The Muse & The Marketplace 2024

Being a writer in 2024 means daily bombardment with guidelines for how, exactly, one should live one’s life: from productivity optimization (write a thousand words a day!) to highly specific rules about craft (avoid backstory! Write in the present tense!) to imperatives concerning social media (you can’t be published without a platform) and networking (spend lots of money on conferences and classes) to, of course, the prevailing idea that a book can’t be completed, much less published, without input from a hired editor or reader book coach. While the advice above can prove genuinely useful, collectively they can cause us to doubt ourselves, seek answers in so-called experts, and view our work as a commodity rather than what it is: a piece of art.

Through concrete and personal examples, we will discuss the ways that some rules and strict advice can lead you astray, then delve into how you can trust your instincts and optimize both your process and your work as a piece of art. We’ll begin with a deeply honest craft talk then delve into a discussion of how to slough off outside voices and tap into your intrinsic knowledge about your own process and work. Attendees can come to this session with only one rule in mind: BREAK EVERY RULE.