I'll be in Victorian garb both days, but I can't speak for Linda Joy Singleton, Christina Mercer, Author, or Nancy Herman, Author! Guess you'll have to stop by and see whether they come in costume.
Showing posts with label nancy herman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nancy herman. Show all posts
How many Victorian/Olde Tyme Christmas Bazaars in California also
offer tours of a HAUNTED CASTLE? If shopping for handicrafts (and books
from four authors at my booth!), a parade, a gunslinger show, tours of
Preston Castle, and holiday lights after dark sound like your idea of
holiday cheer, then join me on December 12th and 13th for the Preston
Castle's Olde Tyme Country Christmas!
I'll be in Victorian garb both days, but I can't speak for Linda Joy Singleton, Christina Mercer, Author, or Nancy Herman, Author! Guess you'll have to stop by and see whether they come in costume.
I'll be in Victorian garb both days, but I can't speak for Linda Joy Singleton, Christina Mercer, Author, or Nancy Herman, Author! Guess you'll have to stop by and see whether they come in costume.
Whew, that was some Mystery Agent Contest yesterday! All my tweeting and sharing must have helped, because we had some new names in the entries.
Over on Operation Awesome today, I have a fabulous cover reveal with critique partner Nancy Herman! Hop on over and give her some cover love.
Over on Operation Awesome today, I have a fabulous cover reveal with critique partner Nancy Herman! Hop on over and give her some cover love.
After the SCBWI International Conference, I was planning on doing a two-part post with highlights from all the workshops I attended, but I've grown up to be a truly horrible note-taker. In fact, my notes from all the keynote speeches consist of doodles: rabbits, horses, dogs, and even a stray unicorn. Plus one of Arthur A. Levine at the podium.
You'll note that I said "doodle" above, and not "frameable work of art." And let this doodle also serve as exhibit A for why I don't often draw people.
By the fact that I didn't take notes, you might think I didn't get anything out of the keynotes, but you'd be wrong. All the speakers were funny, insightful, and inspirational. And Ruta Sepetys was devastatingly honest. Above all, what came through was their unique voices, and how that unique outlook brought them both roadblocks and successes.
And there were so many good workshops that it was difficult to choose which ones to attend. Nancy Ashcraft Herman, Laurie Dennison, and I took a divide-and-conquer approach, and each went to different workshops, comparing notes later. Except for Jay Asher's "No Bookmarks Allowed: How to Inject Suspense into Your Novel" because all three of us wanted to go to that one! And we left with some great tips on building and maintaining tension.
Some of those tips are going to require more thought on how to subtly incorporate them, but he mentioned that chapter titles are an easy way to foreshadow or plant a red herring. Alternatively, pacing can be manipulated by using dialogue or shorter sentences and paragraphs. Both of these techniques speed things up for the reader. And watch out for suspense killers like forced motivation!
The other workshop that really stood out for me was Sara Wilson Etienne's "Book Trailers: Storyboards, Scripts, Lookbooks, and Everything that Puts the Tease in Teaser". The room it was held in was a little difficult to find and I'm sure that had to do with the small audience. In fact, the group was so small that I wasn't able to yawn as stealthily as I like. If you read this, Sara, I was the one you caught yawning a few times--but it was no reflection on your talk! My medication just makes me sleepy in the afternoon.
But the small audience meant that we were treated to an intimate look into the creation of the fantastic trailer for her book, Harbinger:
Since I'm a photographer (and painted and sketched before I even picked up a still or video camera), I often visualize scenes of my story as if it was a film playing, as I'm drafting the book. So seeing parts of Harbinger come to life really got me excited about this other way to impact readers.
I was so inspired by her simple breakdown of what makes a memorable book trailer that I wrote the entire script for my own future book trailer. My WIP, Crow's Rest, is set in real-life Preston Castle, so I already have a wealth of photographs (and even some video) at my disposal for my trailer. And I have a song picked out, but will need to get permission from the songwriter to use it.
In some ways, it felt like getting way ahead of myself, considering the book isn't even finished. But it also helped cement all the parts of my story that make it unique and worth pursuing. I came away even more determined to finish this book within the next few months, so I can reward myself by getting to play with my book trailer!
If you'd like to see some of Sara's tips on making your own trailer, the good news is that her tips and links will soon be included in the SCBWI Publication Guide, so watch for it!
You'll note that I said "doodle" above, and not "frameable work of art." And let this doodle also serve as exhibit A for why I don't often draw people.
By the fact that I didn't take notes, you might think I didn't get anything out of the keynotes, but you'd be wrong. All the speakers were funny, insightful, and inspirational. And Ruta Sepetys was devastatingly honest. Above all, what came through was their unique voices, and how that unique outlook brought them both roadblocks and successes.
And there were so many good workshops that it was difficult to choose which ones to attend. Nancy Ashcraft Herman, Laurie Dennison, and I took a divide-and-conquer approach, and each went to different workshops, comparing notes later. Except for Jay Asher's "No Bookmarks Allowed: How to Inject Suspense into Your Novel" because all three of us wanted to go to that one! And we left with some great tips on building and maintaining tension.
Some of those tips are going to require more thought on how to subtly incorporate them, but he mentioned that chapter titles are an easy way to foreshadow or plant a red herring. Alternatively, pacing can be manipulated by using dialogue or shorter sentences and paragraphs. Both of these techniques speed things up for the reader. And watch out for suspense killers like forced motivation!
