Would-Be Writers Learn From Literary Stars Sun Valley Gathering Popular
The Sun Valley Writers’ Conference has won the hearts of a community of readers, writers and would-be writers who harbor dreams.
This weekend, about 250 people gathered to learn from a host of authors, filmmakers and journalists that yes, writing is hard, but rewarding.
Conference attendees signed up for small-group sessions with authors, delighted in panel discussions and heard evening talks. It was a chance to meet and learn in an intimate atmosphere from authors who have gone the distance.
Conference guests rubbed shoulders with William Styron, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “Confessions of Nat Turner” and “Sophie’s Choice;” humorist Dave Barry; novelist Amy Tan; and Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Freida Lee Mock, just a few among the 24 fiction and nonfiction writers and filmmakers headlining the event.
When asked how the conference continues to attract such famous writers, conference underwriter Gordon Russell said, “It’s magical. It’s partly because it’s in Sun Valley and partly because the writers come together to share their experiences with each other.”
The Saturday evening audience erupted with laughter when Anne Lamott, author of “Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life,” told them that she only learned two new things this past year. One is that if you are working on a novel that has a therapist in it, you should probably take the therapist out. And two, you should probably use fewer adjectives.
“No one sits down (to write) feeling great about the work ahead of them … It’s hard to keep your butt in the chair,” Lamott said.
Lamott tells her students to “keep it small, write one page a day.”
Friday evening, the conference opened with Styron, who talked about his first attempt to write. This attempt eventually became “Lie Down in Darkness,” which was published in 1951 and is still in print today. After reading Truman Capote’s “Other voices Other rooms,” he was overcome with envy and asking himself why he should bother.
He was in New York City trying to write and freezing in a cold, small basement apartment during the winter of 1947 when he received a letter from home recounting the suicide of a high school classmate, a beautiful young woman.
“The knowledge burdened me painfully,” he said. Styron was reading Robert Penn Warren’s “All the Kings Men,” when he began to see the outline of the book.
“It thrilled me,” he said. From the ashes of his burden, he produced “Lie down in Darkness,” the story of a young woman who takes her own life.
Styron said he struggled mightily with his demons and the desire for originality. After the first draft, “I had to cut out moments of Hemingway attitudeness, Faulkner and Robert Penn Warren. I believe that we must have originality, be aware of what our predecessors share, but have our own unique voice.”
Author Judith Freeman said, “It’s truly an exceptional group of writers and it’s an honor to be invited. I always come away feeling inspired and that’s better than money.”