Saturday at Denver RMFW

Here is the Saturday schedule.

SATURDAY
8:30 — 9:20

Novel Writing 101

Editor Panel Designing a Fictional Town

Since I didn’t go to the second half of query letter, I decided to go to this one. Carol Berg was on the panel and I admire her writing.

I would offer up a detailed report of this, but it was basically to find some place that exists and make it yours. For instance, in one of Carol’s works, she used Germany and just turned it upside down, placing the mountain ranges, wine country and flat farming country on opposite ends. She did have some good handouts on a medieval monastery.

Another woman used a Colorado town and renamed it. For some reason, she was advised she couldn’t use the name of the town. She used the same streets, shops and landmarks and just changed names. I can understand if something horrible happens in a nice hotel, that hotel might not want people thinking it was really built on a graveyard and the maids are all zombies, but changing even the name of the town baffled me.

Query Letters: Part Two (participation in Part One required) Begins 8:00

I toyed with my query letter a bit, but I couldn’t wrap my head around the suggestions Jenny made for revisions and the point Kristin Nelson made about focusing on the turning point. I should have just gone with what I had and let them critique it anyway, but I didn’t. That was another classic instance of jumping the wrong way. Just like I did last year at Surrey with Janet Reid’s query letter workshop. Are you noticing a pattern here? I think I have queryphobia.

Behind the Badge

9:30 — 10:20

What I Wish I Knew When I was Starting Out

Website Design & Marketing

Kari Lynn Dell went to this and said it was pretty good.

Music to my Ears: Writing Effective Dialogue

I went to this class, but it was standing room only and my knees were still giving me a lot of problems. I stood in the back of the room for a bit and gave up. However, the room was lovely and I feasted on a few more of Kari’s wonderful huckleberry cookies. It seriously felt good to lie down in the dark for a while. I didn’t feel well all the time I was in Denver. Someone suggested altitude sickness and it may have been since I felt fine when I left Texas.

Writing in Deep Third Person POV (Bring three random third person POV paragraphs)

I was going to go to this, but I left the samples at home and didn’t feel like fighting the line in the business center of the hotel to print them out.

10:30 — 11:20

Do You Have an Agent? 10 Things to Know When Going Commando

Isn’t this amazing? Janet Reid did a workshop on what to do if you don’t want to or can’t get an agent. I thought that was a brilliant idea.

Critique Groups: Are they for You?

I didn’t attend this as I firmly believe they are and I have a great crit group.

11:30 — 1:00 LUNCH — Sign up available if you have no lunch partner and what to get to know fellow conference attendees

1 :00 — 1:50 Tick, Tock, Kill: The Psychology of the Criminal Mind

I went to this workshop by Margie Lawson. I can only say if you ever get a chance to take a workshop with her, jump on it. She also has online classes and lesson packets you can order. I plan on going through all of her lessons. She is an excellent teacher.

Unfortunately, I think my handout packet got mixed up with someone else’s material at Evergreen. I had a lot of my notes stuffed in that and it’s missing. If I can find someone else who took the class and took notes, I will link to their site.

Tackling Hollywood

Brain Sex

This sounded like an interesting workshop, but I don’t write enough sex scenes to warrant it.

Publicity, Promotion, and Media Relations

First Sale Panel

2:00 — 2:50

Author Boot Camp

Tarot: a Tool for Character/Conflict Generation

Getting to “The End”: Techniques for Finishing

Focus on Short Fiction

3:00 — 3:50

Point of View

I went to this and it was helpful, but I felt I pretty much had this nailed.

CSI

It’s Not Just Sex

Two Fisted Heroes

4:00 — 4:50

Rejection! When They Say Your Baby is Ugly!

PAL Meeting

Words, Words, Words

I went to this one and it was standing room only again so I repaired to the bar.

5:30/6:00 Cash Bar opens 5:30. Banquet at 6:00

AWARDS BANQUET
Keynote Speaker: Joseph Finder

Joe Finder did a good speech. He’s an excellent writer. I think it left a lot of us thinking of Cinderella and realizing we were the ugly stepsisters.

Saturday was kind of a bust for me conference wise because I missed some classes I really wanted to take, plus I was feeling yuck.

The best part of Saturday was knowing we were having a baby shower for Tara that night and I was really excited to be able to participate in this for her.

Saturday was also my birthday. I didn’t plan anything special as the conference was sort of a gift to myself.