RWA National: Day 1 Recap

Squeezed in a treat before the conference got into full swing by traveling to the Woman Impressionists exhibit at the Palace of the Legion of Honor Museum. That’s Avon assistant editor Tessa Woodward on the right, with my “Art of Voice” buddies Nancy Robards Thompson, Teresa Elliott Brown, and Catherine Kean.


Seeing so many gorgeous paintings in one place, all by women artists, all produced at a time when women’s art and creativity were frowned upon, were the perfect way to set the tone for the conference. Quotations from some of the artists–Berthe Morisot, Eva Gonzáles, Marie Bracquemond, and Mary Cassatt–had been stenciled on the walls in the galleries. Here’s one I found really appropriate:

There is in me a strong determination to overcome all obstacles. I wish to work at painting not to paint some flowers, but to express those feelings that bring out art in me.

–Marie Bracquemond

The sad thing is that Mme. Bracquemond’s husband Félix objected strongly to her artistic ambitions, acting so ugly and jealous about it that she eventually gave up painting. What a crime, to be deprived of more artworks like this:


Once we made the looooooong hike back to the hotel (let’s just say two Muni buses and some hoofing it were required), we got back too late for lunch. We got the salad and dessert that was already on the table, and that was it. And the waitstaff wasn’t too nice about it, either. At least the luncheon speaker, Victoria Alexander, was a hoot.

After that, time to face the music with Dream Agent. I have been a bad do-bee. A don’t-bee, to be perfectly honest. As in, not much communication from my end. So now I have homework. I am to fish out several women’s fiction bestsellers (NYT, USA Today, Booksense, etc.) and read the first three chapters of each. Some market research. I also need to polish the proposal of The Five Step Plan and send it in. Once she reads it, we’ll determine whether it needs more polish or is ready to go out. Oh, and she wants 5-10 more story ideas. Apparently, I have figured out how to create the high-concept story. And I thought I was just good at a controlling mtaphor!

Scary quote of the day: “You are my only writer here I have not sold. My goal is to have a book deal by next year.” Hooookay. Guess my nose is back on the grindstone. But that’s a good thing.


2 Comments

  1. Anonymous

    Can you teach high concept to those of us that aren’t able to deliver the goods?
    Take the comment as positive…it means now its your turn!

  2. I always thought “high concept” meant something truly groundbreaking and new, which meant that there was no way in Hades I’d ever get it. 😉

    However, Dream Agent explained that an ability to capture the essence of the book in a fresh way that editors and publishers can grasp and market is the core of “high concept.”

    In my case, that means controlling metaphor. For each of my chick lit/women’s fiction books, there’s a controlling theme that guides how the characters grow through the story. In one book, it’s the heroine’s view of men as cars and her job to crash test them to make them safe for other women (never her). In my WIP, the heroine faces catastrophic change in her life by regressing back to a Five Step Plan her mother taught her back when she was a teenager.

    Dream Agent says that this is a strength of my work (hoookay, I’ll play along), and that being able to convey a story idea in this way is, indeed, high concept. Is there a theme or motif in your work that can be incorporated into your blurb that will enliven it from the standard boy-meets-girl-etc. storyline? If so, you’re entering High Conceptville.

    Hope this helps!

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