New Year's Revisions Conference Day 1 Linkies

It's been a hell of a day. I'm happy. I got to read advice from an amazing assortment of publishing experts, and tweet all about it. 
And I got new shoes:

Aside from the fact that I got only a few hours of sleep last night (taking care of my 3-year-old with croup), I'm energized. I'm aaaaalmost ready to tackle revisions. 

But I can wait until tomorrow.



**All Times are listed as Central Time Zone**

January 3rd, 2013:

• 9:00 A.M.  Critique Partner Connection 

                        

January 4th, 2013:

• 9:00 A.M.  Natalie Lakosil: Taking The Time To Get It Right
• 10:00 A.M.  Amanda Bonilla: Revision Strategies
• 11:00 A.M.  Kate Hart: The Query Letter: Revising With Feedback
• 12:00 P.M.   Lisa Amowitz: Polishing The Beginning
• 1:00 P.M.   Bethany Wiggins: Creating Unique Characters
• 2:00 P.M.   Agent Q&A: Part I

Victoria Marini 

Kathleen Rushall

Natalie Lakosil 

Josh Getzler

Laura Bradford

Erin Harris

• 4:00 P.M.  Shelley Moore Thomas: Picture Book Revisions
• 5:00 P.M.  Jennifer Nielsen: The Magic In Middle Grade: Remembering Your Audience During Revisions
• 6:00 P.M.   Taylor Martindale: Owning the Process: Revising for or with an Agent
• 7:00 P.M.   NYRC Day 1 Wrap-Up

Tomorrow has its own slate of awesomeness:

January 5th, 2013:

• 9:00 A.M.   Christine Fonseca: Devil in the Details: Editing for Content
• 10:00 A.M.  Phoebe North: Goal, Motivation, And Conflict
• 11:00 A.M.  Cole Gibsen: Writing And Revising A Different Culture
• 12:00 P.M.   Elana Johnson: Character Consistency: How To Keep Your Characters True To Themselves
• 1:00 P.M.   Agent Q&A: Part II

Victoria Marini 

Kathleen Rushall

Natalie Lakosil 

Josh Getzler

Laura Bradford

Erin Harris

• 2:00 P.M.   Georgia McBride: Secondary Characters Who Sizzle
• 3:00 P.M.   E. J. Patten: Believable Monsters: Cthulhu Ate My Mother, Or the Rise and Fall of Human-Flavored Nougat.
• 4:00 P.M.   Erin Molta: Revisions From An Editor’s POV

Join us for the rest of the conference. Apparently there are prizes and things. *feigns shock but doesn't have to feign delight* Check it out in Kristal's great NYRC Day 1 Wrap-Up post. See you lovely people tomorrow. (I'm hopeful I may get some sleep tonight.)

2013 New Year’s Revisions Conference SCHEDULE

Straight from Operation Awesome today:

2013 New Year’s Revisions Conference SCHEDULE

January 3rd, 2013:

• 9:00 A.M.  Critique Partner Connection 

                        

January 4th, 2013:

• 9:00 A.M.  Natalie Lakosil: Taking The Time To Get It Right
• 10:00 A.M.  Amanda Bonilla: Revision Strategies
• 11:00 A.M.  Kate Hart: The Query Letter: Revising With Feedback
• 12:00 P.M.   Lisa Amowitz: Polishing The Beginning
• 1:00 P.M.   Bethany Wiggins: Creating Unique Characters
• 2:00 P.M.   Agent Q&A: Part I

Victoria Marini 

Kathleen Rushall

Natalie Lakosil 

Josh Getzler

Laura Bradford

Erin Harris

• 4:00 P.M.  Shelley Thomas Moore: Picture Book Revisions
• 5:00 P.M.  Jennifer Nielsen: The Magic In Middle Grade: Remembering Your Audience During Revisions
• 6:00 P.M.   Taylor Martindale: Revising For An Agent

January 5th, 2013:

• 9:00 A.M.   Christine Fonseca: Devil in the Details: Editing for Content
• 10:00 A.M.  Phoebe North: Goal, Motivation, And Conflict
• 11:00 A.M.  Cole Gibsen: Writing And Revising A Different Culture
• 12:00 P.M.   Elana Johnson: Character Consistency: How To Keep Your Characters True To Themselves
• 1:00 P.M.   Agent Q&A: Part II

Victoria Marini 

Kathleen Rushall

Natalie Lakosil 

Josh Getzler

Laura Bradford

Erin Harris

• 2:00 P.M.   Georgia McBride: Secondary Characters Who Sizzle
• 3:00 P.M.   E. J. Patten: Believable Monsters: Cthulhu Ate My Mother, Or the Rise and Fall of Human-Flavored Nougat.
• 4:00 P.M.   Erin Molta: Revisions From An Editor’s POV

