NOVEL IDEAS: WOULD-BE WRITERS ATTEND CONFERENCE

"For most authors, their first novel is autobiographical because you is all you know about."

Michael Richey

"You need characters that people can identify with. You need characters that are fairly universal so that people can find a reason to stick with them til the end."

Karen Uban

"You call the shots, you move your characters around, you're in charge. I like that."

Bob Franson

"Develop characters that are real, honest and strong, and the rest, as they say, is history. Always a writer at heart, he adds, "That's a cliche, isn't it?"

Mike Beecher

Cape Girardeau lawyer Michael Richey thinks most people have a novel in them. But unlike most people, Richey is actually writing one.

"I've been working on it for years, adding bits and pieces to it at a time, but I didn't really feel I knew how to develop it," Richey said. "I didn't know how to put any structure to it."

That's why he joined about 70 other area writers at a workshop Saturday at the University Center. It was attended by published authors, former journalists, teachers and others, but all simply long to learn to write the right way.

The workshop was led by published author James N. Frey and was sponsored by the Heartland Writers Guild. Frey teaches novel writing at the University of California-Berkeley Extension. He is also on staff at the Squaw Valley Writers' Conference.

But the heart of the conference were the people who attended. And like most would-be authors, most seemed willing to discuss their works in progress.

"It's not just another Vietnam novel, but it's similar in nature," Richey says of his novel. He draws from his own experiences as a soldier in Vietnam to write a fictional account involving the Peace Corps.

And he admits that there's a piece of himself in his work.

"For most authors, their first novel is autobiographical because you is all you know about," Richey said.

For Karen Uban of West Frankfort, Ill., writing is about building characters and then taking them somewhere.

Uban, a teacher, has written four novels and none of them have been published. "It's very difficult to get published," she said.

She is now working on a semi-autobiographical book. It's based in Chicago in 1958 and is about a little girl whose mother is dying. An eccentric neighbor who lives upstairs and helps the little girl get through this tough time in her life.

It's very personal writing that she has never attempted before.

"It's the first time I've ever tried to tackle something like this," Uban said. "It's very personal to me, but, who knows, this may be the one."

A major emphasis that Uban learned from the conference is that wimpy characters are unread characters.

"You need characters that people can identify with," she said. "You need characters that are fairly universal so that people can find a reason to stick with them til the end."

Bob Franson, of Springfield, a former self-described newsman, traveled 300 miles to attend the conference. He's been writing a novel since his retirement and has finished about 250 pages.

It's about a 14-year-old boy, who during the drought at the heart of the Depression, comes of age.

Franson has enjoyed writing for most of his life, and, despite years of printing the truth for newspapers, he has developed a special affinity for fiction.

"You call the shots, you move your characters around, you're in charge," he said. "I like that."

Mike Beecher, the news director of KFVS-TV, said that in college, he always thought he'd be the great American novelist.

"That lasted until I found out I had to make a living," Beecher said.

He likes to write fiction that relates to theology. That's something he knows about, considering he's got his masters degree in the subject.

"They're not heavy but they deal with moral issues," Beecher said. "I like tying my theological background with my journalistic background."

He said that character development is an important aspect to good writing.

"Develop characters that are real, honest and strong, and the rest, as they say, is history," Beecher said. Always a writer at heart, he adds, "That's a cliche, isn't it?"

Susan Park of Cape Girardeau said that for her, writing is cathartic.

"When I write it's me, and everyone I've ever met," she said.