Small Epiphanies

Last February, I was a participant at the San Francisco Writers Conference, where I met lots and lots of people, but three people in particular: Katharine “Kit” Kerr, Alex Tillson, and Clint Talbert. Though it would probably surprise at least two of them to hear it, all three of them led me to great epiphanies about my writing this year.

For a magical hour or two, Katharine, the wonderful Philippa Ballantine, and I got an opportunity to sit down together in the quiet presenters’ lounge and talk long and passionately about writing. Technically, we were planning out what we would cover in our panel on fantasy. After the panel ended, and because she had time before the next appearance on her schedule, I invited Kit, on a lark, to come and sit with me on the editor/author 10-minute consultations I was doing. The two of us sat and evaluated first-pages of a bunch of manuscripts, encouraged a bunch of nervous authors (perhaps more nervous, for finding her there — surprise!), and we found a great synergy and bond between us as we did so. She picked out things I agreed with completely but wouldn’t have caught at a glance. Between that chat and those sessions, I think I learned even more than our authors did.

Clint Talbert is a promising writer who has become a good friend. Months later, we were talking and I mentioned that I feel selfish when I write; I have a hard time taking time away from my other work, on other people’s manuscripts which have contracts and deadlines and things, to write something of my own. He reminded me that every writer, no matter what their other work is, faces the same problem. I knew that, as an editor and advice-giver, but I hadn’t internalized it until he said it to me. You just have to make time for yourself, and write, just like everybody else. And since then, I have.

It was August, and I was musing about how to turn a particular one of my short stories into a novel, when Alex Tillson gave me possibly the simplest and most profound piece of writing advice I’ve ever received. She said, “Look at the decisions your characters have had to make [in the short story]. What can happen now that would turn those choices into the worst decisions they could have possibly made?” And that was the answer. So simple, and so brilliant. That’s where the plot was hiding. And it’s helped me craft every story since.

Tagged as: advice, Alex Tillson, Clint Talbert, Katharine Kerr, Philippa Ballantine, sfwc, writing