Editor's Blog

Mar 13, 2010, Read - a lot.

It seems obvious but you can never read too much when you're writing. Especially if you have writers block. Read within the genre you are writing, and

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Mar 13, 2010, West Coast Screenwriting

West Coast Screenwriting asks,

"Are you feeding your inner screenwriter?"

In March, West Coast Screenwriting principals, Keith Digby (Time Exposures) and Brian Paisley (Lies Like Truth) will hold a Weekend Blitz‚ workshop for NINE aspiring screenwriters.

Yes, that's right. There will only be NINE participants, maximum, in the class. This course is not only specific to success in the craft of screenwriting, but also uniquely personal in the assessment and development of each individual participant's work.

Location: Bay Film Studios, Maple Bay, Vancouver Island.

Dates: Friday March 26th (evening) to Sunday March 28th (late afternoon)

Please Note: Only 3 places left!

For new and emerging screenwriters, bring your idea/concept, outline or unfinished screenplay. Novel and short story writers, who might be thinking of adapting one of their works, bring a one-page outline and watch its progress to the screen.

Are you interested in taking this high-power, team-taught 12-hour course?

Take the plunge.
Take the workshop!
Tell other writers about this opportunity.

Sponsored by Bay Film Studios... Where major motion picture, Tommy Prince, Devil with a Heart, starring Adam Beach, will shoot this summer!

Click for more info

Mar 11, 2010, Author Payment For Library Use

Did you know that there is provision for author payment for library use? Find out how to get your cheque.

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Mar 11, 2010, Can first and third person live together?

Dear Audrey, If I'm writing in first person, can I write my second POV character in third person? Thank you, Jacquelin

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Mar 11, 2010, no ideas?

when you don't know what to write, try these easy tips to get your writing going again. 1. Read a book! 2. Imagine the characters are at a different

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Mar 10, 2010, Heather Conn Reading

Hi everyone,

I hope that you’ve been enjoying this glorious sunshine.

I will be doing an author reading on Saturday, March 13 at 2 p.m. at the Gibsons Public Art Gallery as part of their Words and Image exhibition. I will read short excerpts from my memoir-in-progress and some other creative nonfiction works. I’ll also show a few slides from my trip in India

The gallery is downstairs at 287 Gower Point Road. Hope to see you there.

Cheers, Heather

Mar 8, 2010, Write On Vancovuer

Write On, Vancouver
Vancouver, BC, Canada
The mini-conference for fiction writers
May 28th – 29th, 2010

An award-winning fantasy, romance, and short fiction author, past president of Novelists, Inc., a popular columnist and public speaker, and author of the highly acclaimed: Rejection, Romance, & Royalties: The Wacky World of a Working Writer

"The best book on the writing life since Bird By Bird or The Artist's Way. The incisive and insightful Laura Resnick cuts right to the heart of the joys, sorrows, costs, and rewards of pursuing the creative dream."

Teresa Medeiros, New York Times bestselling author

WORKSHOPS:
Laura Resnick - Story Development and 20 Questions, an interactive industry Q&A

Eileen Cook - Pitch Perfect

Terri Smolar - Building Your Brand: What every writer should know about developing a media presence

Nancy Warren - The Conflict's in the Character...and the Character's in the Conflict

INDUSTRY PANEL AND EDITOR APPOINTMENTS:
Martin Biro - Kensington Publishing
Johanna Raisanen - Harlequin/Silhouette
Leanne Salter - Cobblestone Press

REGISTRATION INFORMATION:
Early Bird bookings before March 31
Members $100 - Non Members $130
Regular bookings from April 1
Members $130-Non Members $160
An ideal Christmas gift!
For all registration information and bookings please contact
Sally Collins at SallyCollins@shaw.ca

PROMO OPPORTUNITY: We welcome promo items from authors. For more information, contact SallyCollins@shaw.ca.

