A big thank you to those who put on the conference, those who donated their time and talent to helping us improve our craft, and to my fellow con attendees.
I enjoyed finally sharing my work with other people and receiving helpful critiques and supportive feedback. And that really is the most boring way to say that because to be perfectly honest, after reading some of the comments I literally went *SQUEE* and did victory laps around the house to the point where my kids were like... "Mom's finally lost it."
And getting to read other people's work was amazing. I was blown away by the talent. There were dozens of books that I just know will get published... and I can't wait because after reading some of those openers, I'm dying to know what happens next.
One of the things I realized was how badly I need to crawl out of this dark writing den and associate with other writers. So if I just added you to my near empty twitter and my rarely updated blog, that's why. ;)
My bookmarks (a ton, I know, but for me--the Computer Crasher--it's safer to store them here):
- How to Write a Killer First Sentence by Author Jodi Meadows
- Writing for Multiple Ages by Author Shelley Moore Thomas
- Live Chat on Platform by Literary Agent Sara Megibow
- Setting Yourself Up by Author Jessi Kirby
- Your Novel Isn't Ready for Submission Because... by Author Tom Leveen (I love this one. Especially the first three lines.)
- Don't Give Up by Author Beth Revis (Eeee!)
- The Debut Year by Author Lindsey Leavitt (I hope I get this far.)
- You're Already Invited: Connecting to the Lit Community Online by Author Saundra Mitchell
- I DON'T CARE THAT HE'S HOT: Building Believable Romance by Editor Martha Mihalick (Confirmation I'm actually doing something right in my book.)
- Novel Beginnings: How to Know Where to Start by Author Lisa Shroeder
- How to Write a Synopsis by Author Jodi Meadows
- On Compactness by Literary Agent Weronika Janczuk (Also her series from last year: Plot and Pacing)
- Character Development by Author Lauren Oliver
- Submission Basics by Literary Agent Ginger Clark
- How do I know that I really love it? by Literary Agent Sara Crowe
- Critique Groups: 101 with the YA Muses
- How/When I know a Manuscript is Right for Me by Editor Annette Pollert
- 10 Questions for Writers by Author Amy Fellner Dominy
- Moments that Matter by Author Matt Myklusch
- Writing a Great Query by Literary Agent Jim McCarthy
- R-E-S-P-E-C-T by Author Kiersten White
- Pacing by Author Tara Hudson
- Online Etiquette for Authors by Editor Liesa Abrams
- Writing Dialogue by Literary Agent Tina Wexler
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YES to the "screaming and running around the house" thing. I swear, people could say one little nice thing and I was positively jubilant.
ReplyDeleteWriteOnCon really showed me what sort of YA writers are out there right now. And, (not to sound morose or competitive or anything) what I'm up against. There are some really awesome writers and great ideas going around, and I can't wait to see them in print.
And actually, I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to blogstalk you now, too. :D
Yeah, I have to say I felt intimidated by the talent level. I have a LOT of work to do! Next year, I want to be a 5 pager. ;) And get Ninja-ed.
ReplyDeleteAnd yay! A blogstalker! :D