Storymakers Wrap-up

I had a fun weekend hanging out with some of my writing friends and meeting new people at the tenth annual LDStorymakers Writer’s Conference in Provo, Utah. The highlight of the weekend was listening to Anne Perry’s keynote address and attending her class called “Fine Tune Your Writing.” This post is mostly about the weekend.

A Few Items for My Class

I taught a class on historical fiction and told my students not to stress about taking notes (we had to move through the material fairly quickly) because I’d post the powerpoint here. So, as promised, here is my powerpoint. I don’t know if it will make much sense if you weren’t at the class, but hopefully it will help the good people who attended my class flesh out their notes. Here it is: The Story in History, Storymakers May 2013

I also promised my character development sheet. Not all of the items on the list were my idea–most of them have been snagged from other writers like Terri Ferran, Lisa Mangum, and Jeff Gerke. But to write a really great story, you need to love your characters, and to love your characters, you need to know them. Filling out this form is one way to start that process. Here it is, as a pdf: Character Template, and as a word doc: Character Template. I usually only fill out every single line for one or two characters per book, then delete things that don’t apply or don’t matter for my minor characters.

The Whitney Awards

Last weekend was also the Whitney Awards. I attended the gala for the first time because my novel, Espionage, was one of the finalists. I didn’t win, but the night was a lot of fun. I’d like to congratulate the winners:

The Rent Collector, by Camron Wright. Best General Novel and Best Novel of the Year

My Loving Vigil Keeping, by Carla Kelly. Best Historical Novel

Edenbrooke, by Julianne Donaldson. Best Romance Novel and Best Novel by a New Author

Code Word, by Traci Hunter Abramson. Best Mystery/Suspense Novel

The Hollow City, by Dan Wells. Best Speculative Novel

Everneath, by Brodi Ashton. Best Young Adult Speculative Novel

After Hello, by Lisa Mangum. Best Young Adult General Novel

The False Prince, by Jennifer A. Nielsen. Best Middle Grade Novel and Best Youth Novel of the Year

Lael Littke, Lifetime Achievement Award

Carol Lynch Williams, Outstanding Achievement Award

You can see all forty finalists at the Whitney Website. And if you’ve read an award-worthy novel by an LDS author published in 2013, you can nominate them for next year’s Whitney Awards on the same website.

Here are a few pictures from the evening:

A Note for Other Bloggers

I have a new book out, and my publisher and I are looking for bloggers who would be interested in reviewing it. If you enjoy WWII spy novels and would like a review copy of Sworn Enemy, please contact my publisher. At the bottom of the contact page, there is a link you can click to pull up a form. Fill in the form, email it back, and express your interest in Sworn Enemy. Here is the link: http://www.covenant-lds.com/contact