Feedback from Fyrecon (Spoiler alert: It was AWESOME!)

Last weekend, I had the amazing opportunity to attend Fyrecon, a cool local convention geared towards writers, readers, artists, and gamers. It was a diamond cave of knowledge and experience, and I’m SO glad I went.

Firstly, I went to a class on Spinning Wheels and Fairy Tales.ย I learned that the word “spinster” comes from the women in the early 1600s who made a living spinning yarn and selling the fruits of their labor. I also learned they had a rather, erm, unsanitary way of dying flax back in ye olden days (they peed on it). I’ll need to harvest all the useful information I got in that class on how spinning wheels work into a fairy tale retelling someday. Very, very interesting, and I really enjoyed it!

The other class worth mentioning was the screenwriting class co-taught by none other than “Galaxy Quest” screenplay writer David Howard, and screenwriter/Fan-X guru Blake Casselman.

I can’t even begin to scratch the surface of the powerful gems I excavated in that two-hour class, so instead, here are a few great takeaways I had, which can apply to all writers:

  • Good scripts/manuscripts express so much with so little.
  • Conflict is what drives interest.
  • Inner workings of characters should be inwardly expressed outwardly (another way of show vs. tell).
  • Your โ€œall is lostโ€ moment, when the central character is as far away as possible from achieving his or her goal, needs to be powerful.

One thing I did learn about during this convention was that a writer’s attitude is a little thing which can make a big difference. I saw great, successful, rich authors who were entirely unassuming and down-to-earth, and I saw lots of people who tooted their own horns and tended to speak negatively about how hard it is to be an author. Hand-in-hand with having recently readย The Secret, I have to add my two cents in here that having negative thoughts when you’ve been fortunate enough to write, finish, and publish a book (regardless it’s self-published or with a big 5 house), is nothing but a recipe for disaster.

Be positive.

No matter how bad it gets, start each day with a fresh pair of eyes and a positive attitude. Positive thoughts create positive things, and your energy will reflect in your writing, as well as on other people. Itโ€™s important to stay clear and focused when problems arise, have a positive attitude, and to project that positive attitude in everything you do. Don’t speak negatively. Adversity and opposition dies down โ€“ lasting impressions from how you handle it never do.

I can’t wait to go back to Fyrecon next year, and I’d love to teach a few classes on a healthy mindset, self-editing, and writing in a deeper POV.

Stay tuned to my social media and posts; Astraeus releases this autumn with Covey Publishing, and I am currently writing the sequel. I can’t wait to share the book with the world!

-Hales

4 thoughts on “Feedback from Fyrecon (Spoiler alert: It was AWESOME!)”

  1. Pam Troupe-Jones

    Hi,

    I am dropping in to leave you a Hello!! Thank for this event!! I hope you have a wonderful day!!
    Pam

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