Yosemite Writers Conference: Mystery talk after David Morrell's big speech - By N.L. Belardes

David Morrell just gave an inspiring hour-long speech about what it is to be a writer.

He talked about having worked in factories, driven across the country in poverty, and how daydreams transfer to great storytelling.

I felt like saying, "Thanks. I'm finally understood."

Such qualities are a part of me, my writing, and shape my own storytelling. Ask me in person if you ever see me. I'll tell you all about my novel about cross-country travel and poverty, my days in factories working 12-hour shifts, and how I believe tapping into and being aware of the subconscious can lead to great writing...

Now I'm sitting in a mystery-thriller panel that has Morrell, Bonnie Hearn Hill and Hallie Ephron. They just debated the difference between a thriller and a mystery. One lady spoke up and said that a mystery is like a puzzle, whereas a thriller is more white-knuckled.

Moderator Sheree Petree just asked about book series. Hearn Hill said that her agent said series are easier to market and promote. Writers do have to be careful and write strong characters and stories for series. "Don't create a mediocre character solving a mediocre crime," she said.

In avoiding common mistakes in mysteries and thrillers, Morrell said to know all the works in specific genres in which writers want to tackle. "Bring something new to the game so you're involved in the history," he said.

Hearn included that common mistakes are writers settling on weak characters which aren't fully developed.

Ephron mentioned the "backstory dump". She said such techniques are "pure dead weight" when writers put too much character info at the beginning of a story.

If you're interested in this panel, as the others that I participated on, Yosemite Writers will have the audio available for purchase. If you're a serious writer, the purchase is worth it as the YWC is regarded as one of the top writers conferences in America.

More on the 2007 Yosemite Writers Conference:

Is Book Publishing Dead? Yosemite Writers Conference Provides Food For Hungry Writers
Yosemite Writers Conference: A Conversation about Blogging
Rambo Creator Reinvents Captain America
Yosemite Writers Conference: Demystifying Chick lit and Women’s fiction
Yosemite Writers Conference: Poetry talk
Mystery talk after David Morrell's big speech
2007 Yosemite Writers Conference: Brenda Knight Sidesteps the TVA man
Yosemite Writers and the Chukchansi bathroom break
Headed to Yosemite Writers Conference to talk writing for social change

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Read Noveltown’s experiences at last year’s Yosemite Writer’s Conference:

By N.L. Belardes
A Writer in Yosemite: Part One
A Writer in Yosemite: Part Two
A Writer in Yosemite: Part Three
A Writer in Yosemite: Part Four
A Writer in Yosemite: Part Five
A Writer in Yosemite: Part Six
A Writer in Yosemite: Part Seven
A Writer in Yosemite: Part Eight

By Matildakay
A great literary weekend
What's your type?
How to Approach a Literary Agent...
The Mary Wong Lee Memorial Scholarship
Malcolm Margolin is Posh
Hanging out with the Pirates of Yosemite and setting the record straight
Kill Your Darlings

This entry was posted by N.L. Belardes, on Saturday, August 25, 2007. You can leave your response.