Writer's Weekend--Day 1

Well, I appear to have confused PocketLJ by putting too much stuff onto my frob--so last time I tried to sync it up it timed out, so I am unfortunately getting a "connection to server has timed out" sort of error page when I try to run the PocketLJ client right now. And since I have no Internet connection in the room, I am just going to have to write this as a draft in Semagic and post it later. Good thing I brought my laptop. ;)

( Pre-conference getting ready )

( Tonight's agenda: old and new faces, useful query and synopsis tips, and more )

Writer's Weekend--Day 2

It has been a very productive, fruitful day, and although the programming is not yet done, I am exhausted. So here I am documenting today in an LJ post that'll probably not get online until Sunday, but hey. I came in kind of expecting the whole flavor of a science fiction convention--partly, I suppose, because of just being so physically near the Norwescon hotel, but also because of knowing that several fannish types would be here to as writers wanting to break into those genres. But unlike with Norwescon, where my experience has to date been that the panels they have are much more geared towards folks with the Newbie sorts of questions, the programming thus far has been much more focused and much more presented with the expectation that the audience is composed of people who actively wish to make writing their career.

Accordingly, it's been that much more useful. I've already come out of today with a couple of really useful pieces of advice that have altered my game plan about what I want to work on for the next few months--and what, specifically, to do with Faerie Blood. The biggest thing I've learned today has been that with that rejection letter I got, the next good step will be to revise the submission and send it back, and more importantly, how to craft the query letter to reflect that I have taken their advice into account and would appreciate a second look at my chapters. And the second biggest thing has been how to prepare a query for The Dove, the Rook, and the Hawk--one big story that requires three books to tell and which are not standalone volumes--vs. Faerie Blood, which is a standalone book with two probable sequels in a story arc of three related but independent novels.

Scattered throughout the rest of the day, though, have been any number of little gems of wisdom as well as delightful quotes.

( Michael Chiu of the Bellevue Police )

( Professor John Junker, U of W Law )

( We interrupt this conference summary with a job update )

( Russell Davis and Tips for the Almost Published )