Tyler McBroom...who I believe in my lifetime will become the next Bruce Coville.)
One of the best parts of the SCBWI conference for me this year was watching the always outrageously entertaining Bruce Coville speak. He makes me laugh, cry, gasp and yearn to become a better writer and person. Every time I see him, he spits out so many perfect, poignant Coville-isms, I hardly have the finger power to write them all down. Some of my favorites from this year’s opening keynote speech:
“Push the why. Ask yourself why you want to write the story.”
“The three stages of childhood in American history include child as:
“Do not follow the trend. Make the trend.”
“A great book is like only itself.”
“Clichés lie dead and leaden on the page.”
“I cannot imagine a greater handicap than lacking a sense of humor.”
One of the best parts of the SCBWI conference for me this year was watching the always outrageously entertaining Bruce Coville speak. He makes me laugh, cry, gasp and yearn to become a better writer and person. Every time I see him, he spits out so many perfect, poignant Coville-isms, I hardly have the finger power to write them all down. Some of my favorites from this year’s opening keynote speech:
“Push the why. Ask yourself why you want to write the story.”
“The three stages of childhood in American history include child as:
A) Economic Contributor, B) Object of Love, and C) Consumer.”
(So true! Yet a little sad…)
“Kids need heroes.”
“The seven deadly sins for writers are: Dullness, Repetition, Cliché, Inattention, Perfectionism, Sloth, Clumsiness.”
“Kids need heroes.”
“The seven deadly sins for writers are: Dullness, Repetition, Cliché, Inattention, Perfectionism, Sloth, Clumsiness.”
(Is Sloth really a sin? Damn!)
“Do not follow the trend. Make the trend.”
“A great book is like only itself.”
“Clichés lie dead and leaden on the page.”
“I cannot imagine a greater handicap than lacking a sense of humor.”
(Couldn’t agree with you more, Bruce! Well said.)
“Security is an illusion.”
“Humor is the highest emotion.”
“To act from joy is more courageous than to act from fear.”
And my all time favorite Coville-ism:
“The Creator must have had a sense of humor to place the plumbing so close to the playground!”
“Security is an illusion.”
“Humor is the highest emotion.”
“To act from joy is more courageous than to act from fear.”
And my all time favorite Coville-ism:
“The Creator must have had a sense of humor to place the plumbing so close to the playground!”
(Remember, Bruce said it. Not me!)
Love Bruce Coville. I want to be him when I grow up!
- Eve
(Please check out the Plot This blog for a great recap of Bruce Coville's Plotting workshop!)
Love Bruce Coville. I want to be him when I grow up!
- Eve
(Please check out the Plot This blog for a great recap of Bruce Coville's Plotting workshop!)
9 comments:
Bruce is truly wonderful, that's for sure. Thanks for sharing those quotes!
Thank you so much for the quotes, and for the Plot This link. I'm also looking forward to reading WAIT, AUDREY! Thanks for in review! :)
Thank YOU guys for reading! There aren't many people who can inspire me the way Bruce Coville does. He's truly a genius!
He was the FIRST speaker I ever saw at my very first writing conference, and I fell in love instantly and realized I'd chosen the best profession in the world.
Eve
Hey Eve! Thanks for the Plot plug! hee hee!
That Bruce Coville is sumthin' else, ain't he?
xoxo
Katie
The quotable Bruce Coville...he's so great to hear speak. Thanks for posting these! (And, wow, a blog post dedicated to me, I'm blushing)
T Mc B... Nice of you to visit our blog!
Could you imagine if somebody dedicated a whole BOOK to you? How cool would that be?
Don't get your hopes up, T. I'm not dedicating a book to you. Just a blog post. That's it. I don't even have a book out. Yet. Then again, when I do, maybe you'll make the dedication list. We'll see. Depends on how nice you are to me in the next few weeks.
Eve
Great inspiration! Thanks for the plot link, too. I needed that.
Thanks for the Bruce Coville quotes.
They were just what I needed today.
Lisa
oh my goodness I completely forgot some of these amazing things he said! He is the most inspiring man I've ever met. Seriously! When I got back from the conference it took a whole day at my fav coffee house to explain the things I learned from Bruce Coville to my number one writing cheerleader, my mom of course.
Eve, he was the first speaker of my first conference also and I completely know what you mean about the realizations that soon follow hearing him speak! I knew without a doubt I was meant to write after hearing his talk.
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