I used to go to more conferences. Not sure why I've become more of a homebody over time, and I'm always sorry I don't get out more after I've had such a good time. :-)
Anyway, I learned stuff. The editors at SuperRomance already caution us not to lean on cliche, but Kathleen Scheibling said something during the cold reads (editors and agents read short submissions and give their impressions as well as saying whether or not they'd ask for more) that I'm posting over my desk. Either cut and paste this, my writerly friends, or write it down. "The story is beyond the cliche."
Every writer--every reader--knows cliche is a nice thing, a collective memory, a shortcut into an emotion or a visual, but it can also be a crutch. Why not twist it or avoid it--go for the distinctive, specific visual or emotion that makes this story special?
In a coincidence, the X-Files episode "Bad Blood" is on right now, working vampire cliches to perfection. It's my favorite episode--because it twists cliche like a strand of melted licorice and improves on them all! And yet, you feel like you're in on a private joke. (Plus, this episode moves the Mulder/Scully relationship along without ever shouting Mulder can be jealous, and they've reached the stage where their conflicts endear them to each other even while annoying--important to note for us romance writers!) And who doesn't love Luke Wilson in those big teeth?
Gotta name drop for a second. At the conference, I met several other SuperRomance authors--Kathleen O'Brien, Ann Evans, Cythia Thomason, and Elaine Grant! They were brilliant and funny and full of good stories. Wish you could have been at our lunch/dinner tables! ;-)
Now, about that blog... I hate to send anyone away from here, but this one's amazing. Barbara Vey was at the conference and she's published all the scoop--with pictures! I'm adding her to my faves!
Gotta get back to those revisions. Don't you love coming back from a conference, dying to write?
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