I'm so busy I still haven't gotten around to procrastinating. I think it might be next on my list, though.
I've done some writing on my novel, I've done some reading too. I've done a lot of laundry (as the mountains of clean clothes will attest--apparently, I've done no folding of said laundry--again the mountains attest.) I've done a lot of wedding planning with my daughter, and a lot of Girl's Camp prep--vinyl lettering for 38 shirts among other things. I've given a mother-daughter lesson on Mother's Day. I've been to a temple open house with 60 youth and back, I've helped host a bridal shower, and even cleaned my house for the event. I've gone on a 3rd grade zoo field trip. I've attended a daughter's senior awards program. Still to come in about a week and a half's time is the wedding and Girl's Camp and a high school graduation, too.
No one finishes a novel in May.
Just saying.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
I have not yet begun to procrastinate!
*A post in which I try to make up for not posting...in case anyone cares...*
So, yeah. I've been home from the Storymakers conference for a week now and still no witty and/or insightful posts on the subject. No need to feel cheated, though, it's everywhere. Truly everyone is talking about it.
Highlights...
--a class presented by Anita Stansfield--author of 47 novels.
47.
I don't believe I've read a single one, but the point is she wrote 47 novels while being a wife and mother. It gave me hope for my measly novel of 1 that I'd like to see published. (Who am I kidding...I'd like to even just see it finished--my current assessment [read "lie"] that I tell myself is that I only have three more chapters, then its done.) (And the truth is I've got way more than 1 novel idea gathering dust bunnies in my brain. This is what compels me onward--the other stories want their turn.) (It's a curse, I tell you.)
Wait, was I talking about something else...Anita. Yes. Probably the best thing she taught us was to place our families first and make sure they know that they are (that's key) and she taught us about prioritizing and having messy houses, etc.
--a boot camp assignment at Elana Johnson's table. In two words: She's good. (And she doesn't like italics where the author tries to tell the reader that they need to read a particular word or phrase with emphasis, so I purposefully italicized the words describing her!) I learned from every critique she offered, whether for my work or another's in the group. And she didn't totally tear my chapter apart--she said I was clever and it was overwritten in places. I loved that because I can totally go back and underwrite something. I can.
--literary agent Laura Rennert's class covering everything from query letters, creating a pitch, and key ingredients for successful fiction. She gave actual practical tips for succeeding in the quest for an agent. She boiled down the essential elements needed in a query--answer the questions WHO, WHAT, WHERE, AND WHY SHOULD I CARE? That's all an agent needs to know about your story. To come away from a class presented by a national market agent and not be terribly discouraged about my chances was also nothing short of amazing.
--Stacy Anderson's (She's an ANWA member) presentation on marketing and publishing. Again, actual useable information. That's what I longed for in some (many?) of the classes I attended, so hers was very refreshing. She had an excellent handout that she would probably share with you if you asked.
--hanging with friends/meeting new people/seeing famous people that I didn't take pictures of or with.
Regrets
-I wish someone would have told me how amazing Dave Wolverton was going to be and I would have signed up for his two-part presentation.
-Plus I missed out on Elana Johnson's query workshop which I knew would be awesome and afterward heard that it was. I just didn't sign up in time.
-feeling physically so tired and sickish the whole time. I was ibuprofen-popping everyday and that is so not like me. (Why can't we stay up late giggling and chiding Peggy for wearing an Edward shirt to bed (and talking shop) and then get up early for boot camp and attend classes aaaall-daaaay-loooong and feel just wonderful??!! It's not fair.)
There's more...so much more...plus I do have some pictures. There's always tomorrow...
So, yeah. I've been home from the Storymakers conference for a week now and still no witty and/or insightful posts on the subject. No need to feel cheated, though, it's everywhere. Truly everyone is talking about it.
Highlights...
--a class presented by Anita Stansfield--author of 47 novels.
47.
I don't believe I've read a single one, but the point is she wrote 47 novels while being a wife and mother. It gave me hope for my measly novel of 1 that I'd like to see published. (Who am I kidding...I'd like to even just see it finished--my current assessment [read "lie"] that I tell myself is that I only have three more chapters, then its done.) (And the truth is I've got way more than 1 novel idea gathering dust bunnies in my brain. This is what compels me onward--the other stories want their turn.) (It's a curse, I tell you.)
