Isn't it interesting how you wait for something for so long, and then when it comes, it's over before you know it?
That's how the A.F. Writer's conference was for me. I actually enjoy public speaking (gasp! I know, I'm weird), so the ten minute speech wasn't something I was too worried about. But I was nervous for all the classes I was supposed to teach. Particularly because I was team teaching them with one or two other authors (except for one that I was alone for). I'd never met the other authors before, so I had no idea what to expect. Luckily, they were all lovely, and the classes were really fun to teach. Everyone there was so nice and had some great questions for us to answer. It was fun to meet new people and to get to interact with other authors and aspiring authors.
I guess I learned a good lesson. Most of the time, the things we are nervous about end up being no big deal--and in fact, oftentimes, they end up being a great time. I'm glad I got to participate, and thank everyone who was so kind to me and everyone else involved.
How was your weekend? Can you believe it's May? The weather is forecasted to FINALLY be warmer this week. Hurray!
Showing posts with label speaking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label speaking. Show all posts
Monday, May 2, 2011
Friday, April 29, 2011
Friday Five in which I am nervous
1. So, I may have mentioned that I'm speaking/teaching at a writer's conference in AF a couple times. But what I may not have told you is that although I am excited, I am also really nervous. So if any of you are going to it, first of all, pretend like I look really small and petite, instead of large with child and extremely uncomfortable. And secondly, if I totally screw up, let's just pretend like I didn't, okay? Okay.
2. I know this is revealing my inner nerdness, but I am SO excited for HP7 pt. 2. We usually go to the midnight show (my friend does a big party beforehand), but this year I won't get to because I'll have a newborn. I just hope I can see it as close to the release date as possible.
3. On a serious note, my heart goes out to all those affected by the tornadoes in the south. I used to want to be a "tornado chaser" when I was in elementary school (and even beyond that), because I've always been fascinated by them. But to see this kind of destruction and death is so horrible. I just hope the storms will stop. It makes me feel guilty for complaining about the never ending snowstorms here.
4. On a less serious note, I've heard rumors about some sort of big wedding that's going on? That's taking up more news coverage than the tornadoes? Yeah, I'm excited about it, but not THAT much. I used to have a semi-crush on Prince Wills. Probably because of the first part of that name: "Prince." Who didn't dream of becoming a princess at some point? And he wasn't too bad on the eyes. I remember when he and Kate broke up (gasp! shock!), but now here they are. Getting married. *brushes a tear from my eye* *not really* But yay for them. :) *edit: I write my posts the night before, so I hadn't seen Kate yet when I wrote this. I must now admit to being totally sucked into to the fairytale. She looked absolutely stunning. A true Princess. Wow.
5. Did I mention that I'm nervous for tomorrow?
So what's on your mind today? Hope you all have a great weekend!
2. I know this is revealing my inner nerdness, but I am SO excited for HP7 pt. 2. We usually go to the midnight show (my friend does a big party beforehand), but this year I won't get to because I'll have a newborn. I just hope I can see it as close to the release date as possible.
3. On a serious note, my heart goes out to all those affected by the tornadoes in the south. I used to want to be a "tornado chaser" when I was in elementary school (and even beyond that), because I've always been fascinated by them. But to see this kind of destruction and death is so horrible. I just hope the storms will stop. It makes me feel guilty for complaining about the never ending snowstorms here.
4. On a less serious note, I've heard rumors about some sort of big wedding that's going on? That's taking up more news coverage than the tornadoes? Yeah, I'm excited about it, but not THAT much. I used to have a semi-crush on Prince Wills. Probably because of the first part of that name: "Prince." Who didn't dream of becoming a princess at some point? And he wasn't too bad on the eyes. I remember when he and Kate broke up (gasp! shock!), but now here they are. Getting married. *brushes a tear from my eye* *not really* But yay for them. :) *edit: I write my posts the night before, so I hadn't seen Kate yet when I wrote this. I must now admit to being totally sucked into to the fairytale. She looked absolutely stunning. A true Princess. Wow.
5. Did I mention that I'm nervous for tomorrow?
So what's on your mind today? Hope you all have a great weekend!
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Taking Feedback
Wow, I knew you guys were good! Thanks for all the advice you shared on Monday. Seriously, you all rock.
So here's the question for today:
What's one thing to remember or do when taking feedback?
I'm also teaching a class on taking feedback. I'm excited for this one, because I've had to learn a lot over the years about this very subject. Feedback can be a tricky thing. You have to remember that someone took the time to read and critique your book for you. They cared enough to spend hours if not days working on helping you--whether you think every edit they gave is golden, or whether you completely disagreed with all of it, or fell somewhere in the middle.
