Reminders and Recommendations

Plus the usual big round-up of writing resources

*For writing links and resources, scroll down.*

Sorry, not sorry

I apologize for emailing twice in one week — I usually don’t do this — but I wanted to remind you of two things:

1. The second lesson of Souped-Up Suspense has been posted for paid subscribers! It’s not too late to get started on this do-it-on-your-own-time email course that comes highly-recommended by my agent, Ali Lake (see below). This week’s lesson (in both written and audio format) contains assignments to help you create a twisty plot, and next week’s lesson will be about using setting and description to increase suspense.

   

2. Escape the Plot Forest, an online conference all about plotting, starts TOMORROW. There will be lots of great talks (including mine on Monday!), and all sessions are free to watch live. I really recommend this conference, you all. Daniel David Wallace is hosting, and his events are always top-notch.

Two Recommendations

1. I don’t know if you read the award-winning 1995 middle grade novel Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman, but it’s wonderful. And, equally as wonderful, is Lena Dunham’s film adaptation, currently streaming on Amazon Prime. Say what you will about Lena Dunham, but she did a FANTASTIC job with this. Normally, when I watch the film adaptation of a book I love, I find it lacking, but Dunham’s Catherine Called Birdy (though it clearly deviates from the book) is 100% delightful. Funny, quirky, poignant, joyful, and wonderfully well-acted... and manages to make social commentary on today’s world through the lens of middle ages England.

2. I’ve been in an old-timey Spiritualism phase lately, and if you’re still looking for Halloween reads, I know I already told you about YA debut The Second Death of Edie and Violet Bond by Amanda Glaze, but let me also tell you about A Drowned Maiden’s Hair by Laura Amy Schlitz. It came out in 2010, but I read it for the first time last week. Though it’s technically middle grade, you can very much enjoy this novel as a teen or adult. In early 20th century New England, a mischievous orphan is adopted by three sisters who need her to help with the family business… of conducting seances. It’s SO GOOD; this might be one of my new favorite books of all time.

Check out this gorgeous dahlia I saw last week at The Dahlia Garden of the National Capital Dahlia Society

Writing News & Resources

For All Writers:

• Looking for help with your manuscript? I offer story coaching and beta reader feedback for Middle Grade, YA, and select adult projects for an extremely reasonable fee. Read more here, along with testimonials from my happy clients.

• New Pages is a great place to research literary magazines and find submission opportunities and writing contests. They also have a newsletter so you can stay updated via your inbox.

• Poet & Writers is offering a online workshop for poets and writers of literary prose (fiction, nonfiction, creative nonfiction) called Mapping the Maze: Chart Your Path to Publication. There is a session at the end of October and another one at the beginning of November. Registration includes a one year subscription to Poets & Writers Magazine, and residents of the Detroit, Houston, and New Orleans metro areas are eligible for a discounted rate.

• November is National Novel Writing Month. NaNoWriMo helps you track your progress, set milestones, connect with other writers, and participate in events to help you finish your novel (or get a good chunk of it written) — all for free.

  • If you’re planning to do NaNoWriMo, that means October might be “Preptober”— a time to prepare, brainstorm, outline, and otherwise get ready for next month’s novel-writing. Here are 15 Steps for Conquering NaNoWriMo, and my blog post on How to Write Better Novels with ONE Key Step.

  • Ready to take your prep to the next level? For the month of October, Editor Kristen Overman of The Good Story Company is offering special rates on her brainstorming sessions and outlining packages.

• Looking for a writing mentor? The Authors of Tomorrow #CoachHunt is coming up on November 19. Writers pitch their story ideas on Twitter or Google Forms to a panel of coaches, who reach out to writers if they are interested in their story and want to mentor them. 

• All-writer-voted and open to all, Sixfold’s three-round manuscript voting is trigorous, thorough, fair, and transparent. To create each issue, hundreds of writers vote to select the best fiction and poetry manuscripts. $5 to enter and $1000 in prizes for the best story and poem. Enter by Oct. 24.

• Globe Soup if offering a historical fiction short story challenge. Sign up by October 28 and get randomly assigned a period of history to use as the setting for a story.

• Check out the NYC Midnight 250-word Microfiction Challenge. Based on a randomly assigned prompt, write a super short story in 24 hours. There are multiple rounds, and everyone gets feedback from the judges. You’ll be amazed what you can produce when the pressure’s on and you’ve paid to compete. The challenge starts November 18.

