NF Monday

I've been busy completing my assignments for Packet 1 -- for my writing course at Vermont College -- and haven't been online very much this week. I hit SEND yesterday, whisked those files out to my advisor, and raised my head to see what was happening to the rest of the world.

Ah, Nonfiction Monday is here. You can find all the links to great books to start off the school year at Amy O'Quinn's blog, a writer who specializes in Children's Nonfiction.

Blog -- Lisa Yee's Blog

If you love to read about a bubbly Children's book author's adventures (complete with lots of pictures), I'd recommend Lisa Yee's Blog, which is called, strangely enough, "Lisa Yee's Blog."

Click on over and enjoy.

Meanwhile, I'll just go hide myself with my laptop in the comfy wing chair and rewrite this month's critical essay -- again.

-wo

The big SCBWI Conference is going on now -- and you can attend Virtually

If you want to find out what's happening at the National/ International SCBWI in Los Angeles this weekend, simply click here on the link to the Official SCBWI Conference Blog. They have a team of bloggers frantically typing away during each speech, panel, and workshop, bringing those words to you.

Granted, some reporters seemed more fixated on the speakers clothes than the talk itself last year, but I have hopes to be able to learn more about the program this year.

Bruce Coville was the Keynote speaker.

Judy Blume, Henry Winkler, Harold Underdown, and more, much more.

On the other hand, I think I'm going to go blind from being forced to look at the wild background stripes of that blog while I read it. I wonder if they can tone it down.

-wo

More posts about writing

I was browsing Ingrid Sundberg's blog today when I discovered she had compiled a list of tidbits she carried away from our 10 day Residency at Vermont College of Fine Arts for Writing for Children and Young Adults. Something I had meant to do, but never got around to it. Click on the link to see.

She also has links to a multitude of writing articles done by faculty and students at Vermont College, otherwise known as VCFA-WCYA. That list is here.

Click on over and enjoy.

Then tell her how much you liked her blog when you see her at the SCBWI conference in LA this weekend. (She'll be one of the authors with bright PINK hair.)

-wo

Writing Progress

The past few days have been dedicated to creative work. This time I'm taking a picture book -- which a Vermont College advisor and I agreed looked more like an outline of a longer story than a picture book -- and I'm expanding it.

What Fun!

Instead of sitting at my computer, waiting for inspiration, I already have a workable outline, complete with beginning, three attempts, and success. The writing of it has just been whizzing along and I'm already at my required 20 pages for the month.

I don't want to stop this story to work on something else. I want to keep going with this one. But I"m also required to turn in 20 pages of revised work, so I will have to put this novel aside (complete with all sorts of notes as to what I want to do next) and pull up something already written which needs to be revised.

But today, I'm done.

Time for excercise. I have been going to the pool to swim laps after dinner for several weeks. But a cold, rainy front has come through and the pool will be cold. So my excercise the past days has been walking in a closed mall.

Very dangerous.

To the pocketbook (SALE at Talbots and Macys and...)

To my waistline -- because I pass three Ice Cream places and two Annie's Pretzels. Have you tried the Almond pretzels? Yummy!

-wo

Write at your Own Risk

The faculty of Vermont College of Fine Arts, Writing for Children and Young Adults just created a new blog. I can only assume that it will be full of great writing advice or perhaps glimpses into their writing lives. (They are multi-published authors)

The blog is called Write at Your Own Risk. I actually was on campus last January when the sign on the skating rink, Skate at your own risk, was changed in the middle of one night to Write at your own risk. How appropriate for something at a college of writing. And what an appropriate title for a blog of writing teachers.

Click on over to Write at Your Own Risk, and add them to your feed, or make a note to visit them at least once a week.

-wo

Nonfiction Monday

For your weekly links to reviews of great Nonfiction books, click on over to Lori Calabrese Writes!