I am active member of an online middle grade writing critique group called the magnificent narwhals, which is one of over thirty groups under the middle grade hub (mghub) umbrella. I remember when the groups were formed--- probably about two years ago, maybe three. It was an exciting time to be placed into a group of serious writers. Since then, I've made lasting friends who have given me valuable feedback on my writing. I love looking at my group members' writing because they're so creative and talented! Periodically, the whole hub will come together (on zoom, of course since we're scattered across the globe!), usually for an author reading or agent Q and A. This spring, however, they did something a little new... There was a pitch event in May! Basically, we could submit our book pitches to private google form created by the hub. They then shared our pitches to participating agents who could then request more materials (eg. query, synopsis) from us. In preparation for the pitch, we had several workshops, which you can see outlined in the image above. Each was taught by members from the hub, most agented or with books coming out in the next year. After each workshop, we had the opportunity to sign up for swaps with members outside our regular mghub groups. So, for the first workshop, I got to swap pitches, for the second, synopses... etc. It's a week or so since the official pitch event, and I've received a few agent requests (eg. query, first five pages). I don't know what will become of these requests, but I'm so glad I participated, especially in the workshops and swaps because I feel that much more confident querying my project!
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There's a lot to learn when it comes craft: world building, setting, dialogue, word choice, etc. There's a lot to learn about the publishing industry, too. It's competitive, challenging, and loooong. My understanding of both craft and the publishing world (self-pub and trad) has been (and is!) a line upon line process. I've accessed tidbits in a variety of ways: writing courses, blogs, YouTube videos, author readings, etc. Today, however, I want to give a shout-out to one of my all-time favorite affordable online writing conferences that has helped me tap into writing life, craft, and the publishing industry: WriteOnCon! What is WriteOnCon? It's an online writing conference--- a three-day weekend event--- focused on kid-lit, open to the public. Traditionally published or agented authors (as well as agents and editors!) do workshops, panels, discussions, podcasts, and blogs on a variety of topics geared for those of us wanting to write for kids. And it's all online, so no need to get a hotel, fly or drive to a conference center. As much as I love in-person conferences, I feel like a lot of writing conferences are often far away from where I live. It's also a perk that you can wear your pajamas! How much does WriteOnCon cost? Like I said, it's extremely affordable, ranging from $10-$25, depending on the membership you want to purchase. Personally, I feel like you get a lot of content for your buck! This year, I purchased a full admission ($15) and I was able to access all the content. The only thing out of my reach was content from past years, but I've attended the last three or more, so I feel like it's okay that I don't have that access because I don't plan on diving into those older videos, blogs, and podcasts. I know I have more than enough to go through for the current conference. What can I expect at WriteOnCon? Like I said, there are a variety of blogs, podcasts, panels and such, some live-streaming, others pre-recorded. And, yes, if you have the full-admission ticket, you can view the live sessions after they've happened as well as live. The advantage of attending live is you can ask questions! I always get a little tickled when my question gets answered. I'm like... whoa... they're talking to me! It's fun! There's also feedback sessions you can participate in, as well as the critique boutique, which is where you can pay for a specific professional to look at your work. I find, however, that I get more than enough for money by simply exploring the various blogs and podcasts and such. There are a variety of topics each year. I'll list some of my favorites from this year so you can have a taste of what you might expect if you choose to attend WriteOnCon in the future:
Again, these topics and titles are about 5% of the conference... this year! There's so much more. You usually get a week or two, so even though I try to take "time off" for the first or second day of the conference I always need another week or so to go through the rest of the content. And, honestly, I don't always get through all of it, which (in my opinion) is fine because WriteOnCon can feel a bit like drinking from a firehose. You can take notes, skip content that doesn't apply to you, and rewatch your favorite stuff. There's more to learn
I wish I could tell you I know everything there is to know about writing and publishing, but I can't. The truth is, I'm still learning and navigating the world as I write, revise, query, and daydream about signing on with a literary agent and publishing house. But does WriteOnCon make me feel like I'm a little closer to my publishing dreams? Absolutely! At the very least, I feel like I belong in the "writing" and "publishing" club even though--- I haven't published, yet. Attending WriteOnCon--- at whatever degree I'm able--- shows myself that I'm serious about this career choice, that I am getting closer to my dreams of traditionally publishing. Receiving feedback on my writing from authors Amanda Hill Rawson and Karina Evans via WriteOnCon!7/18/2022 In a previous post, I introduced what WriteOnCon is and my (general) level of participation. If you don't know anything about WriteOnCon, check out their website or check out my post! WriteOnCon Feedback You can get feedback on your pitches, first-pages, and queries in a few different ways at WriteOnCon. There's the critique boutique (which is where you pay extra money for a specific professional to give you feedback) and there's the Peer Feedback Forums, which is where participants swap feedback with each other. You can also submit writing for a feedback session, which takes place live during the conference. There's no guarantee they'll get to your writing because they do "as many as they can get to" for the time they're allotted. (Note: You have to have full admission, the second payment tier, to access live events). I've watched people getting feedback from professionals at WriteOnCon as I've attended in the past, but I never felt "ready" or confident to submit any of my work... until this year!
