Whilst out and about on my daily walks recently, I've been heartened to see poppies on display in windows, pumpkins on garden walls, and the rich colours of Autumn leaves.
Whilst out on my morning walk the other day, I spotted a fox loitering around. The photo doesn't show it, but this is in quite a residential area, and I was surprised how brazen it was!
The trees and hedgerow look lovely in the background, just turning colour now that autumn's arrived.
Pitch Wars is a volunteer-run mentoring program where published/agented authors, editors, or industry interns choose one writer each to mentor. Mentors read the entire manuscript and offer suggestions on how to make the manuscript shine for the agent showcase. The mentor also helps edit their mentee’s pitch for the contest and their query letter for submitting to agents. Mentors can participate solo or pair up and co-mentor.
During the agent showcase, each mentee is featured on a post that includes their pitch and the first page of their manuscript. Last year, we had nearly sixty agents participate in the showcase. Participating agents view the posts and make requests. With the help of Pitch Wars 2016, more than 50 authors were offered representation with many snagging book deals shortly after the contest!
Over the past seven years, Pitch Wars has changed many lives. Countless authors have been matched with agents and even gone on to book deals and successful careers. We’re over 300 successes as of 2017!! But most importantly, Pitch Wars has grown the writing community to connect author with author, creating an atmosphere of camaraderie as we go through all stages of revision and publishing.
The Pitch Wars submission window is now open until October 1 at 10pm EDT, so get your entry polished and submitted before the window closes.
Angela and Becca are hijacking my blog today, and they're here to tell you a bit about their Writer's Showcase event, new book, and a great freebie to check out.
So...hijack away, ladies! 😀
Certain details can say a lot about who someone is, like a character's goals, desires, and backstory wound. But did you know there's another detail that can tie your character's arc to the plot, provide intense, multi-layered conflict, AND shorten the "get to know the character" curve for readers?
It's true. Your character's occupation is a GOLD MINE of storytelling potential.
Think about it...how much time do you spend on the job? Does it fulfill you or frustrate you? Can you separate work from home? Is it causing you challenges, creating obstacles, or helping you live your truth?
Just like us, most characters will have a job, and the work they do will impact their life. The ups and downs can serve us well in the story.
Maybe you haven't thought much about jobs in the past and how they act as a window into your character's personality, interests, and skills. It's okay, you aren't alone. The good news is that The Occupation Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Jobs, Vocations, and Careers is going to do all the heavy lifting for you. You'll be able to pick the perfect job for them and discover how to weave it into the very fabric of the story. (Here's one of the jobs profiled in this book:FIREFIGHTER.)
GIVEAWAY ALERT: THE WRITER'S SHOWCASE IS WAITING
To celebrate the release of a new book, Becca and Angela are running a giveaway from July 20th and July 23rd. You can win some great prizes, including gift certificates that can be spent on writing services within the Writer's Showcase. Stop by to enter if you like!
Resource Alert: A List of Additional Jobs Profiles For Your Characters!
Some of the amazing writers in our community have put together additional career profiles for you, based on jobs they have done in the past.
What a great way to get accurate information so you can better describe the roles and responsibilities that go with a specific job, right?
This month I've had the pleasure of meeting up with my sister for a socially distanced walk, and we came across several cherry trees laden with cherries in one of our local parks. I've never been wild foraging for cherries before, so this was an enjoyable experience - free, tasty food!
Today is the 75th anniversary of VE Day, and many people have entered into the spirit of the occasion by decorating the outside of their houses with bunting and flags.
In this time of lockdown, isolation and uncertainty, they brought a smile to my face as I walked the streets in my neighbourhood for my daily exercise. One woman had even dressed as a land girl with dungarees and a head scarf!
In these weird, weird times, children in lockdown across the UK have been drawing rainbows on their pavements or in their windows to spread joy and positivity; they lift the spirit as you 'Chase the Rainbows'!
Here's a sample of ones I've seen so far:
How many rainbows have you spotted whilst you've been out?
Now in its 23rd year, World Book Day’s aim is to
give each child and young person a book of their own so they can develop a love
of reading.
All across the land millions
of book tokens will be distributed by the charity to exchange for one of ten
exclusive, new and completely free books. Schools that participate have
resource packs full of ideas and activities for the day, and children are
encouraged to dress up as a favourite book character. See how many Harry
Potters or Katniss Everdeens you spot walking to their schools today!
This weekend, I’m attending a kidlit writing conference, and
the beauty of it is that I don’t even need to leave the comfort of my own home!
WriteOnCon is an annual online conference split over an event-packed three
days. There are a mix of blog posts, Q&A sessions, workshops, discussions
and pitch events all geared towards kidlit writers (anyone can attend, though, as a lot of advice will be universal). There’s still time to
register, and there are different tiers of attendance, depending
on your requirements. This year, I’ve gone for Extended Admission, which gives
me access to the full material for a month after the conference has ended –
plenty of time to catch up on events I may have missed during the conference
itself (there are only so many hours in the weekend, after all!)
The forums are up and running, and you can polish your Twitter
pitches, queries and the first 500 words of your manuscript with the aid of fellow
writers. There’s even a ‘Supers’ district where agents, editors and
professional writers might drop by to give feedback.
I’ve earmarked several events in the schedule I definitely
want to attend, and I’ve also thrown my hat into the ring for feedback on my
query in one of the live pitching events.
It’s going to be a helpful (but intense!) weekend – hope to ‘see’
you there!
You know what this means? Yup, it's time for my annual round-up.
I didn't read as many books in 2019 as in previous years, but once again I've concentrated on clearing my TBR pile. Several books in this pile were huge door stoppers - which easily count as three books each, right?! I also added a new library to my collection - Bude Library in Cornwall.
So, how many books did I read in 2019? I read 1 library book, did 4 beta reads, read 36 e-books, and 39 physical books, bringing my total to a respectable 80. I'm hoping I'll hit the dizzying heights of triple figures this coming year.
How about you? How many books did you read in 2019?
Wild foraging is back!