January 6th, 2013:

• 9:00 A.M.  The Dreaded Editor Letter: Confessions From Entangled Publishing Authors Rachel Harris, Lisa Burnstein, Cindi Madsen, and Amy Spaulding
• 10:00 A.M.  Lauren Morill: Revising Your Teen Voice
• 1:00 P.M.  Agent Q&A: Part III

Victoria Marini 

Kathleen Rushall

Natalie Lakosil 

Josh Getzler

Laura Bradford

Erin Harris

• 2:00 P.M.  Genn Albin
• 4:00 P.M.   Anne Riley: Druid Magic and the Orb of No-Where, No-When
• 5:00 P.M.   Grand Finale Giveaway:

PRIZES:

A preorder of Phoebe North's STARGLASS

A copy of ELLIOT AND THE GOBLIN WAR by Jennifer Nielsen

A copy of MEANT TO BE by Lauren Morrill

An ebook of E.J. Patten's THE HUNTER CHRONICLES: RETURN TO EXILE

A Kindle e-copy of LACRIMOSA by Christine Fonseca

An e-copy of SUPER SWEET SIXTEENTH CENTURY by Rachel Harris

An e-copy of PRETTY AMY by Lisa Burstein

An e-copy of ALL THE BROKEN PIECES by Cindi Madsen

An e-copy KATANA by Cole Gibsen

SHAEDES OF GRAY by Amanda Bonilla (ebook or paperback)

An ebook preorder of CAUGHT IN AMBER by Cathy Pegau

A copy of RENEGADE by J.A. Souders 

Pre- Writers Conference Giveaway: NYRC 2013

Cross-posted to Operation Awesome:

Woot! I love it when Operation Awesome is operation: AWESOME!

It's time to spread the word about our upcoming online writers conference, and what better way than with an awesome online giveaway!

Enter using the rafflecopter form below.

New Year's Revisions Conference 2013

January 4, 5, and 6 

Totally free, totally online. 

You wrote the crap out of that book in November. Or maybe you've been working on yours even longer. The time has come... revision time. Pay the piper, meet the reaper -- all those lovely euphemisms for the real work of writing: revising. You do not have to do it alone. We have gathered a group of fabulous book lovers: the ones who write the books, the ones who represent the authors, and the ones who edit the books. They all want you to succeed in making your book as shiny as it can possibly be before you query/publish.

That's the focus of NYRC 2013.

If you love books, want to write, or have written a book, this conference will have plenty for you to love in the way of professional publishing advice, and yes, more giveaways. There will also be a critique partner matching service for those looking for a second pair of eyes for their work.

We'll be live-tweeting the events @OpAwesome6 and using the #NYRC hash tag. Hope you'll join us!

To recap:

• Professional publishing advice from our panel of experts
• Guest posts by literary agents, editors, and published authors - all with an eye toward helping you through the revision process
• Book giveaways - *happy sigh* mmm, books.
• Critique partner matching service (January 3, the day before the conference officially begins)

Giving away today via rafflecopter (giveaway runs from Dec. 21-24):
SHADOWS OF THE HIDDEN by Anne Riley (e-copy)
DEADWOOD by Kell Andrews (signed ARC)
AMAROK by Angela Townsend (e-copy)
A LITTLE BIT WICKED by Robyn DeHart  (e-copy)
GABRIEL STONE AND THE DIVINITY OF VALTA by Shannon Duffy (e-copy)
SHIMMER OF ANGELS by Lisa Basso (e-copy)

$10 amazon.com gift card

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Chain: The Gift of Writing Advice

Source

Cole's question - Christmas is a time of gift giving. If you could gift aspiring authors with one piece of advice, what would it be?

When I was a baby writer, just starting out in this very complex industry, I was on the receiving end of a lot of very good advice. My critique group started Operation Awesome as a way to pay it forward, and we've been passing along good advice and writing insights there for the past two years. 

Coming up in January is our very first free, online writing conference, inspired by the awesome ladies of WriteOnCon and the need for a solution to the NaNoWriMo hangover. It's called:

New Year's Revisions Conference: January 4-6, 2013

NYRC is going to have a LOT of free advice for aspiring and experienced writers alike. We'll have Q&A's with literary agents and guest posts by editors, authors, and agents. There will be giveaways and critique partner matching. It's our way of using the connections and knowledge we've been blessed with as Operation Awesome and Mystery Agent administrators to help other writers sharing our journey. 

As you can see, I'm very excited about it! And I hope to see you there, blog buddies. 