I was nervous, though, to hear what she had to say about my writing because I watched her rip into (in a good way!) the picture book submissions (which I did not participate in) from the day before. Whenever I ask for feedback, I think there's always a part of me that hopes I won't need to make any changes, mostly because I tend to put a lot of my heart into anything I put on paper. But I never expect them to say it's "good to go"! There's always something to improve, right? Well, it happened. Amanda didn't have anything to critique. Okay, one tiny suggestion, and that was to hint at who the main character is in my first poem, but that's it! I nailed the poetry and conveyed the setting expertly. Yay!
I was floored when Karina got to my query and told me she wished she had something to suggest for improvement, but she couldn't find anything. I trust she would if she could because I heard her give important revision ideas to others who submitted. Floating on Cloud Nine
I recognize that I was able to get such encouraging praise for my writing because I've had beta readers and critique partners give ideas for improvement before submitting to the conference. Nevertheless, these feedback sessions have put me on cloud nine. I'm even more in love with my manuscript and that much more excited to finish another round of revisions and start querying because... I nailed it! I'm that much closer to publishing. Yay! This interview was originally published on August 30, 2021 on the WTMP website after a four month mentorship with Lori Keckler and Silver Milagro. Tell us a little about yourself. Who are you, what do you write, and what are you working on right now? I’m an ESL teacher, drummer, and writer, and I live in Arizona. I love Middle Grade---reading it and writing it. I mostly gravitate to fantasy, but I like contemporary, too. Right now, I’m playing around with poetry. I’ve published a couple poems in literary magazines, but I also write practice poetry on my website, and just for fun, my current baby-work-in-progress, which I have not finished or shared with my mentors, is an attempt at a book in verse. To learn more, check out my blog: https://kassielamro.weebly.com/ What kind of stories are you interested in exploring in your career as an author?
All of my projects, including the one I worked on with my mentors, explore family relationships, so I imagine my career will include stories that do more of that. I’m also interested in stories about belonging and walking that line between childhood and growing up. What's the best thing about you as an author? I am persistent. You have to be in this industry! I’m also inquisitive---about my characters, world(s), writing process, etc. I’m a discovery-writer, but open to plotting. I’m also open to critique from trusted mentors, critique partners, and beta readers. How have you developed as an author during this mentorship period? Is there anything that you didn't think before about the craft that you think now? It’s challenging to sum up 3-4 months of work in a few sentences, but, generally speaking, I’ve learned a lot about myself and my writing process. Lori and Silver asked good questions about my characters, their motivations, and my thought process behind each scene. They also introduced me to some helpful resources. For example, Story Genius by Lisa Cron had activities that challenged me to think about and identify my story’s “third-rail.” I don’t think I changed my ways of thinking about the craft so much as learned about my preferred styles communicating and receiving feedback from others. If every book is a book baby, then it takes a village to raise a book. Are there any people who stand out to you as people who helped you in your writing journey? I’d have to say my husband, for sure. I’m an extrovert, and writing (if you haven’t noticed) is an introvert activity. So after a long writing session, I often talked his ear off—but in doing that, I talked through plot points, character arcs, and impostor syndrome. I also talked with my good friend Kathy and my college friend Malina, who both brainstormed ideas and supported me in my very slow process. As far as revising and shaping the story, once I had a draft, I’d say my creative writing teacher Josh Rathkamp as well as all of my beta readers, especially a friend from high school, Christa, who amazingly agreed to read my work despite the fact that we hadn’t talked in a long time, made some really important contributions to my writing journey. It was also encouraging for Silver and Lori to pick my book for this mentorship and cheer me on as I continue this crazy journey towards publication. What do you think is the biggest necessity for a group of writing friends? (This answer can be anything from "trust and communication" to "a sweet slack server") A love of the craft, a love of the process, and a love of each other. Any parting words for young writers looking for guidance, or a community? Look, finding a community of writers isn’t that hard, especially today. When I was a kid, I had to beg my neighborhood friends to read my made-up stories under the shade of my parents’ tree, but today, finding a community of writers is literally at your fingertips. You could start by participating in NaNoWriMo, which happens every November, but there are other opportunities via social media and the Internet. Or, you could explore free writer workshops via your public library or local independent bookstores. For example, Bookman’s in Arizona, does a young writers competition every year. I would also encourage you to (when old enough) to take classes at your community college. In every experience, be open, flexible, and giving. Remember that the writing process is a series of trial and error, so don’t be afraid to take risks and be okay with making a few mistakes along the way. Finding your people and learning about the craft is great, but remember that the best way to get better is by reading (a lot!) and writing (a lot!)