What an exciting day this is for the writers of Paper and Parchment. We have so much to celebrate. At the top of our list today is our love for you, our faithful readers. We salute you and celebrate your support. Thanks for hanging out with us and responding to our ramblings. Whether you have visited our blog once or 100 times, we thank you and we invite you to stick around for more.
And the winner is (drumroll please)…Melanie J. of the Write Stuff blog. Congratulations to Melanie. Do the happy dance, Melanie, a Barnes and Noble gift card is headed your way. At precisely 12:01 this morning Melanie was selected out of 19 entrants (one of the 20 comments was our own) and notified by email. Thanks to all who participated. Though we can only give away one gift card, we think you are all winners.
Please come back tomorrow for my regular post which will be a follow up on the t-shirt blog from last week. If you didn’t read it, there’s still time. It’s called Stand Up For Kids. Feel free to scroll down and take a peek. I would love your response to a couple of important questions. Tell all your friends.
Linda Garner
Showing posts with label BYU Writers Conference. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BYU Writers Conference. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
The Exciting Adventures of WIFYR or Writers, Editors, Agents and Armpit Butter
Where do I start about last weeks adventures?
Last week was the BYU WIFYR and it was amazing!!!! I meet a bunch of wonderful new friends, scared off a couple of published authors (never hug someone when they aren’t expecting it…but it does make for a fun story), and I decided this is what I really want to do.
Monday through Friday, my critiquing buds and I headed to BYU early each morning (after a delightful breakfast of Mcy-D’s). From 8:30 until 12:30, we sat in separate groups learning from the best authors around.
I got to work with Janette Rallison, author of My Fair Godmother, Just One Wish, and many others (my daughter is in the middle of Just One Wish and has informed me how wickedly awesome it is…every morning, noon, and night. Yes, my friends, it is that good). She is so funny (Both Janette and my daughter). =)
We had a great group of gals (I mean… we were chic lit. Not many guys wanted to venture into our class room, especially since we were laughing so dang hard every ten minutes). They (our group) were a hoot. And the talent in that class was incredible! It was an honor to read their work and have them critique mine. I’m sure one day I will see them published and be able to say, “Yes, I was in a five-day critique group with so and so. We are like this.” * fingers crossed* And they will say, “I don’t think we are as good of friends as you think we are.” (Erin, that one’s for you!) Ah, good times, good times.
From 1:30 – 2 we got to mingle with any agent, editor, or author that was scheduled for the mingle sessions.
Then came the break-out classes ranging from plotting to finding time to write. I learned something from each class I attended. I loved the class taught by Louise Plummer about anxiety. Because…well… I have it. I learned a lot in that class. Oh and that fantastic class by Sharlee Glenn about being a writer anyway. Loved it!
I think the best part about the conference is that people enjoyed what I had written. Plus, I accomplished the goals I made for myself a year ago. Whoo hoo!
Was the traveling, money, and lack of sleep worth it all? All I can say is, if you haven't had a chance to come to this conference, start saving your pennies. It is well worth it!
Last week was the BYU WIFYR and it was amazing!!!! I meet a bunch of wonderful new friends, scared off a couple of published authors (never hug someone when they aren’t expecting it…but it does make for a fun story), and I decided this is what I really want to do.
Monday through Friday, my critiquing buds and I headed to BYU early each morning (after a delightful breakfast of Mcy-D’s). From 8:30 until 12:30, we sat in separate groups learning from the best authors around.
I got to work with Janette Rallison, author of My Fair Godmother, Just One Wish, and many others (my daughter is in the middle of Just One Wish and has informed me how wickedly awesome it is…every morning, noon, and night. Yes, my friends, it is that good). She is so funny (Both Janette and my daughter). =)
We had a great group of gals (I mean… we were chic lit. Not many guys wanted to venture into our class room, especially since we were laughing so dang hard every ten minutes). They (our group) were a hoot. And the talent in that class was incredible! It was an honor to read their work and have them critique mine. I’m sure one day I will see them published and be able to say, “Yes, I was in a five-day critique group with so and so. We are like this.” * fingers crossed* And they will say, “I don’t think we are as good of friends as you think we are.” (Erin, that one’s for you!) Ah, good times, good times.