For KidLit Writers:

• You can’t be a writer without being a reader. Sign up with Multicultural Children’s Book Day to be a Diverse KidLit Reviewer and receive a free children’s or YA book. You don’t have to be a blogger as long as you’re willing to share your review on a site like Goodreads, Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. Sign up ends 12/31/22.

• I just thought some of you might like (or need) to see this: Seven Authors on Making Their YA Debuts After Age 50

• Mark your calendars for YALL Fest, the YA Book Festival happening in Charleston, SC November 11-12.

• October 27 is #PBPitch — a Twitter pitch contest for all unagented picture book authors.

For Querying Writers:

• The creators of Mood Pitch are offering a free webinar on Oct. 29 for querying writers planning to participate in #MoodPitch (which happens Nov 3). Agent Emmy Nordstrom Higdon will be critiquing a handful of query letters live during the webinar, which will be followed by an #AskAgent session. Submit your query letter by 12pm ET on Oct 26.

• The Manuscript Academy Podcast finally has a new 10 Queries episode! Listen to an agent go through their inbox, making comments on ten of the recent queries they’ve received. A great peek into what happens on the other side! (The Manuscript Academy has made many of these 10 Queries episodes, but they haven’t done one in a while, so you’ll have to scroll back in time a bit to find more.)

• If you have the bandwidth for it, check out this insanely comprehensive spreadsheet of successful queries. Learn the details and read the actual query letters for books that got agent representation.

• Every Friday, Operation Awesome offers one free query critique through their #QueryFriday contest.

• The Savvy Authors Pitch Fest will be held October 26-28. Pitch in an online forum to agents and editors (for free)!

• The Authors of Tomorrow will be offering Query Dojo on October 29. This program allows young authors to submit their query letters to mock agents for practice querying. Applications are currently open!

• If you live in the DC area, attend my affordable, in-person workshop at The Writers Center in Bethesda, MD: How to Get a Lit Agent. In the first class we’ll talk about how to research agents and write a great query letter, and in the second class we’ll critique query letters. I’d love to have you: November 12 and November 19.

• Submission is open from now until Nov. 4 for the Blue Pencil Agency Pitch Prize. I don’t know much about this, but might be worth looking into. Entry fee is £12.

• The querying trenches are rough right now, and Twitter pitch parties can feel like shouting into the void with thousands of other screaming writers, but still, it’s a way to meet other writers and it certainly doesn’t hurt to try. (After all, I found my agent through a Twitter pitch party. I am now an official success story!) So mark your calendar for these upcoming Twitter pitch parties. And be sure to read my article 13 Things to Know About Twitter Pitch Events.

  • October 27: #PBPitch — Twitter pitch for all unagented picture book authors.

  • November 3: #MoodPitch — Twitter pitch for all genres… and you get to include a “mood board” that communicates the vibe/aesthetic of your book. (This is the Twitter pitch contest that got me my agent!)

    • Check out all the #PreMoodPitch activities, starting on Oct. 28 with a practice pitch session. (Also a free query critique webinar on Oct. 29!)

Writing Conferences:

• Daniel David Wallace’s online plot summit, Escape the Plot Forest, is happening October 22-25. This is a virtual conference all about plotting, and Daniel’s conferences are some of the best I’ve ever attended. Plus, I’ll be giving a talk on Monday, Oct. 24 on Tips to Creating a Super-Twisty Mystery, Thriller, or Suspense Novel! All sessions are FREE to watch live.

• The YALL Fest, the YA Book Festival is happening in Charleston, SC November 11-12.

• This year the Writing Day Workshop “How to Get Published” Conferences will be held virtually. I attended one of these conferences in person a few years ago in Philadelphia, and I thought it was fantastic. I can’t vouch for the virtual version, but there are some benefits: recorded classes, no travel expenses, attend in your comfy pants. Plus, you can sign up for Zoom pitch sessions with agents for $29 a piece. Check out the upcoming conferences (and remember, anyone can attend from anywhere; just keep the time zone in mind). 

  • San Diego Writing Workshop: November 11-12, 2022

• Registration is now open for the enormous AWP Conference (Association of Writers and Writing Programs). It’s being held in March 2023 in Seattle, which is one of my favorite cities.

• For more writing conferences, check out this list or this list of 19 Writing Conferences for Emerging and Established Writers.

  

  One more dahlia. So pretty!