Wait, was I talking about something else...Anita. Yes. Probably the best thing she taught us was to place our families first and make sure they know that they are (that's key) and she taught us about prioritizing and having messy houses, etc.
--a boot camp assignment at Elana Johnson's table. In two words: She's good. (And she doesn't like italics where the author tries to tell the reader that they need to read a particular word or phrase with emphasis, so I purposefully italicized the words describing her!) I learned from every critique she offered, whether for my work or another's in the group. And she didn't totally tear my chapter apart--she said I was clever and it was overwritten in places. I loved that because I can totally go back and underwrite something. I can.
--literary agent Laura Rennert's class covering everything from query letters, creating a pitch, and key ingredients for successful fiction. She gave actual practical tips for succeeding in the quest for an agent. She boiled down the essential elements needed in a query--answer the questions WHO, WHAT, WHERE, AND WHY SHOULD I CARE? That's all an agent needs to know about your story. To come away from a class presented by a national market agent and not be terribly discouraged about my chances was also nothing short of amazing.
--Stacy Anderson's (She's an ANWA member) presentation on marketing and publishing. Again, actual useable information. That's what I longed for in some (many?) of the classes I attended, so hers was very refreshing. She had an excellent handout that she would probably share with you if you asked.
--hanging with friends/meeting new people/seeing famous people that I didn't take pictures of or with.
Regrets
-I wish someone would have told me how amazing Dave Wolverton was going to be and I would have signed up for his two-part presentation.
-Plus I missed out on Elana Johnson's query workshop which I knew would be awesome and afterward heard that it was. I just didn't sign up in time.
-feeling physically so tired and sickish the whole time. I was ibuprofen-popping everyday and that is so not like me. (Why can't we stay up late giggling and chiding Peggy for wearing an Edward shirt to bed (and talking shop) and then get up early for boot camp and attend classes aaaall-daaaay-loooong and feel just wonderful??!! It's not fair.)
There's more...so much more...plus I do have some pictures. There's always tomorrow...
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
[LDS Storymakers] Conference Weekend
Yesterday my sister asked if I was getting excited for my planned weekend to the LDS Storymakers Conference. "I'm getting nervous" was my reply and I launched into the varied reasons why writers conferences are so different than other seemingly similar venues.
Most conferences you attend, you choose your classes, sit in anonymity in each one scribbling notes on pads of paper, and then go away having gleaned copious amounts of information.
There's a whole other side to a writers conference.
There's the networking, the connections to be made (okay, that's redundant), the "see and be seen" factor (okay, kind of redundant, again). Generally we all have a finished work or work in progress that we want to "be seen," and, of course, we want to "see" all those writers who have crossed the line into the magical world of being called authors.
This is why I am nervous.
I will see authors.
People who have published actual books.
Fortunately, name tags will be employed, but still, if I come face to face with one (of them) don't I need to be able to match the name with their published work so as not to appear totally off the literary/Amazon/DB planet? I should have been cramming the entire last week with flash cards--okay, James Dashner-The Maze Runner-MC:Thomas, Josi Kilpack-Devil's Food Cake-MC:Sadie, Heather Moore-Alma-MC:Alma, Joyce DiPastena-Illuminations of the Heart-MC:Suri...oh, wait I know her! Whew! And bonus, I have actually read her book.
[Note to self: Stand near Joyce as much as she'll allow.]
In addition to authors, there will be a myriad of people there who I know only through their blog or through our online writing associations. So, see, I know their names and quite a bit about them, but have never spoken face to face. How do I approach them? "Oh, my gosh, it's you "Queen of the Clan" blogger ...um...um... thanks for that comment you left on my blog last February...um..." Of course, half the bloggers are also authors, so I need to remember their blog and published work.
Again, thank goodness for name tags because (and I'm not referring to anyone real or fictional) there's often a "lost in translation" moment when you go from knowing someone just by their little bloggy photo and then meeting them in person.
Just saying.
So that's the "see" aspect of writer's conferences.
Now as far as being seen and your work being seen, that ups the nervousness factor considerably.
There will be editors in attendance.
Actual people who make decisions about whether writers cross the line into the magical world of being called authors.
