So I’ve been in the black hole of writing, otherwise known as the SEVEN CIRCLES (or DRAFTS) OF REVISION HE**, and I thought I’d take a quick break to spread the love about an awesome event that was just announced:
Several writers (Jamie Harrington, Elana Johnson, Casey McCormick, Shannon Messenger, Lisa and Laura Roecker) are organizing a free online workshop for writers of kidlit on Aug 10-12. They’re having fabulous people participate — like Steven Malk, Catherine Drayton, Michelle Andelman, Suzie Townsend, Mark McVeigh, Joanna Stampfel-Volpe, Kathleen Ortiz, Lindsay Eland, Dan Ehrehaft, Mandy Hubbard, Lindsey Leavitt, Josh Berk, Anica Rissi, and Jodi Meadows just to name a few — and the best part?
IT’S FREEEEEEEEEEE. That’s right. F to the R to the EEEEEE. Conferences are expensive, usually between $300-500 just to attend. On top of that, you’re looking at hotel, travel, and daily food costs which can easily bring the total price tag to well over $1000 (I’m looking at around $1300 to go to RWA’s conference in Orlando at the end of July). And I don’t know about you, but money certainly isn’t growing on any shrubbery near my house…
So that makes WriteOnCon a fantastic opportunity to learn, network, and have a good time with other writers. Since it’s all done online, you could even *attend* in your undies. Although I really suggest you not blab that around if that’s how you decide to roll…
Some of the ladies are running contests on their blogs to spread the word. Check them out here:
Jamie Harrington — giving away Josh Berk’s The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin
Elana Johnson — giving away The Dark Days of Hamburger Halpin by Josh Berk, Scones and Sensibility by Lindsay Eland, Princess for Hire by Lindsey Leavitt
Casey McCormick — giving away winner’s choice of a kidlit book
This conference sounds super exciting, and with the amount of work these ladies have invested, I’m sure it’ll be a huge success! I know I’ve already blocked out my calendar for it! Oh — and don’t forget to visit the writer’s blogs and spread the WriteOnCon love!!!
I have to admit I’m not a good short story writer. I think this is because I’m naturally long-winded. I mean, have you seen my previous posts? I’m not ashamed to admit I’m a talker. But where short stories are involved, I wish I could tell a complete story in so few words.
Like these ladies: Merry Sisters of Fate–comprised of Maggie Stiefvater, Brenna Yovanoff, and Tessa Gratton. Even though these authors are published and soon-to-be-published, they still find the time (and inspiration) to post weekly short stories. That ROCK.
Here are a few examples of my favorite MSoF short stories:
Rain Maker by Maggie Stiefvater — Dystopian goodness!
All Fall Down by Brenna Yovanoff — If you like zombies, this one’s for you!
The MSoF are running a contest right now to celebrate their upcoming New Orleans trip where they’ll run into other authors (like Jackson Pearce and Carrie Ryan). You should check out their contest. And I have no doubt shenanigans and other mayhem will transpire, but will New Orleans be able to hold all that awesome writer mojo in one single weekend?
Over on Sarah Wylie’s blog, she’s running a contest to celebrate the sale of her YA debut, ALL THESE LIVES to FSG in 2012. She’s giving away a lot of REALLY COOL AND AMAZINGLY AWESOME prizes. Like a 30-page MS critique by her agent, Suzie Townsend. Or a query letter critique by Agent Phenoms Colleen Lindsay, Kathleen Ortiz, and Joanna Stampfel-Volpe. Oh yeah. And a lunch with THE JANET REID and SUZIE TOWNSEND in NYC (sadly the travel expenses are not included). But this contest is made of so much WIN, that I had to share and say a big fat CONGRATS to Sarah and her sale!
Wanted to share this with you guys since it’s an awesome opportunity for feedback for whoever wins–
Dear-Editor.com is celebrating its one-month anniversary by giving away a free edit of one YA or MG manuscript (not line-by-line edits but more general feedback about pacing, organization, voice, plot development, POV, etc.).
The site is a Dear Abby-like blog run by a former children’s publishing editor (10 years at Harcourt Children’s Books) and YA author, Deborah Halverson.
It’s a lottery-style giveaway and you can get additional entries by spreading the word or signing up for the newsletter (the rules are emailed to you when you comment on the blog).
