For Writers - So. Much. Good. Stuff.

First day of the conference w/ Claire & Nancy

Wow, I wish I could have taken you all with me to the Missouri Writers' Guild Conference this weekend. It was fantastic. Organizers Deb Marshall and Tricia Sanders were amazing, and the lineup was superb. I got to hang out with the likes of Claire Cook (who has a fantastic spa giveaway going on to celebrate her upcoming Wallflower in Bloom) and Christy Craig (who just hit the Times list with her CC Hunter Shadow Falls series! Yay, Christy!) and learn from some of my favorite writing gurus, Jane Friedman and Christina Katz.

Here are some of the nuggets of wisdom I picked up from Claire:

"Rise above the negativity."  "Be who you really are." "When times get tough, do something nice for someone else instead of being needy." "Connect with people and find out how you can help them." "Get your tech together."

On finding time to write:

"Slow it down. Put the other stuff out of your head."  "Put the pages first - prioritize." "Pick one thing as your main writing focus."

On revisions:

"The best writers are the ones who know how to rewrite."  "When you revise, do dedicated passes, looking at characterization, chapter endings, scene tension, etc., etc."

This week's link roundup:

Perfecting your First Page (Jane Friedman) Jane's notes from the conference

Fear of Failure (Creative Penn)

Protecting Your Writing Files (The Other Side of the Story) Back up!

12 Inspiring Quotes About Writing (PRDaily)

9 Ways to Find Time to Write (Victoria Mixon)

7 Dialog Tips to Tighten Your Story (Jody Hedlund)

5 Top Social Media Blunders You Shouldn't Make (Nathan Bransford) (Ack! Been doing #1!)

Categorizing Your Novel (Beyond the Margins)

Analyzing What yo Read to Improve Your Writing (Children's Publishing)

Why Morning Routines are Creativity Killers (Time) Hmmm. What do you think?

Best Advice for Writers - Keep Moving Forward (WriterUnboxed)

A Writer's Life is Full of 2nd Chances (Writer Unboxed)

Everything You Wanted to Know About Writing for MG (D&G)  <<< Awesomeness.

Story Structure: Inciting Incident (Wordplay)

Or... Alexandra Sokoloff's opposing view of the same (The Dark Salon)

Writing Your Way (Genreality)

Q&A with Kate DiCamillo (JSOnline)

Your Brain on Cookies (BTM part one) (BTM part two)

Opening Pages that Hook (The Other Side of the Story)

What's at the Heart of Your Fear? (Ginger Calem)

Overactive or Inactive Characters or Subplots (Writers Digest)

How Deliberate Practice Can Make You a Better Writer (Writer Beware)

Nephele Tempest's Recap of LA Festival of Books (Writing and Rambling)

Make the Bad Guy Badder (Christina Lee)

Un-Walkawayable (Project Mayhem)

Change of Heart (Kidlit.com)

Market Smarter, Not Harder (Elana Johnson)

Juggling all the Balls (CoraRamos)

Now go out your pages first and Write!