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“Writing Enchanting Prose” Workshop – Lessons Learned From David Farland
If you’ve never heard of fantasy author David Farland or taken one of his workshops, you may want to start Googling now. Or I’ll save you the trouble: visit My Story Doctor and sign up for one of his classes or workshops — particularly his “Writing Enchanting Prose” workshop, a 5-day intensive that he conducts live with a class of ~10 students. At the very least, sign up for his #WritingTips newsletter. It’s been 20 years since I last workshopped in a formal environment. While I loved earning my degree at UCSD’s literature and writing department and their courses were fantastic, Farland’s class was hands-down the best for practical application.…
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On LTUE — the SFF symposium, that is
I attended LTUE for the first time this year, and it was a blast! The science fiction and fantasy conference bills itself as a symposium “centered around writing, art, literature, film, gaming and other facets of speculative fiction”, and boy did it deliver. As with any conference that I attend, I preview the schedule ahead of time to see what sessions, panels, and activities I want to earmark and make sure I attend. For LTUE, I had a devil of a time planning because there were 9 session tracks, plus various small group activities like critiques and kaffeeklatches happening elsewhere. Multiple times, I found myself highlighting several sessions within the same…
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Superstars Writing Seminar 2017, and the power of Tribe
I just got back a few days ago from the Superstars Writing Seminar in Colorado Springs, and I am still. blown. away. It wasn’t that the conference had fabulous sessions on craft or the business of writing (it did). Or that it featured several A-list SFF authors, some of whom I grew up idolizing. (It also did. One author whose author mother’s vision of dragons basically defined my pre-teen years walked by not 2 feet from where I was sitting, and all I could do was stare like a fan girl, tongue-tied.) It’s that the people who attended — the people like me, who aspire, and the people who have…
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2016 U.S. Trade Publishing by the Numbers
Ever wonder what your prospects really look like if you’re an aspiring author? Wonder no more. The Data Guy presented a look at the 2016 U.S. Trade Publishing industry by the numbers at DBW 2017, and the data is glorious.
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NaNoWriMo 2016 — Complete!
November wouldn’t be NaNoWriMo without the manic, 3-day rush at the end. #winnerwinnerchickendinner (Although, in my minor defense, I fell pretty sick the week of Thanksgiving while traveling to my in-laws’, hence the lengthy and embarrassingly visible plateau.)