So there’s this little book, I dunno, maybe you’ve heard of it, it’s called Shiver and was written by an amazing author, Maggie Stiefvater. (And if you haven’t heard of Shiver, then I apologize for disrupting the rock you live under.)
Anyway, Maggie’s holding an awesome giveaway to celebrate the upcoming release of the next book in the Shiver series, Linger. I would’ve posted about this anyway since I usually post about releases on Tuesdays…but this contest forced me to get off my butt and run like crazy to get as many entries as possible because this GIVEAWAY ROCKS MY SOCKS. Yeah. Here are the details for your perusal:
In Maggie Stiefvater’s Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. Now, in Linger, they must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping a very dangerous secret about her own well-being. For Sam, this means grappling with his werewolf past . . . and figuring out a way to survive into the future. Add into the mix a new wolf named Cole, whose own past has the potential to destroy the whole pack. And Isabelle, who already lost her brother to the wolves . . . and is nonetheless drawn to Cole.
At turns harrowing and euphoric, Lingeris a spellbinding love story that explores both sides of love — the light and the dark, the warm and the cold — in a way you will never forget.
Comes out in stores everywhere July 20th. Pre-order here.
(And as another add, I’ve been lurking and reading some of the short fiction on Merry Sisters of Fate that Maggie shares with Brenna Yovanoff and Tessa Gratton, and there is some seriously good stuff on there. Like goosebumps good. You should really check it out. Just sayin’.)
No woes today. But it is 2010 and I’m off to a flying start on my YA paranormal–you know, the experimental one?–that I’ve tentatively titled, BLUR. And even though I did the plotterly thing by making an outline AND a really REALLY colorful plot board/story board/Post-It party, it seems my characters are driving this bus themselves without paying any attention to my carefully detailed plans. The nerve. I know some of it will end up on the chopping block, but it’s all part of the process…
…The Getting To Know You Process.
Like for instance, who knew my main character sweats like a pig when she gets nervous, anxious, scared, happy, or feels any emotion whatsoever? I’m going to have to arm her with plenty of underarm protection, but really–did she have to adopt such a gross quirk? Why couldn’t she just, I don’t know, twirl her hair or something? And she’s a liar. Not the kind that could do serious damage, but the kind who always fibs just a little. The kind where one teensy weensy little white lie helps more than it hurts. Or so goes her philosophy. She also likes to play musical cabinets by slamming the doors in varying rhythms to make the contents jingle in tune. And did I mention she’s blind? Yeah. My original outline had her getting her sight back after a near-deadly accident…but she’s informed me that she’s more attuned to her surroundings without her sight so she’d rather go into hiding than get it back. Hmrph. Teens.
So, yes. I’m in this wonderful, eye-opening stage fondly known as ‘Getting To Know You’. How do you get to know your characters? Do you plot only to have them rebel against your wishes? Or maybe they’re obedient from the get-go? Do you conduct character interviews ahead of time so you’re already enmeshed in their nuances? Or do you squeeze your eyes closed and have them lead–or drag–you by the hand the whole ride? How do your characters develop?
And oh yeah, I almost forgot. Nathan Bransford– agent and blogman extraordinaire–has another one of his cool, overwhelmingly popular and utterly intimidating contests on his uber popular blog. Throwing caution to the angsty teen wind, I decided to enter.
The contest is promoting his client, Jennifer Hubbard’s, debut release of her YA — THE SECRET YEAR. The blurb sounds interesting so I’m adding it to my TBR list. Basically it’s a poor-boy-meets-rich-girl-who-has-a-boyfriend story where the two have a secret affair but the girl dies and he finds her journal with unsent letters addressed to him. Interesting, yes?
The contest prompt is to write the most intriguing fictional teen diary/letter entry. Nathan is the judge and he’s offering one heck of a carrot. The deadline is today at 4pm PST (that’s 7pm EST for those of you unsure of the time conversion *wink*).
I entered a journal entry that Jamie wrote in her BrailleNote about the first day she met Peter. I read it over. And it’s crap. But it’s also a very neat writing exercise that helped tremendously in the ‘Getting To Know You’ process. I highly recommend doing this for your characters as a learning exercise. I know I’ll be including it next time!
Cambria Dillon - YA Writer