! What about your own craft, interests, and abilities drew you to your mentee and their work? We were attracted to Kassie Lamro’s novel Until Sundown primarily because of the subject matter—a child dealing with death and grief, a difficult subject that Lamro handled beautifully via a fantastical journey through the afterlife with the aid of zodiacs—a highly creative concept with a subject always needed in the MG space. The strong writing that accompanied the concept made it a solid choice for us. Do you have a message for anyone interested in your mentee's work? Our mentee’s work has a lot of heart and soul. Her MC’s definitions of grief and death are handled delicately and are at a level consistent with middle grade parameters. Her passion for her work radiates on every page. We are looking forward to seeing this story on the bookshelves! I've watched #PitMad come and go for at least three years now. It's a quarterly online competition where you tweet what your story is about and agents "like" or favorite your tweet if they want you to submit to them. Having revised, edited, and incorporated beta reader feedback to said completed draft, I knew this time around would be different! This time, I was eligible to participate. All you need is a completed, polished book draft--- but you need a completed, polished book draft. (It sounds easier than it actually is!) How it went As much as I was hoping something would come from my tweet, I knew that it was unlikely. Most people who participate don't get representation. It happens, sure! But there were over 200,000 tweets by noon. It would be impossible for agents to go through all the tweets! At the end of the day, a friend asked me how my first time was! "It was fun," I said. "It was a great way to dip my toes, so to speak, into the querying world." When he asked if I had any takers, I admitted that I got one "like," but it was from an agent that represents romance novels. ha ha! I I didn't write a romance novel, so I'm not sure why they would think I would be a good fit for them. "But you know what?" I said. "I connected with a lot of wonderful writers... At the very least, I just told the world I wrote a book!" "That's a great way to look at it!" he said. Unexpected support Even though I was optimistic about my experience and was glad I tried, it was still somewhat discouraging not to get something more. Then, the next day, I found this tweet!
But wait! That's not all. Diane Magras sent me a DM and told me not to give up on my book. She gave me names of agents that I should submit to and offered to look at my query. Jaw drop! I sent her my query and she gave me great advice for how to improve it. She wants my book in the world! It was awesome! The road to publication is still long, but at least there are moments of sunshine and support along the way.
I won a query critique from professional story editors Carly Howard and Jeni Chappelle, and this week, they aired their comments on their podcast! What is a query? A query, in case you're unfamiliar, is essentially a cover letter to your book manuscript. It's supposed to entice either a literary agent or editor enough to get them to request pages of your book and/or pick up your project for publication. In other words: a good query is essential for traditional publishing! What is Story Chat Radio? Story Chat Radio is a podcast that reviews story elements in popular movies from a story editor's perspective. (My favorite episodes so far are Princess Bride and Dark Crystal.) At the end of their movie discussion, they look at a winner's query letter and talk about whether it entices them (and why or why not). I was (ahem) such a winner. I may not have been a guest on the show in the traditional sense, but my story was! My query critique is at the end of their discussion of the movie, The Lovebirds. I, personally, have never seen that movie, but their discussion on Point of View is pretty awesome. If you want to jump to where they talk about my query letter, go to 35:28 or see the snippet of the transcript below. In case you're wondering, I shared my query draft of my Dragon book. I used the comp (comparison) titles Jim Hensen's Labyrinth and Dan Gemeinhart's The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise. My thoughts on the critique? This is a really positive critique! (Yay!) I had toggled back and forth between adding in the internal stakes or leaving them out. I'm glad they asked for it, so I now know that I should have put them in the query letter like I thought. I had been worried about my word count. I wasn't sure how much room I had exactly, especially adding in the brief bio and genre (etc), so it was great to hear that I have some wiggle room for more details about the story. I never thought about being specific about my "allies" in my query letter. I've always learned not to give too many character names or unnecessary details. Anyway, my main character meets up with her grandpa in the afterlife, who is a pretty important side-character to the book! I never thought about adding him into the query, but since they're asking, I'll slip him in there. Oh, yeah...
