by Christine | Writing
So, now that I’ve recovered from camping up in Big Sur…the Workshop I attended was presented by the Andrea Brown Literary Agency, and it was a workshop, not a conference/convention. Including staff, we totaled 110; there was roughly 1 pro for every 5 attendees, not a bad ratio.
The weekend was for writers of picture books, chap books, middle grade books, and YA. It was not cheap – at $720 for two half-days and one full day, not cheap at all – but probably the most valuable weekend I’ve spent.
Unless you paid the single supplement, you were issued a roommate and I got lucky with Karen Akins. She’s a sweet Arkansas girl who writes both picture books and YA time travel books. We really hit it off and the second night, I kept her up way late chatting. But the roommate thing was fabulous!
The main thrust of the weekend were crit groups, two separate ones. We were to come prepared, with copies of our work, which I did. We read aloud, received feedback from the group plus the group leader (I got lucky and had two agents as group leaders), and had a chance to rewrite before taking it back to the group a second time. Two crit groups, four crit sessions total. Invaluable. Not to mention, a one on one for ten minutes with an industry professional…that alone totally made my trip.
Some may think they’re beyond it – not needing strangers to crit their work – but I welcome every opportunity to learn, especially from people who aren’t invested in me and could care less how well I do. The feedback I got has been the most valuable on this book so far. Lots of changes need to be made, but that’s okay – it gives me somewhere to take this book so I’m thrilled.
Surprisingly, the groups meshed quickly. Our leaders were firm, fair, and spot on when targeting trouble spots. All the staff were approachable – they wanted us to talk to them, to ask them questions, and considering these were agents and editors for the most part, it was a wonderful sense of camaraderie that they fostered, made possible by the intimate nature of the group.
If you write for the YA market or younger, if you’re stalled and don’t know which way to go, if you’ve got that book that just isn’t exciting interest and you don’t know why – do yourself a favor. Save your money and go to the Big Sur Writer’s workshop. They hold it twice a year – the first weekend in December, and the first weekend in March – and at $720, all-inclusive (lodgings, meals, workshop fee), it’s totally worth the price.
by Christine | Uncategorized, Writing
Do you like the new header? Su Kopil at Earthly Charms did it for me, based upon the bookmarks she designed for me. I love it!
Last year, March 5th marked my last day at my Regular Day Job (as opposed to my Part Time Day Job). Since that time, I’ve taken more online classes (some concurrently) than I have in the previous five years. And I’ve learned a lot.
The classes that stood out for me were the following:
Deep Story Technique by Carol Hughes – she gave me a comprehensive road map to follow – it’s got everything in it from the Hero’s Journey to the Five Emotional Turning Points. It helps me plot (which I hate doing), it helps me with the synopsis, and it helped me reshape the book that ultimately netted my first sale.
The Tiny Art of Elevator Pitches by Carrie Lofty She helped me whittle down further and further my one sentence pitch until I understood it was the kernel of the story that belonged in the pitch – not the detail. Now if only I could keep her on retainer to help me with ALL my book pitches.
The Logline, Premise, Query and Synopsis by Elle James and Delilah Devlin This, in conjunction with the other two (all of which overlapped) solidified how important the ancillary writing is that surrounds the actual novel. Truly a revelation and an excellent class by excellent instructors. They gave thoughtful and genuine critiques to everyone who participated.
Writing the Query Letter by Julie Rowe Are you seeing a theme here? I knew my query letters sucked as I was getting form rejections from my queries. Julie’s class helped me build on knowledge previously gained. (I think I need another class, though. My query letters still suck.)
A Cop’s Life by Kathy Bennett This was my first breather class – tons of information, and I’ve saved it all. I’ve got a cop coming up in a novel, so I wanted to be prepared. Luckily, Kathy is in my local RWA Chapter so I can ask her questions when I need to.
Book Factory by Kerri Nelson I, too want to write and sell as much as Kerri does. Now if only I can discipline myself to use her techniques! (Hint: it’s all in the way you manage your time.)
Writing Love Scenes by Shayla Black Great info, bad timing on my part as just days after the class ended I went in for surgery. But I saved all the lessons and you can be sure the next time I write a love scene, I’ll be re-reading them.
Holly Lisle – I’m going to stop there. Holly Lisle is awesome. Any class of hers that you choose is terrific.
Warrior Writer by Bob Mayer I took this class again in 2010 after taking it in 2009 because my local chapter gave it as an all-day workshop. Even though I have the book, even though I’ve done the work from the book, I still learned something about me as a writer. In 2009, I wrote a review about the class that basically said I felt stalled as a writer and I knew something had to change. What I hadn’t been aware of was that I needed to change.
I’m currently getting ready for the Henry Miller Writer’s Workshop, focusing on children’s, middle grade, and YA books and presented by the Andrea Brown Agency. It starts tomorrow – I’ll be there, with my YA book in my sweaty palms, ready to find out why it’s not generating the interest I know it should be.