From 1:30 – 2 we got to mingle with any agent, editor, or author that was scheduled for the mingle sessions.
Then came the break-out classes ranging from plotting to finding time to write. I learned something from each class I attended. I loved the class taught by Louise Plummer about anxiety. Because…well… I have it. I learned a lot in that class. Oh and that fantastic class by Sharlee Glenn about being a writer anyway. Loved it!
I think the best part about the conference is that people enjoyed what I had written. Plus, I accomplished the goals I made for myself a year ago. Whoo hoo!
Was the traveling, money, and lack of sleep worth it all? All I can say is, if you haven't had a chance to come to this conference, start saving your pennies. It is well worth it!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
I Had a Dandi Time
It was a Dandi Conference!
I spent last week at BYU Writers Conference and had a dandi time. It was a dandi time because my teacher was Dandi Mackall, an amazing author who has published over 400 books. I have forgotten the exact count but I think it is around 470. Eighteen of those books were published last year.
It was an incredible opportunity to spend a week with Dandi. She was warm and witty and delightful. What a treat it was to sit around the table with her and sample her ideas and her wisdom. I brought home new friends and a new bag of tricks. I don’t suppose Dandi will remember me, but I will never forget her. I will remember many things about her, but I will especially remember her as a woman of substance.
Here are a few things that I learned from the conference.
1. Know your character. Use this exercise: ___________ is the kind of person who_______________________.
2. Get inside the character’s head. This is our biggest advantage over TV or movies. We get to be inside the character’s head. Make the most of it.
3. Give your character a problem, then make it bigger. Don’t let the solution come too easily. A classic story pattern is to have the problem grow in 3 stages.
4. The climax is the low point.
5. Make sure your character gets to solve his/her own problem. Don't let anyone else do it.
The hands on part of the workshop was eye popping, though it was humbling to hear about the flaws in my own carefully crafted work. Getting past that is important, if you want a great finished product. It’s easy to get discouraged when you find out that your work isn’t as good as you thought it was, but it’s better to be pick up your pencil and try again. It’s actually empowering to know what isn’t working and to have an idea about how to fix it.
I want to say thanks to the awesome writers in my picture book class. They have great ideas and skills and their feedback is so helpful. Writers are a great slice of the human pie. They are creative and caring and they understand synergy. I appreciate the chance to learn from them.
And to Dandi I say: You are incredible. Thank you for sharing a piece of yourself with me. I hope we meet again.
Linda Garner
I spent last week at BYU Writers Conference and had a dandi time. It was a dandi time because my teacher was Dandi Mackall, an amazing author who has published over 400 books. I have forgotten the exact count but I think it is around 470. Eighteen of those books were published last year.
It was an incredible opportunity to spend a week with Dandi. She was warm and witty and delightful. What a treat it was to sit around the table with her and sample her ideas and her wisdom. I brought home new friends and a new bag of tricks. I don’t suppose Dandi will remember me, but I will never forget her. I will remember many things about her, but I will especially remember her as a woman of substance.
Here are a few things that I learned from the conference.
1. Know your character. Use this exercise: ___________ is the kind of person who_______________________.
2. Get inside the character’s head. This is our biggest advantage over TV or movies. We get to be inside the character’s head. Make the most of it.
3. Give your character a problem, then make it bigger. Don’t let the solution come too easily. A classic story pattern is to have the problem grow in 3 stages.
4. The climax is the low point.
5. Make sure your character gets to solve his/her own problem. Don't let anyone else do it.
The hands on part of the workshop was eye popping, though it was humbling to hear about the flaws in my own carefully crafted work. Getting past that is important, if you want a great finished product. It’s easy to get discouraged when you find out that your work isn’t as good as you thought it was, but it’s better to be pick up your pencil and try again. It’s actually empowering to know what isn’t working and to have an idea about how to fix it.
I want to say thanks to the awesome writers in my picture book class. They have great ideas and skills and their feedback is so helpful. Writers are a great slice of the human pie. They are creative and caring and they understand synergy. I appreciate the chance to learn from them.
And to Dandi I say: You are incredible. Thank you for sharing a piece of yourself with me. I hope we meet again.
Linda Garner
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)