Writers' Conference and School Visits

Busy, busy. I just attended the Austin Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators' (SCBWI) annual conference this past weekend. It was great, as usual. Picked up all kinds of new writing tips from the experts. Austin had agents, editors, and illustrators at the conference to provide information and to inspire us in our writing or illustrating or both. What is great about attending these conferences is that you get to meet these editors, etc., face to face. They are very accessible and easy to talk to. Another great thing is that as an attendee, you can submit your work to one of them or all of them, if you wish. They provide the guidelines and you just follow them. How great is that?

 

This morning, I did another elementary school visit, this time here in San Antonio. I had two sessions, back to back. At the end of the reading/presentation/writing process/interactive writing session, the students asked questions of the author. Here are some of them: Where do you get your ideas for a book? How much money do you make? Have you ever met a famous author? How long does it take you to write a story? What inspires you? Which is your favorite book that you wrote? Do ideas sometimes come to you in dreams?

 

Aren’t these all fabulous questions? That’s what inspires me to write—the students who get enthused about reading and books.

 

You’ve got to take a peek at this site called WriteTight. It’s got oodles (is that a word?) of writing tips to tighten your manuscript from bad adverbs to good verbs and other neat stuff. Go for it!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!

“Rivers are roads which move and which carry us whither we desire to go.” – Pascal