Concrete Writing

by Lisa Sledge

The WIFYR assistants met last weekend to plan the 2015 conference. Can I just say how excited I am to go back to a conference that has done so much to save my writing and build my confidence? I wish it was June already.

Cheri Pray Earl gave a great presentation on how to improve our writing. I took pages of notes. One thing she mentioned that really stuck with me is the importance of concrete rather than abstract writing.

It brought me back to my college days, studying poetry. William Carlos Williams (1883 – 1963) had a bit of an obsession with concreteness. And I love him for it. Here is my favorite of his poems:

This Is Just To Say

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold

Beautiful, isn’t it? For me it conjures up all sorts of feelings, emotions, and even memories. A note on the kitchen table. Plums, icebox, cold, sweet, and that little bit of guilt that makes pleasure run deeper.

There is a chance, I realized last Saturday, that not everyone knows or understands what “concrete writing” means. Maybe you’ve heard the term before, but you can’t quite define it and you’re not sure you’d be able to recognize it in something you read.

I’m an English teacher. This is what I love. Indulge me for a moment.

Concrete writing relies on nouns, verbs, and vivid adjectives. It is a way of helping the reader look at ordinary things in a new light, makes the mundane stand out, and breathes life into what is easy to overlook.

Abstract writing is the cheap and lazy way to try and conjure up emotions in our readers. And guess what? It often doesn’t work. For example, I might write, “I ate the last plum and it tasted so good.” The phrase “so good” is empty. What does it represent? What emotions or feelings does it create? Nothing. And the “last plum”? Who cares if it was the last one. It doesn’t mean anything to me.

Inject power into your writing. Avoid abstract words such as “amazing”, “awesome”, “terrible”, “bad” or other vague constructions. Look through the world of your novel and highlight small objects and details in a way that will carry specific meaning and emotions to your readers.

Be concrete.

Kyra Leigh, Queen Bee

WIFYR 2014

Kyra here!

Could we have anything else to say about WIFYR ?

I do!

I think that this was one of our best years yet! For the first time, I got to actually sit in on a class. Ann Cannon was kind enough to let me be a fly on the wall and listen to the lectures, and some critiques from her class. I heard some amazing pieces read!

Were any of you in her class?

I also sat in through a lot of the afternoon sessions, and one mini workshop that amazing Ann Dee Ellis taught.

I don’t know what it is, but those two make my brain feel inspired.

Of course it was also awesome hanging out with the editor and the agents. Everyone I met this year was super rad and had a lot of great things to say.

Throughout the next few months, I’m going to do some interviews for the blog about wifyr, with some facility members, attendees, and some other jazzy jazz.

Hey, I met some followers from the blog, which I always find exciting.

I totally feel re-inspired and excited to write. I hope everyone who attended does too.

Yay!

It’s Over! Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers 2014

It’s Monday after WIFYR and I feel like I’ve been run through a wringer. Or a wronger. (I am wronger than you.)

My class was amazing.

The mini workshops were amazing.

Next year will be amazing. Yes. I am already working on it.

(Sigh)

One of the best things I did in my class this year was read Ann Dee Ellis‘ book The End or Something Like That out loud. This is the 2nd time I’ve read the book (we only read for a total of 50 minutes, so we didn’t finish) and I saw so much good in it. Ann Dee is amazing at literally weaving plot lines together. They come from all angles. This way and that. They side step each other, side swipe each other, inform each other and support each other. I’m not sure how she does it.

Another best thing was my song with Cheri Pray Earl. Yes, we had to start over. Cheri always makes us start over. And yes, I looked like a blue bowling pin. But the lyrics to the song were funny.

Finally the very best thing we did was the dance. One person commented it was weird. Another said never do it again. But I danced and laughed and had so much fun. The best best part, however, was we asked for gently used or new books as a ticket into the dance. These were gathered for the Hopi Community Center (and maybe a library some day?) in Arizona. The good people at Writing and illustrating for Young Readers–Attendees and Faculty and Assistants–gave nearly 400 books. 400!

Thank you to Cynthia Leitich Smith, Greg Leitich Smith, Brodi Ashton, Jen White, Ken Baker, John Cusick, Michelle Witte, Amy Jameson, Sherry Meidell, Cheri Pray Earl, Ann Edwards Cannon,  Kristin Ostby, Ilima Todd, J Scott Savage, Shawn Stout, Lisa Mangum, James Dashner, Emily Wing Smith, Jennifer Nielsen, Ann Dee Ellis, Jan Pinborough, Courtney Alameda, Natalie Whipple, and Wendy Toliver. You gave the conference great depth. You were funny, kind and sincerely supportive to the writers and illustrators who came.

Thank you, too, to the assistants who made this possible: Debbie Nance, Becca Birkin, Alison Randall, Michelle Hubbard, Kevin Smith, Joel Smith, Amy White, Bruce Luck, Becca Ogden Jensen, Cindy Stagg, Melanie Skelton, Robin Johnson and Stephanie Moore. I could never have done this without you. I wouldn’t want to.

And finally, Caitlynne Williams and Kyra Williams ran around like crazy helping me. Thank you, Girls. I love you both.

And now, Everyone, start setting aside funds for next year! Yup, we keep doing this crazy event. Or am I the crazy one?

 

The Friday Before WIFYR

 by Debbie Nance

This afternoon the WIFYR Committee is meeting at Waterford to set up for the conference, which begins on Monday. We’ll arrange tables and chairs for registration. We’ll arrange tables and chairs in the morning and mini workshop classrooms. We’ll put up signs by the rooms that show the schedule for each day. We’ll put together the handouts and name tags.

We’ll discover whatever we’ve forgotten. (I hope it isn’t anything big.)

What project is your MC involved with or in charge of? Write a scene where she discovers something BIG was overlooked or falls apart at the last minute. What is her reaction? Does she break down and cry? Does she grit her teeth and power through and act like nothing happened? Does she call her best friend and enlist help? Does she confront and blame the person who made the mistake? Write the scene in a way that reveals your MC‘s character.

Okay, that’s it. Next time I write, WIFYR 2014 will be ended.

Have a great weekend and hope to see you bright and early Monday morning.

Happy Father’s Day this coming Sunday!