50th Post!

Congratulations to Rock, Paper, Write! Today is the 50^th post.

In order to organize the past fifty musings about writing, I’ve outlined the posts by category. If you missed something, or want a refresher, simply scroll through the archives.

Posts about the craft of writing:

-write                                       June 2011

-journals                                Sept. 2011

-voice                                      November 2011

-plot                                         November 2011

-rule of 3                                Dec. 2011

-characters                           May 2012

-NYC                                       June 2012

Publishing 101

-rejection                              May 2011

-agents                                   June 2011

-social networking            October 2011

-query (3 blogs)                 October 2011

-genre                                     November 2011

-kid-lit                                    Dec. 2011

-illustration                         Jan. 2012

-conference time               March 2012

-titles                                       April 2012

-dark YA                                April 2012

-work a workshop              June 2012

Organization              

-road trips                             June 28, 2012

-filing                                      August 2011

-space                                      Sept. 2011

General/ideas

-imagination                         July 2011

-remembering                      Sept. 2011

-word of the year                Jan. 2012

-empowerment                    Feb. 2012

-Harry Potter                        Feb. 2012

Quotes:

July 2011

Sept. 2011

Oct. 2011

Dec. 2011

Feb. 2012

April 2012

May 2012

Interviews:

Lindsay Eland                    July 2011

Todd Tuell                           August 2011

Interview                             November 2011

Kid review                           Jan. 2012

Karen Windness                Jan. 2012

Denise Vega                        March 2012

Maddie O’Malley               May 2012

About books and reading:

-dystopian                           June 2011

-read write                           August 2011

-favorite book                    Dec. 2011

-best sellers                         March 2012

-thrillers                               May 2012

Work a Workshop

At this point in my career, I’ve attended a number of different conferences. I’ve been asked to speak at a few and teach at others. However, I like to attend as a student, the best.

Conferences are a great forum to generate ideas, discover new trends, meet other writers, and most importantly, learn something new. Here’s a quick to-do list if you’re attending a summer workshop.

• Carry extra pens (even if you use a computer or pad to take notes)
• Bring a water bottle
• Wear a jacket (AC can be brutal)
• Ask questions
• Dress comfortably and yet professionally
• Meet people and swap emails
• Jot notes, lots!
• Don’t pitch to an agent or editor unless you’ve signed up for a pitch session
• Take a break and walk outside
• Don’t assume you’ll get ‘work’ done
• Prepare to be stimulated, recharged, and fully exhausted
• Declare yourself a writer!