Winchester Writers Conference – 1

This weekend I spent at the Writers Conference in Winchester. I got down there on Friday so had a chance to relax before the big day which for me was Saturday when I was down to see 21 writers for 15 minute one to ones. I’d received opening chapters and synopses from almost all the writers in advance and had made notes on them so I could deliver useful feedback.

What I think I was most surprised about were the number of writers who clearly hoped that, on sight of their opening chapters, I would spend the 15 minutes offering them representation. Although I saw some promising work, I only requested to see more from a handful of writers, partly for reasons of personal taste, secondly for reasons of marketability, and thirdly, because a handful of the writers were clearly at the very beginning of their quest to write a publishable novel and still had a long way to go.

I thought I would share some of the things I ended up repeating on the day:

• Start your novel with action. Action does not mean there has to be an earthquake, but just that something is happening. Don’t write a first chapter full of backstory or introspection.
• I am always looking for great characterisation. Great characterisation is the most likely to be the magic bullet for me as to whether I love your story because I believe it’s what makes great stories. So if I say “work on your characterisation”, take this seriously.
• As a general rule, 1st person is more limiting for many novels, especially in certain genres such as thrillers. If you’ve tried 3rd person character point of view and are certain its not working for your story I’m fair more likely to take you seriously than a writer who tells me they’ve never written anything in 3rd person or that you can’t have charcater viewpoint in 3rd person.
• Know what your genre is. Most commercial fiction is either women’s fiction or crime.
• Crime novels are not only stories about detectives solving murders. (In the US crime is actually called mystery which is probably a better name to encompass the width of the genre).
• I represent the kinds of novels I like to read. So when I say “your writing is good but it is not for me” I’m rejecting it on the grounds of my personal taste. Keep trying other agents.
• I have to think about marketability. So when I say “your writing is good but there is no market for this kind of novel at the moment” I’m not just fobbing you off, I mean it. I could be wrong though, so keep trying other agents.
• Writing is not only about craft. First novels must have a wow factor. There must be something that makes them stand out.
• If I tell you your literary novel is a crime novel, believe me rather than arguing with me! I don’t care if its a literary crime novel or not. I just have to love it and it must be absolutely gripping and readable.

More about what happened at Winchester later.