I forgot to mention how I won the critique. All I did was retweet something that said "follow and retweet to win." That's it! Nothing fancy. ha ha! So this was a cool experience! I've been followed Carly and Jeni on Twitter for a while now. I actually belong to Jeni's online writing community on Slack, so it was pretty cool to have them look at my writing. I was nervous, but I think I did okay. I'm really grateful for the help. I'm looking forward to their next episode! In November, I bought myself a $40 Editing 101 online writing workshop. I was given two hour-long videos about how to edit my work. The first hour was about developmental edits (character, setting, pacing, chapter lengths, etc), and the second was about line edits (syntax, grammar, etc). The videos, also, came with a workbook, filled with examples and additional resources. Then, there was a live Q&A (via google hangouts). A pretty sweet deal, I thought! But wait! For $5 more, Victoria Griffin, the professional and talented editor, would look at your first-five pages of your manuscript. I asked hubby what he thought, and he said, "go for it!" so I did. Granted, my draft is still unfinished, but, yeah, why not? (Spoiler: I'm glad I did it!)
I double-checked my schedule and triple-checked that I didn't overlap anything, and then dutifully logged in on time. I was, in fact, the first one to the Q&A!
Can I just say how surreal it was to see Victoria on my computer screen... live?! When she asked me how I was doing, it took me a second to realize that she was actually talking to me. She said we'd wait a few minutes for the others and then get started. But no one else came. Well, not for a while anyway. After about 5 minutes, she said it was okay to get started and hope others trickle in. I'd asked one of my jotted-down questions, got an answer and was trying to decide which one to ask next when someone else logged into the chat. She was about 15 minutes late, which is fine. Life happens, and we expected this. But I, nevertheless, panicked inside a little. Maybe I should have asked a different question, like something about my manuscript. Victoria had sent me her line edits a couple days before, and I'd skimmed through them. Did I have any questions about her comments? Probably! Why hadn't I prepared any questions about my manuscript? Why didn't I ask anything about my specific project when I had her alone?... I smiled and sweated as the new writer talked about herself, her job, and her genre (which she called "chick-lit"). A part of me feared that I'd lost my opportunity to ask any more questions. What if she hogged the rest of the time? What if more came in and they talked as much as her? Silly, I know. But I felt like I'd somehow blundered through those first 10 minutes. But then, unexpectedly, the other writer announced that she had to make a phone call for work. She was sorry, but she had to go. (What? She'd only popped in for 5 minutes!) The other writer left, and it was me and Victoria again. There was an awkward silence, but eventually, I smiled, relaxed, and asked another question. Slowly, but surely, I relaxed. My questions came out naturally, and I even felt comfortable enough to talk to her about my writer's journey. We talked about character development (how I throw my characters in a closet) about trial and error and about persistence. She gave me some great pointers, specific to my WIP, and told me that my main character was voicey! (Wow!) I'm really glad I had this opportunity to learn from a professional editor. I can't wait to see where my writing journey takes me. "Hi!" Mrs. Ellsworth says as I enter the room. "I told them that when you got here I'd have you introduce yourself and let them ask you a few questions." I smile and the room full of fourth and fifth graders stare at me, expectingly. "Well, I'm Kassie, and I'm a college student. I'm studying creative writing because I want to write books. I'm happy to answer your questions, but I was wondering what you like to read." All hands shoot up in the air.
"Umm... so many hands," I say. "Why don't you in the pink ask the first question. Or tell me what you like to read." The girl looks down at her shirt, smiles at the sight of pink and practically yells, "I like realistic fiction. You know, stories that are about kids like me." I smile and point to the boy next to her. "Batman, go." "I like historical fiction," he says. "Mixed with mystery." "Okay," I say and point to a student near the back. "You can questions, too, if you want," Mrs. Ellsworth reminds them. "How long did it take you to get here?" the boy asks me. "About 20 minutes. I'm next door neighbors with your teacher." The classroom erupts with No Way and Really? "How long have you known our teacher?" the next one asks me. I look to my friend to see if she remembers. "I like a lot of things," I answer. "Fantasy mixed with realistic fiction, for example. Yeah, I like it when genres are mixed. But mostly fiction."