It's easy to get offended when someone tries to tell you about something that didn't work in your book. But to be successful as a writer, you have to not only get past the urge to get offended, you have to be able and willing to listen, to contemplate it, and to make appropriate changes based on the feedback you get. It's a process that doesn't end with CPs. Your agent, and your editor will both do the same thing. It's also important as a CP to understand how the author you're working with assimilates the feedback. Everyone has a different way of understanding and absorbing edits, and you can't get offended by how someone takes the critiques you offered.
So tell me, what are your tricks and tips for taking feedback? I'm excited to share some of mine at this conference, but I know you probably have some great ones I haven't thought of. Thanks again for sharing!
Happy Wednesday!
So here's the question for today:
What's one thing to remember or do when taking feedback?
I'm also teaching a class on taking feedback. I'm excited for this one, because I've had to learn a lot over the years about this very subject. Feedback can be a tricky thing. You have to remember that someone took the time to read and critique your book for you. They cared enough to spend hours if not days working on helping you--whether you think every edit they gave is golden, or whether you completely disagreed with all of it, or fell somewhere in the middle.
It's easy to get offended when someone tries to tell you about something that didn't work in your book. But to be successful as a writer, you have to not only get past the urge to get offended, you have to be able and willing to listen, to contemplate it, and to make appropriate changes based on the feedback you get. It's a process that doesn't end with CPs. Your agent, and your editor will both do the same thing. It's also important as a CP to understand how the author you're working with assimilates the feedback. Everyone has a different way of understanding and absorbing edits, and you can't get offended by how someone takes the critiques you offered.
So tell me, what are your tricks and tips for taking feedback? I'm excited to share some of mine at this conference, but I know you probably have some great ones I haven't thought of. Thanks again for sharing!
Happy Wednesday!
Monday, April 18, 2011
Help please!
Happy Monday everyone!
As some of you may be aware, I am speaking and teaching at a local writer's conference in a couple of weeks. I'm excited but nervous about this opportunity. Mostly because I want to do a really good job. I want to be interesting, and funny, and entertaining, but also informative and helpful and yeah, the list goes on. That's not too much to expect from myself, right? Heh, heh. Um...
This is where you come in. I have quite a range of topics to teach during the day, and I already have a good idea of how I'm going to approach them. However, I think it would be interesting and informative to hear what some of your thoughts are. I'm going to be asking for your help or feedback on a few things to help me put together the absolute best presentations possible. My hope is that by taking what I've already thought up, and adding to it with your insights, I will be able to accomplish my previously mentioned goals. Cause let's face it, chances are ya'll are way smarter than me anyway. ;)
So first up: blogging. I am supposed to teach two different classes on blogging, one on how to gain more followers and one on making your blog a success. There are many of you who have waaaay more followers than me, and are definitely much more successful bloggers than I am, so for today here are my questions: (you can pick one of the three, or answer all three if you want)
What is the #1 best piece of advice you could give someone on how to make their blog a success/or to gain more followers?
What is something about my blog that you think makes it "successful" or made you want to become a follower?
What is something a blogger SHOULDN'T do if they want to accomplish either goal?
Thank you for your help! Hopefully I can do a good job on the 30th. *bites nails* *except not really, because I'm not actually a nail biter, but you know, figuratively speaking*
The funny thing about being asked to teach this class is that I don't think of my blog as a "success." Not in the way that I'd imagine a class would expect their teacher's blog to be. I don't have 1,000+ followers, or 50 comments on each post. But then I thought about it, and I realized that for me it is a success. When I get comments telling me how much a certain post meant to someone, or I meet a new friend through my blog, or someone tells me they are going to bookmark my post because it was so helpful to them... that is a great success in my book. And a year ago, I wouldn't have dreamed of having 300 hundred people following my blog, let alone 1,000. So, no. I don't have as "big" of a blog as quite a few, but I guess for me, it IS a little bit of a success after all. :)
As some of you may be aware, I am speaking and teaching at a local writer's conference in a couple of weeks. I'm excited but nervous about this opportunity. Mostly because I want to do a really good job. I want to be interesting, and funny, and entertaining, but also informative and helpful and yeah, the list goes on. That's not too much to expect from myself, right? Heh, heh. Um...
This is where you come in. I have quite a range of topics to teach during the day, and I already have a good idea of how I'm going to approach them. However, I think it would be interesting and informative to hear what some of your thoughts are. I'm going to be asking for your help or feedback on a few things to help me put together the absolute best presentations possible. My hope is that by taking what I've already thought up, and adding to it with your insights, I will be able to accomplish my previously mentioned goals. Cause let's face it, chances are ya'll are way smarter than me anyway. ;)
So first up: blogging. I am supposed to teach two different classes on blogging, one on how to gain more followers and one on making your blog a success. There are many of you who have waaaay more followers than me, and are definitely much more successful bloggers than I am, so for today here are my questions: (you can pick one of the three, or answer all three if you want)
What is the #1 best piece of advice you could give someone on how to make their blog a success/or to gain more followers?