The other workshop that really stood out for me was Sara Wilson Etienne's "Book Trailers: Storyboards, Scripts, Lookbooks, and Everything that Puts the Tease in Teaser". The room it was held in was a little difficult to find and I'm sure that had to do with the small audience. In fact, the group was so small that I wasn't able to yawn as stealthily as I like. If you read this, Sara, I was the one you caught yawning a few times--but it was no reflection on your talk! My medication just makes me sleepy in the afternoon.
But the small audience meant that we were treated to an intimate look into the creation of the fantastic trailer for her book, Harbinger:
Since I'm a photographer (and painted and sketched before I even picked up a still or video camera), I often visualize scenes of my story as if it was a film playing, as I'm drafting the book. So seeing parts of Harbinger come to life really got me excited about this other way to impact readers.
I was so inspired by her simple breakdown of what makes a memorable book trailer that I wrote the entire script for my own future book trailer. My WIP, Crow's Rest, is set in real-life Preston Castle, so I already have a wealth of photographs (and even some video) at my disposal for my trailer. And I have a song picked out, but will need to get permission from the songwriter to use it.
In some ways, it felt like getting way ahead of myself, considering the book isn't even finished. But it also helped cement all the parts of my story that make it unique and worth pursuing. I came away even more determined to finish this book within the next few months, so I can reward myself by getting to play with my book trailer!
If you'd like to see some of Sara's tips on making your own trailer, the good news is that her tips and links will soon be included in the SCBWI Publication Guide, so watch for it!
Hopefully by the time this post goes up, I will be back home (I say hopefully because flight delays are being announced as I type) from the SCBWI LA conference. I will do a more in-depth post for next Monday, but for now some pictures of me and writer friends:
First is me and blogger-friend Laurie Dennison from Florida:
This was Laurie's first big conference too, and we reached out to each other in the weeks leading up to it, sharing the things we were nervous about and the things we were excited about. She stayed for the intensive, so hopefully she got some great work done today!
And next up is my critique partner Nancy Ashcraft Herman and our picture with Jay Asher:
and last but not least is a crappy video of the excellent flashmob:
I can say it's crappy because I filmed and edited this version! And Laurie and I also had a picture of us taken in our Hippie Hop getups, but it will have to wait until I get a copy from her phone.
Update: yay, here it is! I painted my arms and everything. Thanks, Laurie, for sharing the photo!
So check back over the next few Mondays and I'll have some serious (well, as serious as it's possible for me to get) takes on the workshops and speakers. Yay, I don't have to think up blog posts for a while!
First is me and blogger-friend Laurie Dennison from Florida:
This was Laurie's first big conference too, and we reached out to each other in the weeks leading up to it, sharing the things we were nervous about and the things we were excited about. She stayed for the intensive, so hopefully she got some great work done today!
And next up is my critique partner Nancy Ashcraft Herman and our picture with Jay Asher:
and last but not least is a crappy video of the excellent flashmob:
I can say it's crappy because I filmed and edited this version! And Laurie and I also had a picture of us taken in our Hippie Hop getups, but it will have to wait until I get a copy from her phone.
Update: yay, here it is! I painted my arms and everything. Thanks, Laurie, for sharing the photo!
So check back over the next few Mondays and I'll have some serious (well, as serious as it's possible for me to get) takes on the workshops and speakers. Yay, I don't have to think up blog posts for a while!
Just kidding! This was a completely alcohol-free event where we got together for headshots, and had a group portrait done with props from the Wacky Hat Bag. We are clockwise from left:
Nancy Ashcraft Herman (in the brown)
Rachel Allen Dillon (in the flower garland)
Thelma White (in the dark hat w/red flower)
Lori Mortensen (in the jester's cap)
Christina Mercer (in the boa)
Angelica R. Jackson (in the pirate hat)
And for the record, our mouths are open because we are saying, "Cannibalism!" An inside joke for our critique group (everybody in the photo but Lori). We meet at a local market cafe, and we've gotten some weird looks as people walk by and we're discussing such esoteric subjects as cannibalism, violence, and sex (in the context of our books).
For their "grand opening" in September, the blog Operation Awesome ran a one-sentence pitch contest judged by a mysterious agent. They naively said that the contest would end at 50 pitches or the end of September, whichever came first--they had their 50 entries in twelve hours!
I entered fairly early, and kept badgering my critique partners to do the same before all the slots were taken. The badgering paid off for one of those partners when she caught the eye of the agent, Mandy Hubbard. Nancy didn't even win the prize of a full read, just a mention that her pitch sounded intriguing; she still had to go through the query-full-phone call process. (Gaah--I couldn't sleep at all when Nancy told me she'd gotten an email asking a good time to call!)
Well, she ended up signing with Mandy Hubbard and got an agent out of the contest! Here is Nancy Herman's story. So now you know these contests work!
P.S. Operation Awesome has been dropping hints that they are about to run another contest, so be sure to check their site often!
I entered fairly early, and kept badgering my critique partners to do the same before all the slots were taken. The badgering paid off for one of those partners when she caught the eye of the agent, Mandy Hubbard. Nancy didn't even win the prize of a full read, just a mention that her pitch sounded intriguing; she still had to go through the query-full-phone call process. (Gaah--I couldn't sleep at all when Nancy told me she'd gotten an email asking a good time to call!)
Well, she ended up signing with Mandy Hubbard and got an agent out of the contest! Here is Nancy Herman's story. So now you know these contests work!
P.S. Operation Awesome has been dropping hints that they are about to run another contest, so be sure to check their site often!
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