The Adventure Begins

By Kim Dillon

What if…you had no affirmative genre, no manuscript in process, and ­no clue about how to maneuver Read & Critique X in front of Jane Stine, Parachute Press co-chair and legendary editor of the Goosebumps series?

You stay up late writing, and go for it!

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The 23rd Pikes Peak Writers Conference in April catapulted me from merely thinking about writing into a phase of creative incubation. The conference provided unprecedented access to PPW faculty and opportunities to build a network of writing community colleagues.

Fearlessly entering Tales of Horror: How to Survive Plotting Nightmares, I was met by a lighthearted declaration from Stine that I must be a glutton for punishment. Translation: she recognized me from the R&C-X! “Plotting is all the same despite the genre,” she said, explaining the perfect way to develop any story idea begins with ‘What if….’

At lunch on Friday, I was a coincidental guest at the table of F.T. Bradley, an author with whom I was unfamiliar, although I had selected to attend her Write the MG and YA Mystery/Thriller session that afternoon. Our paths intersected daily, and Fleur and I engaged in multifarious laughs about Kraft Singles, shift changes in the kitchen between lunch and dinner, tongue-scorching shepherd’s pie, and a failed lemon bar heist. I’m now reading her middle grade Double Vision series – and fully intend to make good on the lemon bars.

All culinary capers aside, I sorted my collection of Flash Fiction Contest writing prompts Friday afternoon at the bar and wrote the rough draft over a serious red wine, obtained in anticipation of Mary Kay Andrews’ uncensored and highly entertaining keynote address. Her description of working for abusive jerks and learning to say ‘No!’ to work place intimidation empowered her as a human being and helped propel her to success as a mainstream fiction author. Identifying personally with her story, Andrews incited me to get mad, reclaim my assertiveness, and ‘stick it to the man!’

The next day, I caught the end of Scenes: Using Every Crayon in the Box and briefly addressed Andrews as she exited Eagles Nest within inches of where I sat. I explained that although I have not read her work, her keynote message made me a fan and inspired me in dealing with my own ongoing situation involving a man and a stick. Our conversation was short but meaningful, and before departing, Andrews drew a copy of Summer Rental out of her shoulder bag, saying, “I always bring extra copies with me because I like to give my books to people who say nice things about my work.” At Sunday’s book signing event I thanked her again and managed to turn that gift into a signed copy.

Wandering into a largely uninhabited banquet room on Sunday, I just can’t forget the warm  hospitality I received when a gentleman named Link Miller invited me to join the group for breakfast. Conversation ensued about all sorts of writing projects. I left the table with a preliminary structure for a story idea that began emerging as soon as the Choose Your Own Writing Adventure began. Connecting with Miller, president of the Parker Writers Group, was a fortuitous event as I attended their May meeting and agreed to help form a thriving critique group.

Gaining tremendous insight from Pam McCutcheon’s Saturday session, Brainstorming Using the Plotting Board, I visited with her at the book signing event. I took advantage of the personal invitation I received to attend her Writing the Fiction Synopsis presentation at PPW’s Write Brain event in May and left with a better understanding of loglines.

In closing, I must mention Trai Cartwright’s high-energy Top 10 Story-Telling Devices Movies can Teach Fiction Writers because when I went home exhausted to kids still young enough to have missed me and told them I wanted to watch Wreck it Ralph with them, I earned the high score! We watched that DVD three times that week, taking notes and pausing for discussion. My ten-year-old son Gage, who loves to write, really connected with the process of analyzing the three-act structure of one of his favorite movies. I’m excited to have him along for the adventure! 

This post by Kim is part of the ongoing series of blogs by PPWC15 scholarship recipients.

Throwing the Switch

By James P. Stuart 

I don’t remember the day I decided to become a writer. I get asked about that day quite frequently, perhaps because of the tremendous uphill battle we face in this industry. My family, friends and coworkers have all asked me at one time or another if there was a flash of light from above or a booming voice from a burning bush that set me on this path. But – much to the disappointment of many – there is no such grand event impressed on my mind. Luckily, after completing my first Pikes Peak Writers Conference this year, I am happy to report that while I may not be able to tell you when I chose to be a writer, I can absolutely tell you when I first felt like a writer.

