Auburn Writers Conference - Whoop Whoop!

Wow, what a great conference - Such fabulous people and sessions. I learned so much in my workshops and was able to "pick" some amazing brains. :)

I'm definitely in for the next one - can't wait!


War Eagle!

Win a critique!

Enter the contest on Marcia's blog to win a critique. I would love to get some feedback on my new Middle grade WIP, so I'm in!

http://marciahoehne.blogspot.com/2010/08/august-critique-giveaway.html

Cool prizes AND you can help a family!

I just entered the drawing to help this family bring home their baby girl from China, and you can too!

Such cool prize packs, and the bonus prizes would be great, too. Would love, love love to get the DEMONGLASS ARC!

Here's the link to enter!

http://cjredwine.blogspot.com/2010/08/skip-starbucks-day_22.html

Another great contest for kid-lit writers!

Fellow Southern Breeze SCBWI member, Shelli is hosting a pitch contest with agent Mary Kole as the judge. (They are even taking select picture book entries!)

Below is the link to the contest. My entry is in, and my fingers are crossed!

As the Publisher's Clearinghouse people say, "You can't win if you don't enter." Right?

http://faeriality.blogspot.com/2010/08/mary-koles-agent-pitch-contest.html

Tiki Bar is Open!

This is a great little contest for writers. The prize? A critique. And Stephanie has given me some solid advice over on the blue boards in the past.

Hopefully, I'll be one of her winners! Be sure and follow her blog for upcoming events.

http://storiesreademwritem.blogspot.com/2010/08/tiki-bar-is-open.html?showComment=1281819705158#c3096055894605652501

For my Picture Book writing friends...

Be sure to check out this article that outs the top PB agents. I'm hoping to have something fab to submit one day, too. :)

Best of luck!


http://writingforchildren.suite101.com/article.cfm/top-20-picture-book-agents-in--publishers-marketplace

WriteOnCon Ruled!

Woohoo! What a fabulous online conference! Loved it, and I didn't even have to leave the comfort of my mondo-chair (where my booty-print is forever etched in fabric).

Tons of info, fab live vlogs and interviews - I think my writer brain matter just doubled in size!

Loved the picture and the insight from this post as I contemplate a little magic...

http://writeoncon.com/2010/08/creating-new-mythologies/

My new goal - Turn this silly little voice I've been hearing into a perfectly polished MG manuscript by next year's conference!

Getting things critiqued = Anxiety attack

I guess you know you're a newbie when you have an anxiety attack over posting your story in a critique forum.

I know critiques are good. I know critiques are helpful. But critiques are... scary!

I guess I just don't want to get laughed off the board. But hey, there's always the "Delete Post" button, right? And I am a cyber-stranger to these folks.

Here's to getting advice and gaining confidence. I sure hope that's what happens with it. :)

Alabama Writer's Conclave

Super excited to be attending the Alabama Writer's Conclave conference this Saturday! I'm looking forward to attending Jo Kittinger's Children's Writing workshops, and meeting some new friends. :)

Now if we can only get our internet back up and running. Hun's wireless card is terribly slow, and I have to fight him for it - ugh!

www.alabamawritersconclave.org

The Auburn Writers Conference - WooHoo!

After years (and years) of pharmacy school, I vowed to never take another class. Never.

What is that old saying about never saying never? :)

I've just confirmed my registration for the October Auburn Writers Conference, and I couldn't be more excited! The conference schedule looks fab, and I love that it is all about writing for children. I'm also thrilled with my workshop assignments (no more medicinal chemistry class for me, hee hee).

This time I can't wait to get my learn on!

Check it out and join me if you can:

www.auburnwritersconference.org

The Ups and Downs

My "hun" (aka husband) is concerned that my writing projects may be stressing me out a little too much. Just the other day he stated, "No hobby should be stressing you out like this."

Um, hello - do you know who you are talking to?

I get stressed out making a grocery list, for heaven's sake.

So yes, when I have submitted an article idea to an editor, and they want a full draft by such-and-such date, I'm going to panic a little bit. But it's a good panic. An excited panic. Mostly a panic over finding the time to get it done.

The ups and downs - they change daily. I'm up that my article proposal has been accepted. Down as I try to get it completed before the deadline. Up when it is accepted for publication (And it was! Hooray!). Then down again, because I need to find the time to get back to work on my middle-grade manuscript, even though there's laundry to do and I have doctors to see (that little thing called my "real job").

The up/down cycle never ends for me with my writing. That's probably why I like it so much. :)

Boys don't read? Banish the thought...

I've always heard that boys don't enjoy reading. And I never gave it much thought - until I had one. Now I'm determined to dispel the myth, and see that my little guy (let's call him Red Bull), enjoys reading just as much as his older sisters.

Now that he's 18 months old, we are reading picture books with Red Bull almost every day (when we can get him to slow down for more than 2 seconds, that is).

And I'm proud to report that he loves them even more than his sisters did. He visits our book basket on his own and scurries over with his choice in hand. Red Bull repeats words like ball and dog that he recognizes on the pages with a huge smile. An early success - woohoo!

Hopefully that will be one less thing to worry about. Now if we can just stop him from standing on the coffee table.