Mar 7, 2010, OREGON COAST CHILDREN'S BOOK WRITERS WORKSHOPS, SUMMER 2010

Next summer, July 12-16 and July 19-23, 2010 we proudly will present the eighth Oregon Coast Children's Book Writers Workshops, www.occbww.com, in the exquisite Oregon coast town of Oceanside. The instructors for each workshop will include five established children's book authors (between them, specializing in YA and middle school novels, picture books, non-fiction, magazine pieces, and poetry), two children's book editors from major houses, and one children's book agent. Summer Workshops 2010 promise to be our best yet because

- The instructor-student ratio will be a maximum of one to six,

- Each day, you will meet with an instructor for at least one comprehensive consultation, and

- You can have one-on-one informal meetings with instructors each day as well, and

- Every student who wishes can have an anonymous first page manuscript critique by all eight instructors in front of the class, and

- We will offer at least twelve instructional lectures on various aspects of writing and publishing, and

- There will be two evening readings/discussions by instructors, and

- Out-of-class consultations with instructors are available, and

- There will be at least three guest lectures, and

- There will be two wonderful parties (quite appropriate for friends, partners, spouses, children)

If you are ambitious to publish a children's book (or simply adore children's books), this is the workshop for you. It will allow you to connect directly with authors, editors, agents who are active in the children's book business. If you go to the website and look under Evaluations, you'll see that it's received extraordinarily high praise (some listed below).

The course is available for graduate credit.

For complete information we welcome you to visit our website at www.occbww.com

We always tend to fill up early and turn many people away who wish to attend simply because there isn't space. So, if this is of interest, you may want to register sooner than later. There's a generous refund policy (described at the website) if you decide not to attend.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Click for more info

Mar 7, 2010, Writing Goals 2010

Writers share their writing goals for 2009 and receive support from Audrey Owen, editor at writershelper.com.

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Feb 26, 2010, Remember...You're Only Talking to Me!

Have you ever noticed when some people write a memo, an email, a letter, an article or even a book which they know will be read by many people, they address

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Feb 26, 2010, Hey,..I'm a Person....Not a Thing!

Don't forget to use personal pronouns when referring to PEOPLE. Say this: He is the person who invented the shortwave radio. Not this: He is the person

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Feb 22, 2010, 5 Ways to instantly be a better writer

1: READ MORE The more you read the more you want to write. Appreciating a good turn of phrase or being irritated by a bad turn of phrase will make you

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Feb 15, 2010, Is it yesterday's, or the previous day's trousers?

Is it grammatically correct to use yesterday in the following context? Thank you. I walked up the stone staircase wearing yesterday's blue trousers

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Feb 15, 2010, FOCUS

As a writer, I have found that for every piece you write, fiction or non-fiction, it is important to FOCUS! At any given point in the piece, you should

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Feb 14, 2010, Sarcasm

Sarcasm is fatal to everything i write. I love to be funny. Sarcasm could easily describe a deathly situation, or it could be the base of your next joke.

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Feb 14, 2010, Be Open to Others Ideas!

My friends and I write together. We get together and take turns on who writes next. One thing I have learned from this is, don't be touchy. If someone

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Jan 26, 2010, Having Trouble Paying Attention to Your Story

If you're having a bit of trouble keeping up with your story and contstantly looking back to remember who's name is who's or trying to remember what

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Jan 25, 2010, Crush That Pesty Writer's Block!

Ever just sit at the computer after you've been writing? Stuck? Well, these tips helped me through my first book and my current one. 1( Set a fake

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Jan 23, 2010, great starts,...so I thought!?!?

I'm brainstorming content pages for my SiteSell site without any sort of control for making progress. I have counted ten notebooks filled with

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Jan 23, 2010, Edit the tidE

Read your story backwards. Don't give up! Yes, its long its tedious and you think your work is perfect from the getco but serious try it. If it makes

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Jan 12, 2010, Keep a journal

Seriously! It works! Try keeping a journal for, say, a year. Don't write boring stuff. Notice things. The colour of something, the taste of something.

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Jan 10, 2010, Beating Writers Block - Copy Hemmingway

I came across this blog post that has an excellent tip from Ernest Hemmingway about how to beat writer's block...