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Prior to coming to this year’s Conference, I had attended a handful of Pikes Peak Writers events. However, my participation in those events was considerably short of notable, and left me feeling like a bit of an imposter. This was due mostly to the fact that I was not investing my time and energy in any meaningful way to get the most out of those activities. Coming into the 2015 Conference, I was determined to break that cycle.

From the time I arrived at the orientation session on Friday until the time I (reluctantly) headed home Sunday afternoon, I immersed myself in everything the weekend had to offer. The most valuable thing I took away from the Conference was a tremendous burst of creative energy, stemming directly from the interactions I was able to have with so many aspiring and established writers. I was amazed at how quickly talking about my writing – no matter how casually – shed light on it and forced me to really know my stories and characters. Without having these conversations regularly, I had compartmentalized my work in a way that made it feel unreal. This was the root of my inability to feel like a true writer. The Monday morning following Conference, it was as if a switch had been thrown, and I was reintroduced to my own potential. For this, I am extremely grateful to everybody I interacted with in between sessions and at meals.

I cannot properly express how much I look forward to seeing you all next year, where I hope to have the opportunity to be inspired by even more of you. The sheer amount of talent in our community continues to astound me. I will do my best to be a large part of in the coming months until we are all back at Conference 2016!

A Story

By Marla Bell 

Hi, my name is Marla. I write fantasy and my story is about a girl woman mature woman, who looked like your normal, everyday woman on the outside. But on the inside, hidden in the deep depths of her soul, she held a dark secret—she had written a book and hoped to get it published. The years sped by, as years have a tendency to do, and she found it more and more difficult to keep her secret hidden. It would burst free at random times and her family and friends would smile sadly and whisper to each other behind her back that she might need to be institutionalized.

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This went on and on and the woman began to believe that she was foolish to dream this dream. Who did she think she was—J.K. Rowling? Then one day, quite by accident, she stumbled into the mystical realm of the Pikes Peak Writers Conference, a realm with people who had a dream just like hers. There were others there, too, who had seen their dream come true. These people didn’t know her, but they welcomed her in just the same and embraced her as one of their own. It was a magical place, and for three luxurious days, she flourished under the guidance of editors, agents, best-selling authors and other lost souls like herself, and by the end she had gained the knowledge and confidence she needed to go forth and prosper. As she drove away on that rainy Sunday, her head ready to explode with all that she had seen, heard and learned and her eyes filled with tears, she vowed she’d be back, for her life was now changed and Pikes Peak Writers Conference (PPWC) was where she belonged. The End.

If this story has a familiar ring to it, it's because it is based on a true story. It’s my story, but it could be your story, too. For a long time—too long actually—I denied my passion to write, believing no one would ever want to read anything I wrote. But I continued to play around with writing for the fun of it and a miracle of miracles happened. I finished my first full length novel. Thinking my job was finished, I cheerfully sent off the first draft to several agents. (It was their job to edit and fix it up—right?)

Of course, the rejection letters came in and I was devastated. This first book was a lesson in how to do it the wrong way, but then I found PPWC and my life completely changed. PPWC is an insider’s look at the publishing business and how it works, but it’s so much more than that. They teach better writing techniques, how to find an agent and editor, how to market, and best of all, they give us the opportunity to meet some of the greatest authors of our times—R. L. Stein being right up there at the top of my list. PPWC opened my eyes and made me a believer and has been the best thing I’ve done for my writing career. Without them I don’t if I would have ever gotten off the ground. Now I’m proud to say I’m an award-winning author with two books published and the third one just weeks away from being published, and my story is no longer a fantasy. It’s a reality complete with a ‘happily-ever-after’ ending, and yours can be, too.

About the Author: Marla Bell is the award-winning author of Chronicles of the Secret Prince. You can find her at: 

http://mj-bell.com              FB: MJ Bell Author              Twitter: marlabell2