“The Secrets of Good Story Telling”
By David W. Pierce
Wednesday (9:00 AM): A Good Story Is about One Thing…(and then Another)
All the great stories have a double ring to them: The Wizard of Oz is about an adventure to a magical place and meeting new friends, but it’s also about falling in love with home. A River Runs Through It is about fly fishing in Montana during the 1930s, but it’s also about being helpless to aid someone you love who is self destructing. How can you find that second story? The one that slips in quietly, but pierces the heart? I have some ideas….
Thursday (9:00 AM): The Secret to Good Storytelling Is…
Every writer knows that good fiction needs colorful characters and a vivid setting, and that the characters must have desires, wants and dreams. But, even with these main ingredients, some stories still fail to rise.
There is a glue that holds all a plot's elements together--while at the same time threatening to break it apart. This is the real secret, the part of the story’s recipe that needs measured handling: conflict. Three levels, three ways to deal with each one, myriad possibilities. We’ll take a look at how conflict is handled in different genres of storytelling.
Friday (9:00 AM): Story Ideas: Where Do They Come From?
I’ve had dozens of stories published. One question that always comes up is “where do you get your ideas?” When I tried to respond to that question, I discovered there is no one answer. Let me tell you how I do it and maybe, in turn, help you to discover those stories that only you can find.
"If Perseverance Was Easy, Everyone Would Do It:
One Writer's Journey to Publication"
By David W. Pierce
Friday: 1:15 PM
All writers need encouraging. All writers need someone to believe in them.
On February 7, 1987 I sold my first short story and had an idea. I should write a book. A “castle in the air,” as Thoreau calls it. The journey was long and difficult. Thoreau says it’s okay to build a castle in the air, but urges us to get busy building a foundation beneath it as well. So I did, and 21 years, 42 weeks and one day later, I finished that foundation.
In this presentation—“My 21-Year, 42-Week, and 1-Day Plan To Success”—I will recall some high points and low points of this long journey. I will pass along valuable advice regarding agents and publishers and share some cautionary tales regarding agents and publishers. And, most important, I'll stress the key to persevering: a dogged study of the craft.