Novel Writing on Edge - Development Notes From Algonkian Writer Conferences

Algonkian Writer Conferences reviews two of the most troll-heavy "reviews" ever encountered by its staff, or for that matter, humans yet remaining alive in the 21st century.   A lgonkian Park in Northern Virginia might be described as  a lush and calming act of forest rubbing shoulders with the Potomac River, and it was here, twenty-two years ago, that Algonkian Writer Conferences  began with a small workshop of five writers. Since then, the grand majority of my own experiences with many hundreds of my fellow writers have been rewarding, and I can truthfully say I've played a productive role in assisting many to secure both agent and publisher contracts. However, during this same time, as Algonkian evolved with new faculty (both agents and publishing house editors) and fresh-rooted into  New York and California , the relatively benign flow of interactions could be compromised on rare occasion by something unexpected, and quite frankly, a bit lunatic...

Prepared for appropriate frustration and tapped out fingers? Using our favorite "stand on the shoulders of the classics" approach, we're going to examine the role of detailed character description when it comes to enhancing prose narrative. We've touched on this previously with our High Impact Narrative article and a caboose of Enhancement via Nabokov , but we're not done yet. Let's look at various examples and techniques. A GREAT DAMP LOAF  From Annie Proulx's "The Shipping News":  "A great damp loaf of a body. At six he weighed eighty pounds. At sixteen he was buried under a casement of flesh. Head shaped like a crenshaw, no neck, reddish hair ruched back. Features as bunched as kissed fingertips. Eyes the color of plastic. The monstrous chin, a freakish shelf jutting from the lower face." Note that Proulx first makes a single statement of character impression before moving on to details, i.e., "A great damp loaf of a bo...

How to prepare before sending queries to agents, e.g., utilize Publisher's Marketplace to intelligently narrow down the best possible candidates. Algonkian Writer Conferences reviews each step in turn.