Posts Tagged ‘ La Jolla Writers Conference ’

What Agents Want, a conversation with Kevan Lyon

Many writers have heard the advice that going to a writers conference is how you meet agents, and it’s true. With literary agent, Kevan Lyon, I had more than just the opportunity to network, I got to engage in a lively discussion in a room full of unpublished writers. So, what do agents want? “Remember [ READ MORE ]

Why Bad Things Happen To Good Book Ideas, a workshop with Dale Fetherling

Dale is an author, editor, teacher, and a great workshop facilitator. This workshop focused on the art of crafting a winning nonfiction book proposal. He began with two tough questions for anyone with a book idea: Is the idea viable? Are you the person to write it? These are the questions on a publisher’s mind [ READ MORE ]

Whispering To Kids, Deborah Halverson shares her secrets

Mother of triplets, former kids books editor, and award-winning author Deborah Halverson knows how to write for kids. She kicks off her workshop with a very important and unique fact about kid lit: you are writing for two audiences. You knew that, right? You’ve got to entertain the kids and the adults who are reading [ READ MORE ]

There Is No Magical Formula, one-muse gal, Eileen Goudge

Another New York Times bestselling author, Eileen Goudge, delivered a keynote at the conference, and since I was enjoying a meal, I didn’t take a lot of notes. But I did find her story engaging and her words wise. She speaks of writing like someone who truly lives a writer’s life. Here are a few [ READ MORE ]

How To Write Dialogue, the wisdom of Mike Sirota

I always attend the La Jolla Writers Conference with my dad, and he encouraged me sit in on Mike Sirota‘s dialogue-writing workshop for good reason. Sirota offers a wealth of information on the subject. Here are the highlights: Read Writing Dialogue, by Tom Chiarella. Dialogue is one of the places where you lose the reader. [ READ MORE ]

Convincing Characters, the mind of Verna Dreisbach

If you are accepted by Dreisbach Literary Management, her website reads, it is because Verna has faith in your abilities as a writer and feels a connection with your goals and aspirations. And that was exactly the sense I got from listening to Verna speak about character development–that she is the sort of literary agent [ READ MORE ]

Three-thousand Words a Day, the amazing Jane Green

I enjoyed Jane Green‘s keynote address so much, that I bee-lined to her workshop on emotional honesty in writing. What really impressed me? Well, I’m a sucker for a charmer, and this bestselling queen of chick lit is that. But she also knocked my socks off when somebody asked about her daily writing goals. This [ READ MORE ]

Don’t Be A Wuss, Mark Clements pushes comfort zones

Anybody who’s read his fiction knows that Mark Clements is no wuss, but he thinks most amateur writers are at risk of wussiness, especially when they write about sex and violence. “Amateur writers usually stop short. We almost never go too far. Raise your expectations. Your brain is lazy.” He speaks of finding maximum impact [ READ MORE ]

Color-coded notecards, organizational fetishes with Lisa Gardner

I have a fetish for organizational tools–in my credenza as well as in my writing. How do we get a handle on the big picture of a writing project when the project is huge, like a novel, or a book, or a dissertation? How do we track just exactly what we’ve written, how it will [ READ MORE ]

What You Can Learn at a Writers Conference

Summer and fall are great seasons for writers conferences. If you’re a writer who’s never been to one, treat yourself to whatever’s coming up near you. Here’s a great place to start searching for writers conferences, but you can also Google your town name and “writers conference” and find out what your community has to [ READ MORE ]

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