I’ll post about more classes that I took during the past 12 months, plus how the workshop goes, when I return next week. Till then, write well!
by Christine | Writing
You might not remember the Buffy episode where the evil bar guy made beer that turned college kids into cavemen, but I do. One of my favorite lines from that episode (in a series chock full of them) had Buffy saying, “Boys bad. Fire pretty.” It pointed up her extremely limited brain function due to the beer she’d consumed to drown her broken heart.
That’s how I feel right now, after turning in my last pass to my editor. Extremely limited brain function. When I finally stumbled out of bed this morning, my hair standing on end and my jammies awry, my showered, shaved, yummy-smelling and ready-for-the-office husband had the temerity to actually talk to me. This is how our conversation went.
Him: Sorry I didn’t get to the laundry over the weekend. Think you’ll have time today?Me: Laundry bad. Him: I’m running late. Make me a double espresso please? Me: Coffee good. Him: Oh, and sort the bills for me, I won’t have time to do it until Thursday. Me: Bills bad.
My eldest son had to play, too. Son: Can you pick me up from school, Mom? My bike has a flat tire. Me: Bike bad. Son: Oh, and can you pick me up a spare inner tube? Me: Son bad. Son: I love you, Mom. Me: Son pretty.
By the time everyone left the house, my head hurt from having to make such civilized conversation. It’s not just that editing takes a lot out of a writer. Making changes that you know need to be made, and finding every last variation on the word “nod” and changing it up so you don’t have a novel full of bobble-heads is wearying, after all.
But turning in last edits is also an emptying-out of your brain. Kind of like after giving birth – that alien in your body is gone and it’s just you again. Except for writers, there’s usually another alien in your head just waiting to be developed, and that’s where the writer’s brain goes into limited function mode.
The writer’s brain is scared. It’s not sure it has what it takes to write the next book. It’s not even sure it should be reading. The writer’s brain, at this point in the process, is pretty sure it should be relaxing on a tropical beach somewhere with an umbrella drink close by. Either that, or numbing itself in front of the TV, watching episode after episode of any of the “Desperate Housewives of” reality series. Enough hours of that inanity practically ensures your brain will spontaneously hit the refresh button and start spouting out story ideas and concepts, just to get away from the TV screen.
It’s not like I’m starting a new project right now, either. I’ve got a YA that I’ll be going into a workshop with (given by the Andrea Brown Agency – check it out here). I’ve got homework on that one.
I’ve also got a second book due to Crescent Moon Press and, since I’d like that second book to come out this year if possible, I really need to finish it, run it through a crit group, do a second draft and a third pass (to get rid of those nagging “nod”s) and get it to them soon.
But still, the brain stalls. For me, the tropical beach and the umbrella drink is out of the question. I can’t even sit in the sun – it’s too chilly for this girl out there today. The Housewives have no real appeal, either. I guess I’ll hunker down and dig my bedroom out from under the piles of laundry, clean the kitchen, and eventually drive off to pick up my son from college.
Wow, does that sound boring in contrast to dealing with a whip-wielding sorcerer, a tribred hero who just wants to be left alone, and a bunch of demons who look remarkably like badgers washing up dead on the beaches of Santa Monica.
Laundry bad…
by Christine | Writing
I adore Kristen Lamb and her blunt, sometimes snarky way of making a point. Today at her blog on self publishing, she makes an excellent correlation between American Idol and the self publishing world.
I won’t attempt to repeat her genius here, so go check it out. And while you’re there, check out WANA wednesdays as well, also part of her blog – her book We Are Not Alone is a fabulous tool for writers who need to learn how to market their books. On wednesdays, she shares tips from her book (but I recommend you buy the book!).
I am a total fan girl.
by Christine | Writing
I’m SO excited. I ordered book marks for DEMON SOUL, my first-ever release, and just got the artwork today. Su at Earthly Charms is a wonderful person and totally an artist! I don’t care that public opinion has it that no one has ever bought a book from a book mark. I LOVE mine!
Well…I tried to put them up here, but they were too big. Once I get them, if anyone wants one just leave a comment and I’ll contact you to get your snail mail addy.
But still – way exciting!
by Christine | Writing
Life is SWEET today. I received confirmation that my paranormal romance novel, DEMON SOUL, will release in mid-March 2011 from Crescent Moon Press! This is fantastic. It really fits into my schedule, as I’m hoping to turn in the next book, DEMON HUNT, that same month – so I’ll have a reason to do some partying.
I’ve started the blog tour in motion, and there are some things I need to check on with the publishing house, but all in all I am completely stoked. My husband is, too – he feels he can “finally” celebrate the book since it’s now got a firm publication date.
My second chunk of news is I’ve been accepted to the Henry Miller Writer’s Workshop in early March, put on by the fabulous Andrea Brown Agency. I’ll be working on my YA novel, JESSE ON THE VERGE.
Third chunk of news, I’m actually headed off to the Romantic Times Convention this year! It’s here in Los Angeles, so I’m waaay excited to be saving some money. Between this convention and the workshop, I’ll have used up my workshop money.
I’m really, really looking forward to this year – it has bright-shiny-happy-productive written all over it!