What is something about my blog that you think makes it "successful" or made you want to become a follower?
What is something a blogger SHOULDN'T do if they want to accomplish either goal?
Thank you for your help! Hopefully I can do a good job on the 30th. *bites nails* *except not really, because I'm not actually a nail biter, but you know, figuratively speaking*
The funny thing about being asked to teach this class is that I don't think of my blog as a "success." Not in the way that I'd imagine a class would expect their teacher's blog to be. I don't have 1,000+ followers, or 50 comments on each post. But then I thought about it, and I realized that for me it is a success. When I get comments telling me how much a certain post meant to someone, or I meet a new friend through my blog, or someone tells me they are going to bookmark my post because it was so helpful to them... that is a great success in my book. And a year ago, I wouldn't have dreamed of having 300 hundred people following my blog, let alone 1,000. So, no. I don't have as "big" of a blog as quite a few, but I guess for me, it IS a little bit of a success after all. :)
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Speaking at a Writing Conference and stuff
Yep, for those of you who didn't already see my announcement on FB or Twitter, I am going to be speaking/presenting at the American Fork Arts Council Spring Conference for Writers on April 30th. It really is a great conference for any local writers looking for an affordable, shorter option. It's only one day (unless you do the friday night intensive), and has some fun, diverse classes planned. I will be speaking/teaching about getting an agent, blogging, taking feedback, and more. Quite a range of topics! I just hope I can do a good job. I'm very excited for this opportunity, and hope to see many of you there! If nothing else, you can come to witness me attempting to look professional, put-together, cute and knowledgeable while extremely pregnant. Your excitement level just went up ten degrees, I know it. I mean, if that's not a reason to come, I don't know what is. (I'm totally kidding. If you do come, just pretend I'm one of those tiny pregnant girls who look like they should barely be finding out the gender when they're actually due. Because I'm not one of them. Not even close. Have I mentioned that I'm measuring an entire week AHEAD of where I should be as of my last appointment?)
Anyway, for details be sure to contact Caleb Warnock, the head honcho in charge of the whole thing. (If you don't know who he is, one way to find out is to read the acknowledgements in HUSH, HUSH.) Here are the official details:
The Spring Writer's Conference is on Friday, April 29 & Saturday, April 30 at the Historic City Hall, 31 N. Church St., American Fork. Time: 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
For more information call Caleb Warnock 801-592-3136 or calebwarnock@yahoo.com
In other news, I broke 60k on my WIP. My goal is to be done by the end of the month. That gives me just over a week. I think I can do it, but we have a few busy nights this week with the soccer season starting up again. (SonA plays and SHH is the coach, so it can get pretty busy!) Not to mention deadlines looming on the other part time job, meaning valuable writing time has to get sucked away by work. Hoping I can somehow eke out enough good writing time without having to try and think coherent thoughts at 2 am to make my goal. We'll see.
Just so you know, I actually did have a topic I was intending to blog about today, other than the conference and the writing update. But for some reason, I've sat here staring at the computer for ten minutes trying to remember what it was with no luck. Since it's getting late, and I still have to write at least 2-3 more pages to make my minimum page per day goal, I guess we'll just call this good. (I write my posts the night before for the most part, in case you didn't know.)
How are your goals coming? Are you planning on going to any fun conferences this year?
Anyway, for details be sure to contact Caleb Warnock, the head honcho in charge of the whole thing. (If you don't know who he is, one way to find out is to read the acknowledgements in HUSH, HUSH.) Here are the official details:
The Spring Writer's Conference is on Friday, April 29 & Saturday, April 30 at the Historic City Hall, 31 N. Church St., American Fork. Time: 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
For more information call Caleb Warnock 801-592-3136 or calebwarnock@yahoo.com
In other news, I broke 60k on my WIP. My goal is to be done by the end of the month. That gives me just over a week. I think I can do it, but we have a few busy nights this week with the soccer season starting up again. (SonA plays and SHH is the coach, so it can get pretty busy!) Not to mention deadlines looming on the other part time job, meaning valuable writing time has to get sucked away by work. Hoping I can somehow eke out enough good writing time without having to try and think coherent thoughts at 2 am to make my goal. We'll see.
Just so you know, I actually did have a topic I was intending to blog about today, other than the conference and the writing update. But for some reason, I've sat here staring at the computer for ten minutes trying to remember what it was with no luck. Since it's getting late, and I still have to write at least 2-3 more pages to make my minimum page per day goal, I guess we'll just call this good. (I write my posts the night before for the most part, in case you didn't know.)
How are your goals coming? Are you planning on going to any fun conferences this year?
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