Lessons Learned at the Ozark Creative Writers Conference

It's writers' conference season again. I attended the Ozark Creative Writers Conference (OCW) in beautiful Eureka Springs, Arkansas last weekend. As expected, I learned a great deal and had a wonderful time.

There was one speaker in particular who captivated me. He was a retired detective who was discussing police procedure in one session and interview and interrogation techniques in the other. As an author who writes suspense and mystery, everything I can learn about these topics is valuable.

I expected to get a lot out of the training. However, I didn't anticipate being so intrigued that I joined a handful of other authors in following the instructor out to the hall to continue the discussion after class. I now have a broader understanding of how things transpire, as well as twelve pages of notes. I wish I had known his methods for interview and interrogation when the kids were little. I might have been able to prevent some shenanigans.

I can read as much material and watch as many videos on the subject as I want, but nothing is as good as in-person instruction where I can ask questions. Some of the questions asked actually resulted in real case examples of how he handled things, how the attorneys handled things, and the final decision of the court. Spoiler alert: the killer isn't always the one to whom the initial evidence points.

Another session I attended was on writing myself out of a corner. It was taught by Bestselling Thriller Author Steven James. I've met Steven before and admire his zest for his craft. He's quite approachable and has a fantastic sense of humor. I took several pages of notes from his presentation and am excited to employ what I learned.

One thing he said really surprised me. He said the best plot twists happen when you write yourself into a corner. It forces you to rethink your story's direction and how you really want things to progress. He explained that sometimes you need to go back and delete a few chapters or add a new character in order to make your story work.

This revelation struck close to home for me because I recently deleted two chapters and pivoted when I found myself in a corner with my current work in progress. I had fallen into a rabbit hole with a minor character and spent far too much time on her medical condition when it did nothing to propel my story forward. After deleting two chapters of in-depth medical exposition, I left a couple of paragraphs about her being hit by a truck and surviving with serious injuries that would heal with time and medical treatment.

If you don't know what I mean by writing myself into a corner, it's when I have written something and there's no way forward or the way forward makes no sense. In my case, I had a comatose medium. Putting her in a coma served no purpose. All of the conversations between the hospital staff and the main character had nothing to do with the plot of the story. I was able to have the character reveal the pertinent information by having her awake with a morphine drip.

The purpose of a writers conference is to help writers improve their craft through education, networking, and friendly competition. I love them for all of those reasons. OCW is dear to my heart because it feels like family. If there's a problem, you tell one of the conference moms/big sisters about it, and she'll fix it.

In case you're wondering, I did place in four writing contests. I won second place in one, first honorable mention in two, and second honorable mention in one. I usually do a bit better with my victories, but I took a good look around the room during the award ceremony and realized the plethora of greatness that surrounded me. I was competing against people who have been on the bestseller list, sold thousands of books, are renowned in the industry, and have dedicated their lives to their craft. I am honored to have placed in anything and appreciate the opportunity to bask in their greatness.

Writing is my passion. I hope you all have something you love as much as I love creating stories. If you don't, I hope you find a passion soon. Having one enriches your life in numerous ways.

Thank you for reading Ozarks Maven! If you’ve enjoyed my little seeds of wisdom and joy, please join me again next week for more Ozarks Maven.

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