"What are you writing right now?" "I'm writing a book with a dragon in it," I say with grin. "Do you guys like dragons?" "YEEEEEESSSSSS!!!!!!" they all scream, and one asks if I will make it a pop up book. After a while, the questions are cut, Mrs. Ellsworth moves on with her lesson, and I settle into observation mode. I'm not the best with observations, mostly because I'm never sure about what I'm looking for, but I note how squirmy and fidgeting they are, how they talk to each other, ("Did you read the book, my dude?") and how they always raise their hands when they want to say something. This last one tells me that my friend and neighbor is a miracle worker. These kids LOVE to talk! Anyway, she says I can come back, which I think I will, so there may be a part two to this blog. I'm hoping to interview a few of them, not only on what they like to read but also about their general interests. After all, the main character in my work in progress is their age. What better way to get ideas? It's been a while since I've been able to attend a writer's in residence workshop at the library. Last time I attended one was almost a year ago with Marylee MacDonald! I've been doing a lot of teaching and grading so I haven't been able to attend any. But last Saturday, I made it a priority to attend Sharon Skinner's workshop about Point of View (POV) and perspective.
Getting acquainted There were three of us attending the workshop (a fourth came in late). Maybe because it was a Saturday? Maybe because it was a two-hour workshop? I'm not sure. But it was nice and personal! Sharon asked me what "I write." Like I'm an author already. ha ha! I was flattered and told her that I'm currently working on a MG Fantasy book. (I suppose I could have been cheeky and said that I write lesson plans or I write blogs.) One of the other attendees was writing a YA Fantasy. I like it when a presenter takes the time to get to know us and what we're working on! Once we got acquainted, Sharon talked a bit about the writing process. She said that writing processes vary like shirts. They come in all sizes, colors and styles. You may find a shirt that you really love, but it doesn't fit (or work) later in life, so writing processes can even vary from project to project. She then told us that she was going to talk about her processes and things that she's learned. "If it fits, keep it. But it doesn't, put it back." I loved this analogy! Write from the heart She encouraged us to "Know your Why," referring to Simon Sinek's Ted Talk, "How great leaders inspire action." Why do you write?, she asked us. What's your motivation? She told us that she has a friend who doesn't write anything unless his agent tells him that it will sell. This ensures that he will be a success, he says. But Sharon Skinner says she writes what's in her heart. She writes because she has characters inside her that have stories they want to tell, and she wants them to be heard. When asked about exceptions to the rules, particularly in POV and perspectives, Sharon Skinner said, "Look. There's always room in the market for awesome!" As long as you do it well--- and with purpose--- the market will make room for it. Hook 'em and book 'em! As we dived into the topic of the workshop, Sharon told us that she's the kind of writer that wants to "hook 'em and book 'em!" A reader of hers told her that she read a chapter of her book before work. Before she knew it, she was sitting on the couch, still reading, and late for work. Parents blame her for their kids reading under the covers with a flashlight. (Wouldn't that be the dream?!) One of the best ways, Sharon Skinner says, to hook 'em and book 'em is by having a consistent and well written POV. We need to consider:
Point of View (POV) versus Perspective Sharon Skinner says these two terms are often interchanged or seen as the same thing, but she likes to define point of view as third person, second person, or first person, and perspective as the eyes we see the story. You could, for example, have third-person limited from different perspectives, even though they're the same POV. This was nothing, necessarily, new for me, but I liked how she shared real examples from a pile of books she brought with her. Then, she put us to work. The 'work' in workshop After going through the various types of POV and perspectives, looking at examples (some classics, some just off the shelf of the library), Sharon Skinner put us to work. She had us write a scene with conflict between two characters. We wrote it in first person from one of the characters. We wrote for five minutes. Then we wrote the same scene in first person from the other character. Great, I thought. That was really cool. That was good work. I learned some stuff about my two characters that I didn't know, just by being in their head for the same scene. We weren't done. Sharon Skinner had us write the same scene in the third-person omniscient and limited (for both characters), from the perspective of an onlooker (or someone outside the conflict) and in second-person (that was the weirdest!). We wrote that same scene over and over and over...
I defiantly got a good writer's workout! I can't wait for more writing workshops and learning from Sharon Skinner! |