LTUE Convention

Last week, I went to the LTUE Convention. Sadly, I was only able to go one day, but I thought there were some pretty good sessions that day. My friend Jaron, who went with me along with his wife, Rachel, has been posting about all the sessions he attended in great detail. I didn't take as good of notes as he did, but here are the highlights basically of what I learned at LTUE.

The first session I went to was done by Brandon Mull. Although the main focus of his presentation was on his books, he used examples from his own experience to talk about things that everyone can do. He said:

Write about what you're most passionate about.

Use evocative details to tell the story to paint pictures in the readers' heads. Places you've been are easier to describe and write about than places you've never been to.

Characters are everything. You should include characters you can relate to or that are interesting. Be observant. Being a people-watcher can help you write about different kinds of characters. It's good to have diversity in characters - different kinds of personalities.

"If it's all happy, nice people, it's pleasant, but it's boring." -Brandon Mull

Know your audience. It's important to remember who you're writing for. It will change what kind of things you include in your story.

Hang in through the rejection and keep writing. Write a story that fits into an existing category but is new.
Agents/editors are the gatekeepers.

Think about your story when you're not writing, so that when you have time to write, you don't spend your time staring at a blank page trying to decide what's going to happen next.

Geography in Your Story

I never realized just how important geography can be in a story. Some things geography can affect are:
Clothing, the sense of realism, setting, houses- what they're made of, artificial geography such as roads or railways, provisions needed or taken on a journey, government, how people travel, cultural effects, natural barriers, natural resources, and travel time. Travel time is dependant on how people travel, what kind of technology they have, what they're traveling on or through. Roads increase speeds, making travel time shorter. Twelve horses per rider make it possible to travel faster than having just one horse per rider.

Use geography to cause conflict in the story.

Beliefs in fantasy

Almost every civilization is based on faith of some sort. Faith/religion is the motivation to do things.

Actions are affected by people's morale beliefs. Belief systems are important.

Religion affects symbols/symbolism, even things like colors.

People's daily routines are different because of religions.

Science answers how, religion answers why.

Subplots
I think this one was my favorite session and the most useful as well.

Subplots are good if they are vital to the story and add to the plot.

Make your story fell alive - subplots don't have to be directly related to the main plot, but they should tie in.

Middle grade plots are much more linear, but subplots are important there as well.

Subplots are a great way to round out your characters and give the reader details about them.

Subplots reward careful reading, and can help foreshadow events in the main plot.

Rank chapters from 1-10. Each chapter needs to be important and ranked pretty high on that scale. While one plot is resting, another one should be growing.

Integrate subplots.

Don't add new things in the last quarter of the book.

Don't add too many subplots, but level the existing plots.

Subplots have to have a beginning, middle, and an end just like main plots.

With series, outline next books to help foreshadow in earlier books.

Some subplots are planned, but most of them just happen.

Foreshadowing is laying clues so that when things happen, they are surprising, but inevitable. When you look back, you see all the clues. Lay down a spectrum of clues.

All plots need to have a main character, some noble goal, obstacles that get in the way, and successes and failures.