I daresay I don't need to elaborate, except to say if you come face to face with one (of them) WHAT WILL YOU SAY? It must be something half way intelligent and if it could be half way intelligent about your own manuscript, then all the better. You've gotta have a well-rehearsed pitch--one that's short and non-rambling. [See elanajohnson.blogspot.com today for her post on this very subject.] Even if you don't get to talk to an editor (or don't force yourself upon an editor) a thousand other people will ask you about your novel just in casual conversation.
Must. Be. Prepared.
By now you are beginning to wonder--why subject ourselves to the frenzy that is LDS Storymakers?
Because it's the most fun frenzy ever!
Imagine an entire Grand Ballroom of crazy people who get it.
They get writing and writers.
And anything anyone says about writing, no matter what it is, you have a whole ballroom-sized group of people nodding like bobble-heads in agreement. And because it's sponsored by a group with "LDS" as their first name, you also have a ballroom of people who are kind and so amazingly supportive of each other [and have standards] and can become your friends and critique partners and help you navigate your road to publication.
And if that's not all enough, then there is the choosing of classes, sitting and scribbling notes on pads of paper, and coming away with copious amounts of information.
I love that part.
Most conferences you attend, you choose your classes, sit in anonymity in each one scribbling notes on pads of paper, and then go away having gleaned copious amounts of information.
There's a whole other side to a writers conference.
There's the networking, the connections to be made (okay, that's redundant), the "see and be seen" factor (okay, kind of redundant, again). Generally we all have a finished work or work in progress that we want to "be seen," and, of course, we want to "see" all those writers who have crossed the line into the magical world of being called authors.
This is why I am nervous.
I will see authors.
People who have published actual books.
Fortunately, name tags will be employed, but still, if I come face to face with one (of them) don't I need to be able to match the name with their published work so as not to appear totally off the literary/Amazon/DB planet? I should have been cramming the entire last week with flash cards--okay, James Dashner-The Maze Runner-MC:Thomas, Josi Kilpack-Devil's Food Cake-MC:Sadie, Heather Moore-Alma-MC:Alma, Joyce DiPastena-Illuminations of the Heart-MC:Suri...oh, wait I know her! Whew! And bonus, I have actually read her book.
[Note to self: Stand near Joyce as much as she'll allow.]
In addition to authors, there will be a myriad of people there who I know only through their blog or through our online writing associations. So, see, I know their names and quite a bit about them, but have never spoken face to face. How do I approach them? "Oh, my gosh, it's you "Queen of the Clan" blogger ...um...um... thanks for that comment you left on my blog last February...um..." Of course, half the bloggers are also authors, so I need to remember their blog and published work.
Again, thank goodness for name tags because (and I'm not referring to anyone real or fictional) there's often a "lost in translation" moment when you go from knowing someone just by their little bloggy photo and then meeting them in person.
Just saying.
So that's the "see" aspect of writer's conferences.
Now as far as being seen and your work being seen, that ups the nervousness factor considerably.
There will be editors in attendance.
Actual people who make decisions about whether writers cross the line into the magical world of being called authors.
I daresay I don't need to elaborate, except to say if you come face to face with one (of them) WHAT WILL YOU SAY? It must be something half way intelligent and if it could be half way intelligent about your own manuscript, then all the better. You've gotta have a well-rehearsed pitch--one that's short and non-rambling. [See elanajohnson.blogspot.com today for her post on this very subject.] Even if you don't get to talk to an editor (or don't force yourself upon an editor) a thousand other people will ask you about your novel just in casual conversation.
Must. Be. Prepared.
By now you are beginning to wonder--why subject ourselves to the frenzy that is LDS Storymakers?
Because it's the most fun frenzy ever!
Imagine an entire Grand Ballroom of crazy people who get it.
They get writing and writers.
And anything anyone says about writing, no matter what it is, you have a whole ballroom-sized group of people nodding like bobble-heads in agreement. And because it's sponsored by a group with "LDS" as their first name, you also have a ballroom of people who are kind and so amazingly supportive of each other [and have standards] and can become your friends and critique partners and help you navigate your road to publication.
And if that's not all enough, then there is the choosing of classes, sitting and scribbling notes on pads of paper, and coming away with copious amounts of information.
I love that part.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Friday, April 2, 2010
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