Saturday, May 3, 2014

Excellent writing

Another 30 Days, 30 Stories has come and gone and what a great month. We had fiction, sci-fi, historical, inspirational, graphic novels, poetry, and haikus. We read stories about pets and zits, swampgheists and guns. Congratulations to those who contributed. We have some talented writers among us. And a special shout-out goes to Sarah for organizing this annual tradition.

I experienced growth as a writer with the story I contributed. I stepped out of my comfort zone and tackled a new genre. As with much of writing it was maddening and exhilarating. After struggling with it most of the month my writer’s group took a look at it. These guys are wonderful and were key in bringing it to fruition.

In other writing news, WIFYR is still accepting enrollment, though some of the classes are filling up. I’ve found the morning workshops particularly gratifying. Unfortunately, the cost has been a prohibiting factor for some. I must admit to sticker shock the first time I went. However, the writing growth that took place then, and every time I’ve been back since, was well worth it. Actually, WIFYR is moderately priced compared to other conferences. The SCBWI conference, for example, is only three days, does not include the intensive morning critique sessions as your participation is passive, and costs more. For those on a budget, WIFYR offers daily mini-worships and afternoon sessions which are more moderately priced. For more information, go to www.wifyr.com.

Up-coming writing events for the next few months:
-Wed. 5/7 - SCBWI Cedar City critique session - 7:00pm Cedar City Library in the Park

-Thu. 5/15 - UCW (Utah Children’s Writers blog) Professional Writers Series event: Editor’s Panel with Angela Eschler - Pleasant Grove Library, Pleasant Grove, UT

-Fri. 5/16 - Northern Utah Monthly Event Series: Mette Ivie Harrison - Orem Public Libray, Orem, UT

-Wed. 5/28 - SCBWI Salt Lake critique session - 7:00pm Millcreek Library

-Thu. 5/29 - SCBWI Utah County critique session - 7:00pm Orem Public Library

-June 16-20 - Writing and Illustrating For Young Readers 2014 Conference - Sandy, UT 

-Thu. 6/19 - UCW Professional Writers Series event: Angie Lofthouse on dialog - Pleasant Grove, UT

-Wed. 6/25 - SCBWI Salt Lake critique session - 7:00pm Millcreek Library

-Thu. 6/26 - SCBWI Utah County critique session - 7:00pm Orem Public Library

-Thu. 7/17 - UCW Professional Writers Series event: Margo Hovey: Teach Yourself to Write - Pleasant Grove, UT

-Sat. 8/9 - SCBWI The Great Critique - for more information, follow this link

-Thu. 8/21 - UCW Professional Writers Series event: MG Panel - Pleasant Grove, UT


(This article also posted at http://writetimeluck.blogspot.com)

2 comments:

Scott said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Scott said...

It was a fun month, with everything from LDS pioneers to zombie office workers to military heroes. It's always hard to see the month end.

Bruce, have you considered setting up a public Google Calendar (or other online calendar) to track local writing events?