Prepare to Pitch

I am preparing for this weekends Wild, Wild Midwest SCBWI Conference in Fort Wayne, Indiana. As I practice my pitch and pack my bags, I wonder if there is something I'm missing.

10 Things to Bring to a Writers' Conference

by Rachelle Gardner 

1. Concise and fascinating answers to questions like, “So, what do you write?” and “Tell me about yourself.”

2. Organized thoughts about the book(s) you’re pitching, so you can easily give a 1 or 2 minute pitch when asked.

3. One-sheets for each book you’re pitching—plenty of copies in case agents or editors want to keep them.

4. Business cards.

5. A printout of the first chapter of your novel (or a book proposal for non-fiction). You just need a few of copies since you will show them in meetings but probably won’t leave them with agents or editors.

6. A camera if that floats your boat.

7. A tote bag or brief case (not too big) to carry around your stuff, or simply a folder to hold your papers and keep you organized.

8. A professional-looking, business-casual wardrobe with comfortable shoes. A nicer outfit for the banquet Saturday night.

9. Personal goals for the conference… and an open mind so that you don’t miss opportunities and connections that come your way unexpectedly.

10. A big smile, since it’s the best way to forge connections with others and keep yourself relaxed.

For more Writers' Conference Tips:

Writers’ Conference Etiquette 
by Scott Hoffman

http://foliolit.com/resources/writers-conference-etiquette 

Get Thee to a Writers Conference
by James Scott Bell

http://stevelaube.com/get-thee-to-a-writers-conference

The Art of Editing

Fourteen Steps for Revising Poetry

By Allen Ginsberg

 

1. Conception
2. Composition
3. Review it through several people's eyes
4. Review it with eye to idiomatic speech
5. Review it with eye to the condensation of syntax (blue pencil and transpose)
6. Check out all articles and prepositions: are they necessary and functional?
7. Review it for abstraction and substitute particular facts for reference (for example: 'walking down the avenues' to 'walking down 2^nd Avenue')
8. Date the composition
9. Take a phrase from it and make up a title that's unique or curious or interesting sounding but realistic
10. Put quotations around speeches or referential slang "so to speak" phrases
11. Review it for weak spots you really don't like, but just left there for inertial reasons.
12. Check for active versus inactive verbs (for example: "after the subway ride" instead of "after we rode the subway")
13. Chop it up in lines according to breath phrasing / ideas or units of thought within one breath, if any
14. Retype

From Ginsberg's Deliberate Prose: Selected Essays 1952-1995.

Asked a Half-Blood for Help

Lessons in writing through reading fiction

I have completed writing, rewriting and editing my upper middle grade novel to the point it's worthy of a literary agent's consideration. While I wait, I'm plotting out book two. How does the writer make a series work for the reader?

Time to hit the books.

 

I decided to read a series my boys enjoyed, Percy Jackson and the Olympians. However my boys did not like Book 2 as much. I read Book 1 in a weekend, but Book 2 took me a bit longer.

For those who have not read Rick Riordan's Olympian series, here is a description of the first two books.

After getting expelled from yet another school for yet another clash with mythological monsters only he can see, twelve-year-old Percy Jackson is taken to Camp Half-Blood, where he finally learns the truth about his unique abilities: He is a demigod, half human, half immortal. Even more stunning: His father is the Greek god Poseidon, ruler of the sea, making Percy one of the most powerful demigods alive. There's little time to process this news. All too soon, a cryptic prophecy from the Oracle sends Percy on his first quest, a mission to the Underworld to prevent a war among the gods of Olympus.

In this second adventure, Percy is anticipating the end of seventh grade and a summer at Camp Half-Blood with kids who are the offspring of Greek gods and mortals. He dreams that his pal Grover, a satyr, is in danger. After monsters attack in his school gym class, Percy and Tyson, a homeless kid, are picked up by Annabeth, a half-blood friend, and rushed to the camp, which is under attack. The tree that guards the camp is dying, and Chiron, the activity director, has been dismissed. Another dream reveals that Grover, whose peril is increasing, is on the same island as the legendary Golden Fleece, which may be the cure for the troubled camp. Encouraged by Hermes, Percy and his pals set off to the Sea of Monsters, where they encounter legendary dangers.

Why wasn't Book 2 a favorite in our family? 
• Balance of likeable versus non-likeable characters
Chiron, a caring and intelligent leader, was replaced by a very unlikeable creature from the underworld. The replacement hated Percy and his friends. 
Percy's loving mom was sidelined as well. 

• Commit to go
Percy was unsure about going on the quest. Hermes the Messenger God had to encourage Percy and his friends to set sail. Thus my young readers were hesitant about going on the journey too.

• More telling, less showing
It's tricky to bring new readers into the series without boring ones who read Book one. Percy tells us who his fellow characters are, what happened before and acts as narrator in his present adventure. The reader is not drawn into the action.

 I look forward to learning more from reading the rest of Rick Riordan's Olympian series. 

What writing lessons have you learned through reading?

Plotting Characters

 

Thanks to http://exp.lore.com for sharing this informative post.