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Jan 9, 2010, imagine

make your story look real when you imagine it so peaple will like

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Jan 8, 2010, Dysfunctional Characters Become One Happy Family

Cannot seem to connect my characters even though they are all deeply

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Jan 6, 2010, Book Writer Promotion

Hi Audrey - this is my new SBI site to help mainly self-publishers. Book Writer Promotionis a new website aimed at helping authors promote themselves

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Jan 5, 2010, Let your writing inhabit you

I may be alone in my thinking but for me writing comes to me. It decides when it is ready, it pounces rather unexpectedly and before I know it, it is

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Jan 1, 2010, Writing Goals

Get help meeting your writing goals.

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Dec 31, 2009, FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT

Write 1.When your mind is settled. 2.When cool and relaxed. 3.when there is less distractions. 4.When at your peak.

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Dec 25, 2009, Gerunds and possessives

I was wondering if you had a catchy and simple explanation for the grammatical rule about gerunds and possessives? I understand the rule and use it in

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Dec 15, 2009, What to rely on a editor?

Suppose I have my idea for my story on a novel but have trouble making the story sound good or at least un-mediocre how could a editor help me on

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Dec 13, 2009, Quoting thoughts

Would thoughts ever qualify as quotes? Example 1) I was thinking of going to the mall. Example 2) I was thinking, Should I go to the

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Dec 11, 2009, Introduction Paragraphs

When you are writing an essay or letter remember to always add flavor a pop to the first sentence to make the reader read it. DON'T YOU EVER USE

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Dec 6, 2009, Beginning sentences with pronouns

The title is a bit misleading but I couldn't think of what to call this problem. I'm writing an action story and end up saying He did this. She did

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Dec 2, 2009, An evil villain-worthy motive

I was doing a whole bunch of plans for my story when decided I needed to give my bad guy an evil plan. All I needed for him to do was be evil enough

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Nov 30, 2009, How can I hammer by grammar?

I've been told I write fairly well. However, no one tells you when you've misplaced a comma or that your sentence needs a little more structure. I'm

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Nov 14, 2009, Useful resources for writers

I came across a couple of useful sites that may help you when you're stuck for a spelling or troubled by a typo.

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Nov 13, 2009, Gabbling

Don't over write something, or otherwise the reader gets bored. You could write, Bill let out a scream of despair. It was not like him to do this.

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Nov 11, 2009, New Book Exposes “Self-Publishing Company” Overcharging, Deception and Ineptness, and Helps Self-Publishing Authors

Milford, CT, November 11, 2009: According to a new book, many companies that charge authors to publish their books grossly overcharge for their

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Nov 6, 2009, face your fears!

dont be afraid to write! if you think you sound stupid just keep going and when someone edits it they can fix it(if it needs fixing) how do you think

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Oct 28, 2009, Sizzle, My Nizzle

When Sizzling your Nizzle, you must first determine whether you are writing from the Nizzle or Sizzle's point of

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Oct 20, 2009, Take Breaks

There are times when an author is writing and becomes stuck. This can occur at any time, any place, anywhere. When that happens, there isn't much that

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Oct 15, 2009, Don't Be A Giver-Upper

When you've written pages and pages, chapters and chapters, and you're maybe even almost done with your wonderful story...then you get stuck. What do

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Oct 13, 2009, Hold Your Beliefs!

Don't write something that is strong, energetic, and fills you with passion if you are just going to go and blow it by presenting it in a way that

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Oct 11, 2009, focussing

not astray from your characters'

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Oct 2, 2009, Beware the speed bumps!

Overuse of a word, sentence, or phrase is like hitting a speed bump at 90 mph. It hurts. The objective of a good writer is to draw the reader into the

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Oct 1, 2009, Volcanoes in the heart

Write from the

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Sep 26, 2009, Lacking Motivation?

Often, I find myself feeling lethargic about writing. I want to put it off because I've hit a slow spot and can't seem to get past a part for weeks

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Sep 26, 2009, Show the scene

When you write, try to see the scene. For example, you may have four of your characters in one room. Show that some are standing and maybe all

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Sep 26, 2009, Take Captive Your Thoughts

You know that feeling you get after figuring out a topic to write about and all these thoughts and voices are floating around in your head? There's

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