ArmadilloCon Writing Workshop Boot Camp Week 1: Why Workshop, What to Write, and Starting From Scratch

ArmadilloCon is one of the best little, literary science fiction and fantasy conventions in Texas. On Friday, August 4, before the convention begins, writers from near and far will gather to participate in an all-day intensive genre workshop with professional writers. I have been a student at this workshop, a volunteer, and a teacher, now I’m coordinating it. I am thrilled to be helming the workshop that helped to make me the writer I am today!


I still remember how scary it was to submit something for critique for the first time. I didn’t know if it was great or terrible or how other people would react to it. Every workshop is different, and even if the workshop experience isn’t for you, it can still be a lot of fun and a great learning experience. At the very least, you will meet a room full of other writers. If you’re attending the con, that means you’ll be seeing a couple dozen familiar faces throughout the weekend. Even if you never attend another workshop, learning to receive criticism, and to evaluate and give useful feedback to your peers will give you the tools necessary to continuously improve your writing.

Maybe you want to write, but have never written a complete short story, or started that novel that’s been bouncing around in your brain. No worries, over the next two months I’m going to write a series of BOOT CAMP posts to take you step-by-step through the creation of a piece of writing that will serve you well in any workshop.

In order to participate in the ArmadilloCon Writing Workshop you must submit a previously unpublished piece of writing (up to 5,000 words), either a short story or the first chapter of a novel. In this case previously published means anything that is out in the world, in print or online whether you were paid for it or not. This includes fiction you have published on a personal blog. The focus of this workshop is on craft; so if you’ve been writing for a while and have been published or have been publishing your own work, use this as an opportunity to write something new and challenging. The goal isn’t to bring a polished gem of a piece to the workshop, it’s to stretch and grow as a writer.

You can submit a piece and register for the workshop today, but I know how writer’s minds work, so here’s the deal. The deadline to submit/sign-up for the workshop is Sunday, June 11 a little under two months away.

If you’re starting from scratch, your boot camp assignment for this week is to PREPARE:

MAKE time to write
There’s an old saying: You’ll never FIND the time to do the things you want, you have to MAKE it. This week, think about when you can make time to write. If your weekdays are jammed then carve out weekend time. If your weekends are spoken for, try writing over your lunch hour, or getting up an hour earlier in the morning, put off your Netflix queue for a few weeks. 

Short stories for young adult readers

READ

You’ve heard it before, if you want to be a writer you have to read. This week, and in the coming weeks, you are going to be reading to a purpose.

Fantasy reprints and originals

If you’re planning on writing a short story, read (or listen to – yes podcasts count! Check the side bar for links to more podcasts.) a variety of short stories. I do much of my thinking in a journal, so you may want to write down some notes after reading/listening to a story. First, did the story move you? Was it to your taste? There is a huge range of styles and types of short stories even within the genre, so when you find a story that speaks to you (or not), think about why. What are the elements that appealed to your sensibilities or put you off?

If you want to submit the first chapter(s) of a novel, go back and re-read the first chapters of your favorite novels. Think about what drew you into the story. Was there a hook that made you commit to reading on? How much world building did the author include in the first pages? How much characterization? What did the author do to set the tone of the book? If it’s a horror book, what made it feel creepy? Science fiction, what made it otherworldly or futuristic?

RUMINATE
Throw some story ideas around. Spin ideas, characters, scenarios out in your notebook or in a document on your computer. You don’t have to develop anything yet, just compile “what if” moments, vignettes, characters. Again read, keep up with the news, follow your most esoteric interests down their rabbit holes to longreads. Bookmark what you find and make a note of why it interests you. I’ve created more than a few stories by mashing two disparate ideas together, so be generous filling your idea file.

Another alternative is to REABILITATE
If you’re like me, you have sort of an island of lost toys folder of broken or unfinished stories. Often they are broken/unfinished because there is some skill that I need to acquire in order to pull the story off. As long as they’ve never been published in any way, it’s perfectly legal to rework one of these stories. This week, visit your island of broken stories and see if there are any candidates you’d like to resurrect.

If you’re brand new to writing fiction, here's some tips from Kurt Vonnegut:

Next week I’ll talk about what kind of work is most useful to bring to a workshop or critique group, and you’ll continue to develop your idea and get ready to the first draft

If you have questions, post them in the comments and I’ll do my best to address them!