I did not make one macramé bracelet. I did not sleep in a sleeping bag. I did not, like I used to do at Girl
Scout camp, make a torch out of kotex and kerosene to light the campfire
with. What I did was bond, brainstorm
and become a more skilled and informed writer.
Even though LIT CAMP wasn’t set to start until Thursday, April 4th,
I flew into San Francisco a few days early to spend time with old friends in Napa. It was “Bud Break” and I warmed up to
the west coast with a day of Pinot tasting before heading up to Calistoga and
Mayacamas Ranch, the site of the first ever LIT CAMP.
Thursday, April 4th - Arrive at 3PM. The first person I meet is my workshop
leader, Janis Cooke Newman, who checks me in with a smile and a hearty, “I’ve
read your work!” At 4PM the 40 LIT
CAMPERS, faculty and interns gather for a meet and greet and the first panel: Demystifying
the World of Publishing with Jane Ciabattari, former president of the National
Book Critics Circle, Nicole Dewey, Director of Publicity at Little Brown, Sam
Barry, a bookseller with Book Passage, Caroline Paul, author of Fighting Fire
and the upcoming Lost Cat, and Chris Colin, author of Blindsight.
MY DAY ONE POSTCARD TO MYSELF: Remember books are a retail business - publishers
expect you to be a big part of selling your book. Pre-publication reviews are
very important. When you write a
book proposal you should answer these questions: Why this book?
Why now? Why are you the
best person to write it?
April 5th – Wake up to pouring rain, bowls of fresh
strawberries and the first workshops.
We are divided into groups of both fiction and non-fiction writers) -
The Beats, The Victorians, etc., (each group had the chance to read each others
work before camp began) and this morning we focus on three work samples. Day one’s workshop leader, Janis Cooke
Newman’s “Elvis has left the building” workshop style is a great formula for
to-the-point, savvy and insightful commenting.
DAY TWO POSTCARD: All
characters should exhibit bad behavior at some point. Because we love our characters we tend
to protect them but at some point we have to let them have a bit of fun. Must read, “The Art of Subtext: Beyond
Plot” by Charles Baxter.
After lunch it is an authors roundtable with Lee Kravetz, author of
the upcoming, Supersurvivors, the surprising link between suffering and
success, Ethan
Watters, author of Crazy Like Us and
TJ Stiles, author of the Pulitzer prize winning, The First Tycoon.
MY DAY TWO POSTCARD (con’t):
Get “Freedom”! It blocks the Internet from your computer so that you can
write Internet/e-mail free for as long as you set it!
After dinner it is the auction for the naming rights for the LIT CAMP COCKTAIL (2 oz of vodka, ½ oz lime juice, and ginger beer over ice). The bidding is fierce but in the end
two amazing women match each others bid. Pat Montandon and Chris Castro will be
remembered at future LIT CAMPS as the mothers of the Montandon-Castro. Drink
up!
April 6th Morning workshop is led by Adam Johnson, author
of The Orphan Master’s Son (just won
the Pulitzer). Adam has us all describe our writing habits, distilling them
into the many ways that writers get themselves to their desks.
In the afternoon Jane Ganahl, author and co-director of LitQuake and
Lit Crawl and Janis Cook Newman, author of the memoir, The Russian Word for Snow and the novel, Mary, host a roundtable.
DAY THREE POSTCARD: In memoir only include events that pertain to your
emotional story. Place those events
in the order where they will be the most dramatic. Also, a book proposal should look like it is going to make a
ton of $$$ and I don’t mean expensive paper and gold ink – see Day One postcard
re books as retail.
The roundtable is followed by a panel: Behind the Scenes at Literary
Magazines. Andi Mudd from The
Believer and McSweeney's, Oscar
Villalon from Zyzyzzva, and Isaac Fitzgerald
from The Rumpus.
Having just come from the very fun but very serious and sometimes
jaded AWP conference in Boston, this panel is refreshing. Andi, Oscar and Isaac are the most
positive, funny and upbeat publishers/editors I have ever heard speak. They are excited about writing and
clearly love writers. I love them right back.
After dinner it is time for The LIT CAMP Talent Show - Hosted by Isaac
Fitzgerald. I laugh so hard my stomach hurts.
April 7th Our last day :( Two
pieces to workshop with TJ Stiles.
LAST POSTCARD TO MYSELF: Remember that plot is setting up expectations
and then fulfilling those expectations.
And
then suddenly it is over. Everyone
piles into Chaparral Lodge, picks up box lunches and says goodbye. I am so sad as I drive down the hill as
it begins to rain (again). It was
too short. I met incredible writers.
I heard fabulous speakers. Now something calls me back to my New
York City desk.
Until
we meet again, fellow LIT CAMPERS and new friends. Thanks for the incredible memories.
Go
bananas,
“Aphra
Behn”
Lit
camp is a joint venture between two of San Francisco's most
respected literary organizations – Litquake
and the SF Writers Grotto. For more info visit http://www.litcampwriters.org
