WRITER'S TIP THURSDAY - Nora Roberts

Nora Roberts Tip to use later:

I heard this quote from Nora Roberts years ago and the words have stuck with me. They are so true:

"You can fix anything but a blank page."

Are you writing? Fill up that page so you have something to perfect.

See Nora Roberts' WEBPAGE to see how she's been filling up the page and see her booklist. 

CONFERENCES & CONTESTS - Sleuths Ink Workshop

NOTE from my desk: While I have not attended most of the conferences I showcase, I have heard excellent comments regarding their offerings. Please check their website thoroughly and if you have any questions, use the contact information on their page.

If you attend any of the conferences or enter the contests I list, I'd love to hear your thoughts. Please share your review in the comments section of that conference's post.

Know of a great conference you'd like me to share? Please use the contact form on the right to drop me a note.

Thank you!

Today, I've asked Tierney James to stop by today to answer a few questions regarding the workshop.

Thanks for taking us a bit behind the scenes of the Sleuth's Ink Workshop.

1 – You have an excellent line-up of speakers. Lori Copeland as a keynote is a great way to kick off the event. Why Lori in particular?

Lori is a seasoned writer/author who has seen trends in the publishing industry come and go. She knows how to adjust to the market, whether it is a traditional house or transitioning to the now popular “indie” route. She has received success over many years and has even broken into the television market with one of her books being made into a Hallmark movie. 

2 – Most would think that a mystery writing group would have more genre-specific topics for the workshop, yet with the exception of a couple of breakout sessions, SI seems to be focusing on mechanics. How did the content decision come about?

After attending a variety of writing conferences, sitting in on critique groups, and judging contests, it became clear there is a need for the mechanics of writing. Just because you write words doesn’t make you a good writer. There needs to be a lot of fine tuning to get it right. Most of us just aren’t aware there is a right and wrong way to create stories. There are rules of grammar, punctuation, genre, etc.

3 – Sometimes having two workshops scheduled for the same time slot makes it hard to choose which one to attend and which one to hope a friend is taking good notes.  I see some workshops are scheduled twice. Is this to allow others to not miss something in the rotation?

Absolutely! There will be a lot of good ideas and time is short. By scheduling some sessions more than once, writers don’t have to worry about missing something that could add that spark they’ve been looking to push them ahead.

4 – How did you select your other speakers?

 Some of the Sleuths’ members searched their own bank of talent and formed a committee to see who might be interested in taking this project on in hopes of inspiring new writers and reminding not-so-new authors of their own greatness. As it turned out our group had a lot of tips and tricks to share.

5 – What do you hope attendees will take with them from the workshop?

My hope is that they will see the road ahead of them filled with possibilities, not potholes. Attending a one-day conference or workshop is a sure-fire way to ignite the fires of the imagination. We also can’t wait to meet new writers who want a support group and can add a little pizzazz to Sleuths’ Ink. 

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT - Angela Drake - The Chosen Path

For the past few weeks, I've been talking about jumping on the indi-publishing train. I'm anxious about this new path as well as excited for the journey.

I told you yesterday I was making adjustments to my writing space so that I could be more productive. A specific space is mandatory for me to switch my mental gears from the day job writing, to the words I need to put on paper in able to become a published author.

Aside from putting my office space in order, I'm setting goals towards getting A CHRISTMAS TO REMEMBER into the hands of my readers - hopefully in time for the holiday season. Because the story takes place in Eureka Springs AR, I 'd love to have the book ready for sale by the time I attend the Ozark Creative Writers Conference in October.  Since this is my first indi and there's a learning curve to doing all that needs done, I'm not sure I can make the timeline. But until I actually put a the project on paper, I won't know for sure if I can make that goal. I'll let you know on Friday how I'm progressing.

In the meantime, tomorrow I'm sharing information about a great one-day workshop in Springfield Missouri. I've interviewed one of the coordinators, Tierney James. She'll be sharing what went in to planning the workshop and what they hope the attendees will take away from the educational day.

MONDAY MUSINGS - Writing Spaces

Making time to write is a challenge for most of us. Those of us with alternate lives, not solely focused on writing. That said, I know that to be a writer, we do need the ability to focus on putting words on paper. One way to accomplish that task is to have a routine, one that includes carving out a space for ourselves so that when we sit down to write in that one space... wherever it is... puts our brain into motion that the time to write is NOW. 

I am blessed to have a room all to myself where I can sit and write. I have a desk and all the tools at my finger tips yet I seem to constantly be testing other waters, places other than at my desk. Well, last week I may have discovered the problem.

I use the same space for all of my other work as I do for writing. My space isn't dedicated to focusing on my writing project. When I sit down at my desk, I have clutter from those other projects all around me. 

That is about to change. I'm going to 'work' anywhere else that calls me. Whether I'm at the work table stamping and writing creative blog posts or in the recliner writing music articles each of those areas serve a writing purpose. So should the place where I turn my characters loose and transcribe their stories. 

I've taken some before pictures of my space. I'm hoping to have my post next week showing the revamp of my space. I'm also using My Writing Space as a launchpad to introduce you to other author's spaces. I'm lining up writing space posts to run one or two Monday's a month. We'll see how fast spaces fill up.

So, here's what I'd like you to do.  Follow my blog as well as my twitter account... @AngelaDrakeA

I'll soon have a Instagram account strictly for my writing.  Tomorrow, I'll tell you more about why I'm making this adjustment to my writing life, and what's in the plan for you.  Until then...

Happy Reading!