2012 SCBWI CA North/Central Spring Spirit Conference
Tomorrow is the 2012 SCBWI CA North/Central Spring Spirit Conference and I am GOING! Yay! Not only am I attending as a writer but I am also attending as an author – I know, I know, damned overachievers… It’s been a crazy few weeks getting ready for the conference, getting all my writing together and putting together a portfolio that focuses on a more YA feel but it is all done and packed in my bag. I could not have done it all without the amazing support from my husband Matt, who is my biggest cheerleader (and toughest critic!) and my amazing critique groups. Thanks to all of you! This is the first writing conference I have attended and I’m both excited and anxious. I’m excited about meeting other writers and learning...
My Big Arse Catch-Up Post!
So much good stuff going on! The one bad thing? I keep telling myself “Oh, today I am going to post to my blog about all this good stuff!” then I get wrapped up in Shelley Land and…. well you know the rest. So, here is my big arse catch-up post of all the fun stuff happening: First – for you local folks, Ellen Klages, author of The Green Glass Sea the sequel White Sands, Red Menace and Portable Childhoods will be speaking on Writing Strong Girls tomorrow (Thursday April 12 at 7pm) at the Lafayette Library in Lafayette, California . I had the pleasure of hearing Ellen speak at the December SCBWI East Bay Christmas meeting and she was WONDERFUL! For more info on the event or for upcoming events for writer’s at the Lafayette...
Eleven Kay
Important number for me. I have 11k words done on the novel (OK to be fair – it’s probably approaching somewhere near twice that if you count the fragmented chapter pieces – and then there are all the research notes…) and I have about the same on the short story that has morphed into a novelette. Magic number… Anyway, I spend most my free times these days working on my writing in some form or another. I have two amazing writing groups I am a member of, one which I have been a part of for over a year now and the other that I actually lead (I know scary huh?) that came my way via the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (which BTW if you write or illustrate for kids – the use of...
I’m back! Well kind of…
Hi all – I have missed you! Been swamped and trying to adjust to my new schedule – seems weird to be working less hours but find myself with less time… So this will be a short post to hopefully be followed by a longer “catch-up” one. As you have probably noticed, I am in the process of changing the look of this portion of my site. It’s still messy and I’m sure I will be tearing pieces down and rebuilding for the next few weeks – I apologize for the mess (sweeps dust and debris off to the corner). I am going to try to get back to Twitter (which I really miss!) this week and set myself on a schedule to be able to catch up – so much great news I am missing out on ;( For you SCBWI people in Northern...
NaNoWriMo 2011 – Yay or Hell No?
It begins today, no not holiday shopping (though I have to say I found it humorous the kids trick-or-treating at the mall last night were doing so under the already hung Christmas decorations), I’m talking about National Novel Writing Month, fondly known as NaNoWriMo. For those for you living under a rock unaware that there is such thing as a National Novel Writing Month, I’ll catch you up to speed: You have 30 days, beginning today, November 1 and ending on November 30, to write a 50K word novel. Spelling, doesn’t count, nor does punctuation, nor does plot for that matter, it is simply getting words on paper. OK – you can;t just write the same word or same sentences over and over, that is reserved for bad behavior punishment in...
Act Your Age
First off – isn’t that picture just the cutest? Big thanks to Wade from Vagabound Journey Travel for usage of the image. Do stop by and visit his site to see more wonderful pictures taken during his travels and great tips for your own Vagabond Journey. … Matt and I were watching Jeopardy a few weeks ago and there was a category dealing with “New Music” that the contestants were avoiding like the plague. One of the questions was of the audio type – they payed a song by Muse and the contestants had to say who the band was. Of course the contestant who happened to be a Jr. High teacher buzzed in (I was expecting him to blaze through the category) and he proudly said “Who is U2?”. U2?!?!?!?! Whaaaa?...
Critical Hits
No, no – I’m not talking about gaming again! I’m talking about critics today, you know them; scaly, covered in warts, yellowish green color, bulging blood-shot eyes that live under bridges… Oh no, wait, those are TROLLS – I always get those and critics confused… **snicker** If you write, create art, have an opinion you state publicly or hell for that matter breathe, there is a good chance that you have or will run into a critic at some point in your life. Many of these are do-gooders, “Really? You’re going to wear that to the part this evening?”, who mean well and are simply trying to save us from ourselves (thank God someone is looking out for me!). These folks are harmless and mean well, they are...
SITE AWARDS
