Okay, so two contests are buzzing about. One is AMAZON BREAKTHROUGH NOVEL AWARD, follow link at: http://www.amazon.com/Breakthrough-Novel-Award-Books/b?ie=UTF8&node=332264011 Deadline for this is Jan. 25, 2010. The other is NOVEL BEGINNINGS CONTEST hosted by Mary Kole (agent at Andrea Brown Literary Agency) for the first 500 words of a MG or YA novel. Deadline is Jan 31,… Continue reading Contest Buzz
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Conference Buzz
The SCBWI conference this past Saturday in Oakland was a great learning experience. It was a real treat listening to Stephen Mooser, co-founder of SCBWI, speak about getting young readers to laugh. His books and ideas are fresh and inspiring. I had my “first page” read aloud by Sarah Shumway at HarperCollins, and my first… Continue reading Conference Buzz
Buzzzzy
Wow, 3 meetings this week with fellow writers. One with a newly forming group, the other with my YA Novel group, and the third with a writing buddy I’ve worked with for several years now. Definately feeling in “the flow” of it all. Also, attending the SCBWI Conference this Saturday in Oakland. As with any… Continue reading Buzzzzy
Adverbs & Adjectives
Current writing trends veer us away from the use of adverbs and adjectives with the notion that nouns and verbs are superior. I “get” this in regards to keeping the prose tight and succinct, but let us preview this beautiful sentence from F. Scott Fitsgerald: “Slenderly, languidly, their hands set lightly on their hips, the… Continue reading Adverbs & Adjectives
Writing Buddies & Hero’s Journey
Currently editing (3) different manuscripts for writing buddies, and I Looove this process. Yes, it’s time consuming, yes, it forces all my mental faculties to go to work, but there is no better way to improve on my own writing. Guess it’s that whole “teacher becomes the student” phenomena that comes into play. Whatever it… Continue reading Writing Buddies & Hero’s Journey