You Could Be Our Next Speaker
By Mike Apodaca, High Desert Branch
I can imagine that when some of you read the title of my article, you said, “NO WAY!” You don’t really see yourself as an instructor, a person with expertise who can teach our excellent writers anything.
But, please, allow me to share with you some ideas.
Firstly, it should be the goal of every one of our members to become a speaker. This is why we launched the On-Topic Speakers bureau (ontopicspeakers.com). In the modern age of writing, it is authors who do public appearances who sell their books. They are building their platforms. Just look at the writers we have visiting our club, talking about their writing process, gathering emails, and selling their books.
That could be you.
It is also important to understand that no one has had the exact same writer’s journey that you have. Each writer is unique, each has their own perspective, and each comes to writing differently. Some writers actually resisted writing until they could fight it no longer. Each writer has their own motivations and ways of accomplishing the writing task. We want to hear how you do it your way.
Thirdly, you need to become an expert. Here’s my recommendation. Choose
something you are bad at—plotting, character development, the hero’s journey,
dialogue, description, pacing—anything. Then make it your goal to become an expert at
this. Read articles on the topic (you can find many of these online). Observe your own
writing and how it improves as you try out the things you are learning. Talk with other
writers to get their process. Take notes. Build your knowledge until you feel that you
are ready to share what you’ve learned.
At this point, it will be time to roll up your sleeves. You can develop your presentation using a PowerPoint, Prezi, or any other presentation platform—it is really up to you. One great benefit to having a slide show is that you can Zoom your presentation anywhere. This opens up more opportunities for you to share. You can also bring in real-world objects to make your point. We recently had Rene De La Cruz speak to us. He showed us various platforms used to produce music—records, tapes, CDs, etc. By using actual items (teachers call this realia), he was able to bring a level of reality that made his presentation come to life. Stuart Horwitz began his conference with us by showing us a John Lennon song played by John with a guitar after first being written (I think it was “Lovely Rita”). It was good, but rough. Next Mr. Horwitz played the same song post-production. It was amazing—symphonic and full. Stuart’s point was that there is a lot of polishing and improving between a rough draft and a final product. The point was made perfectly. You can also use metaphors like this in your presentation.
Finally, our club is the perfect place for you to try out your presentation before taking it on the road. We’re currently meeting once a month at the Apple Valley Library for the purpose of having our authors test-run their presentations. We have had wonderful
presentations from Michael Raff, Dwight Norris, Bill Lopez, Ann Miner, Jim Grayson, Joan Rudder-Ward, and others.
I recently explained to a new member that most of the life in our club comes from the members teaching each other. We have so many amazing people who have much to offer. You are one of those people. So roll up your sleeves and imagine yourself as one of our speakers. You couldn’t ask for a more supportive receptive audience.
You can do this. Remember—every author, no matter how famous, had to start their journey just like you.
This essay first ran as the President’s Message in
the April 2024 Inkslnger, newsletter of the High Desert Branch.