoos); and Emotional Characteristics (personality type, using Myers-Briggs or similar tests).

For physical characteristics, Raquel is a fan of online images, admitting having built entire Pinterest boards of characters’ features. For help with emotional characteristics, she suggests the personality types listed at truity.com. Writers in search of interesting characters can browse lists of famous people who shared aspects of particular personality types. Think your character might be an-2 INFP (introspective, intuitive, feeling, prospecting) type? Consider famous INFP’s most likely Princess Diana, Fred Rogers and William Shakepeare!

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And then there’s writer/organizer supreme Tex Thompson. Take a look at this shot of her leaning into the screen, characteristic red cowboy hat on head, and you know for sure she’s no introvert! Besides moderating the chat and doing dog know what else, she went online with A Query Home Companion to discuss the oft-dreaded topic of literary query letters (and why it’s never too early to think about them). 

Tex Thompson 

Tex organized query elements into: openings (1-2 sentences); hook (or as Tex noted helpfully, the “movie trailer” and story overview, 8-20 sentences); book data (title, word count, genre and comp titles – 1-2 sentences); relevant author qualifications (1-2 sentences) “what makes me uniquely qualified to write this”); and closing (thanks for consideration, etc., 1-2 sentences).

On comp (comparative) titles, “Show you know what’s happening in your genre,” Tex said. Don’t list more than two titles, at least one of which should be a book, published within the last five years. (Hint: unsure what titles to compare to? Ask your beta readers!)

On the question of relevant author qualifications, Tex’s litmus test was to ask, “does this make me uniquely qualified to write this?” Things that are relevant include membership in professional organizations and even a local writing group, “which shows that a person is serious.” (Hint: be sure the group’s online site will make it – and you – look good for being a member.) But if writers feel they truly have nothing, Tex assured, “It’s OK to skip this part. It’s better to go too little than too much.” 

Things she urged us not to include: bio fluff (kids, pets, hometown); value judgements (“groundbreaking,” “thrilling,” etc.); your mailing address or phone number (it’s email, remember); the agent’s mailing address or phone number; and any unnecessary white space. Don’t make the agent scroll any more than she has to.

Tex’s six-point guide to the body of the query – the story overview was: 

·       Status quo (ordinary world)

·       Disruption (inciting incident)

·       1^st big choice/solution

·       Consequences/fallout

·       2^nd big choice/solution

·       Stakes/ “or else” (But don’t give away the ending!)

Keeping these elements in mind, Tex said, will also help when the time comes to write back cover blurbs. In fact, she recommends writing (but not send) queries even before the book is completed, to be sure the story is meeting all the needed elements. “It’s never too early to encapsulate the story!”

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Still to come from WORDfest, genre bending with Amber Helt, and conversely, not reinventing the wheel with Michelle Stimpson, the best ever book launch, again with Shayla Raquel, and how to write and market short fiction with Nebula award-winning author William Ledbetter. 

But first a plea. For all writers and readers who love DL Hammons’ annual WRiTE CLUB contest, now is the time to come to its aid. Hammons had planned to announce the contest Monday, only to find that he lacked the necessary slushpile readers to make it happen. WRiTE CLUB needs 15 readers to winnow the offerings from the writers who sent nearly 200 submissions last year. As of this writing, he only had 10.

After entering as a writer for a few years, I signed up to read last year. Yes, it’s time consuming – each submission is a 500-word excerpt – but worth it. The reads were fascinating and I made numerous virtual, sometimes real-world friends from the experience. Contact his site and let him know you want WRiTE CLUB to continue!