Friday, August 19, 2011

Reflections



I'm reflecting on three incredible days I spent at WriteOnCon without leaving my home office. I can't say enough about the people who organize this free online conference or about the scores of editors, agents and authors who volunteer to share their tips, encouragement and critiques.



The photo of reflection I took this week while walking along a flat and freshly wet section of beach. The sand looked like it was enamel and it reflected the sky. Otherworldly.



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Here are some random tidbits I was wowed with at WriteOnCon.


Are you having trouble coming up with a title? Editor Martha Mihalick says she looks for ideas in Shakespeare, the Bible and poetry. How cool is that tip? *runs to bookshelf*


Author Lisa Schroeder says you need to have a good reason for whatever beginning you chose for your novel. It should be a moment of significance, and you need to ask yourself why you chose that particular moment.


Agent Joanna Volpe really put the heart into what makes middle grade novels special.


Brilliant is a word that often seems to attach itself to author Sarah Rees Brennan. And it's easy to see why if you follow her livejournal blog or read her books. Her hilarious personality comes through in a chat that also delivers plenty of tips. I will never forget the mind puppets.


Picture book authors Tiffany Strelitz Haber and Corey Rosen Schwartz went many extra miles to give personalized rewrites of stanzas to the people who left examples on their post. It was amazing to see what they can do with rhyme, meter and content

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I was pretty much wowed by all the panel chats and agent critiques. You can go through the August archives to find everything, but the easiest way for you to cherrypick what to read is to go to the Full Schedule and link from there. The calls for questions or submissions for critiques are obviously closed now that the event is over, but the posts and transcripts of live events can be accessed any time. Do yourself a favor, for both pleasure and personal growth, read. That's another beauty about this conference--it's there whenever you can spare a moment.


17 comments:

storyqueen said...

My brain is on exploding overload! There were so many amazing moments during WOC when I just had to pause and go, WOW!

I can't believe the level of give-backery.

So, even though no SCBWI, I did get a conference in this summer. Ha!

Shelley

Yat-Yee said...

Thanks for your thoughts on Write On Con. I love the idea and applaud the people who organize it. For some reason, must be my state of mind, when I read about it, I just felt overwhelmed. I am glad to be able to access it at my leisure. And maybe I'll be in a better state next time to actually attend it live.

Jan Morrison said...

sounds like a place I'd like to go to...and happy to know I can when I'm ready. That's essential these days.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Shelley: I know! It was astounding what was going on and I definitely feel like I got 'conferenced.' ;)

Yat-Yee: It can feel overwhelming with so much happening and the fast pace of some of the chats and crits, but you can sneak in quietly and soak up most of it. Enjoy.

Jan: Yes, that's part of its beauty--fitting into your schedule.

Jemi Fraser said...

It was INCREDIBLE!!! Those folks are truly amazing :)

Wen Baragrey said...

It really was great! Even when you think you've already read and learned all you can from the internet, there are new things to learn from WOC. It surprised me how much new info I came away with.

They're such an impressive group, organizing all that. It must be horrendously hard work, and it's so worth it to all of us!

Wen Baragrey said...

And I forgot to say, the photo is gorgeous! I love it when the sea turns the sand to glass that way.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Jemi: I know! I wish I'd 'bumped into' you there. ;)

Wen: I had some real ah-ha moments, too. So much to absorb. Truly awesome.
Thanks and you're right, the sand is like glass when it's like that.

Writer Pat Newcombe said...

Sounds like you had a great time!

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

Hi, Pat, it was a fantastic time.

Paul Greci said...

I've been browsing the archives!!

Talli Roland said...

Sounds like you had a fabulous time! Love that photo, by the way.

Liza said...

Love the picture and thank you for the tips. I'm going to go back and catch up on WriteOn...

Christina Lee said...

AHHH so.much.amazing!!!

Sarah Laurence said...

Thanks for the recap and links. Sounds like great advice. As a Shakespeare fan, I like the idea of his words as titles, but the problem is that so does everyone else. This was a challenge for me, writing a novel with a Shakespeare theme. My favorite book titles come from the book itself and are unique.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

PaulG: Cool! I hope you find some treasures.

Talli: Thank you!

Christina: Was it not? *contented sigh*

Sarah: Ooo, that's interesting. I'd never tried to use those sources before but sounds like many do.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

oopsie! Liza: I don't know how I missed you, but thank for that!