But to answer Cole's question, here's the best writing advice I can think about in this moment. It isn't new, and it isn't profound. It's just the best thing I've ever remembered about being a writer. 

Writers write. 

Perseverance is the only thing all writers have in common. If you're querying, write. If you're releasing a book, write. If you're lost for ideas, write. If you're overflowing with ideas and can't focus on just one, write. The only thing you can control in this industry is you. I'm not published yet, but I will be. And while I wait for somebody else to recognize my unique brilliance, the one thing I have complete control over is how seldom or how often I do what I do. How often do you write?

I'm writing every day right now and loving it. I don't always feel like I 'have time' to write. That's why this piece of advice is the most important one to me. It reminds me that my dreams and aspirations are just puffy clouds in the sky unless I do something about them. 

WRITERS WRITE.

And when that's fulfilled, writers revise! See you in January at NYRC!

Also check out Christine Fonseca's blog for her answer. And tomorrow, Lisa Amowitz will answer this week's question.

A Return to Bookishness

Source

All it takes for me to fall into my favorite pastimes of reading and writing is one good book. And by 'good,' I mean emotional, romantic, universal, painful, cathartic. Just one good book, and I'm hooked until the next major life event unhooks me. :)

Granted, with three kids five and under now, I have less time to write and indulge in reading. But time can be managed. And I'm learning to do that out of necessity.

So right now, my bookish to-do list:

• Co-writing a YA time travel thriller with my baby sister
• Revising an MG and YA project of my own, intermittently
• Reading the Lux series by Jennifer L. Armentrout
• Getting ready email-wise for the New Year's Revisions Conference we're putting on at Operation Awesome. Totally free, totally online writer's conference for your NaNoWriMo hangover. Hope to see you there!
• Unpack some of the book boxes from the move because I've got some serious reviewing to catch up on. 
• Start critiquing again. I so miss this. It's a duty, yes, but it's also a privilege. And I've missed doing it.

Squee! I get so excited when the future holds fabulous stories.

What's on your bookish to-do list?

Vote for Literacy (and a Grant for NaNoWriMo)

Vote for the Office of Letters & Light to keep NaNoWriMo and the Young Writer's Program going: 

http://projectforawesome.com/the-office-of-letters-and-light/-the-office-of-letters-and-light

Even if you don't do NaNoWriMo, you can appreciate the Office of Letters & Light and their efforts to promote literacy everywhere. 

If you're like me, you don't always have the cash to donate to these awesome causes. 

Your vote for this video will put the Office of Letters & Light in the running for the Project for Awesome 2012 grant. 

So here's that link again. Promote literacy! :)


http://projectforawesome.com/the-office-of-letters-and-light/-the-office-of-letters-and-light

Thanks!

Co-Writing a Novel: Challenges and Benefits

If you write MG (middle grade) or YA (young adult) and attended WriteOnCon, you've likely heard of LiLa.

Lisa and Laura Roecker are sisters and co-authors of The Liar Society...

On Goodreads

...and The Lies That Bind...

On Goodreads

Awesome, right? Sisters who write, writing together. 

Well, I happen to have a sister who writes. We often talk about writing, and reading, and stereotypes vs. reality, and good vs. evil, and symbolism in literature and film.... We have great conversations. 

Recently, we decided to start a little co-venture of our own. 

The conversation went something like this:

Me: We should write a book together. I know of these two sisters who wrote a book together and it's been very successful. 

Her: That could be fun. What would it be about?

Me: *laughs* I don't know. I had a weird idea a while back based on a dream I had. [describes dream in all its weird glory]

Her: That could work, but we should change this part so it makes more sense and is easier to write.

Me: *blank stare* That's genius. How come I never thought of that before?

This led to an intense telephone brainstorm that lasted an hour or two. A few days later, we did it again. My phone battery died, so we caught up online to chat, sharing research links like crazy. 

I realized... this is the easiest time I've ever had researching a novel, outlining a story concept, and fleshing out characters. Best of all, I was having a BLAST! 

She wrote the first scene from her character's POV. I wrote a horrible first draft from my character's POV. And we're revising back and forth to make sure our characters sound consistent. The two divergent voices don't matter so much since we're writing from different characters' points of view. 

We're only at the beginning of this adventure, but already the story has taken on dimensions I wouldn't have thought of on my own. And it's fun! It's so, so fun. 

Challenges:

• Consistency in voice for shared characters
• Shared vision of setting and sequence of events
• Communication

Benefits:

• Unparalleled brainstorms
• Out-of-your-box experiments
• Sister bonding (or whatever bonding if you choose to write with a buddy) 

Would you ever co-write?