Wednesday 9 February 2011

Awesome writing workshop!

First of all, I'd like to welcome my new followers and Crusaders!  I'm very pleased to meet all of you!  I'm getting close to 200!  So cool!  Yay!  I think book giveaways are on the cards! Woo-hoo!!!

So, what have you been doing these days?  Exciting week so far?  Tell me what you have been up to!

Me?  Let me tell you...

Last Saturday, I attended a writing workshop (Writing Children's Fiction) with a very enthusiastic tutor, Author Paeony Lewis.  Paeony has a joyous personality with an infectious laughter that obviously made us smile all throughout the four hours we were with her.  The writing exercises were very interesting indeed, especially the characterization part where we were asked to create a character not realising that in the process, we were also creating an idea for a story!

I left the classroom so elated that I wanted to zoom back home so I could carry on writing!  Paeony gave us so much inspiration and encouragement, without forgetting to state the truth - that it is hard to get published but absolutely not impossible.

Here are some points that I've learned from my charismatic tutor, Paeony:

1.  When writing, always remember that a story is a problem that needs to be solved.

2.  Aside from the main plot, you must always have a psychological plot that develops in each chapter of your story.

3.  Take rejections as part of apprenticeship.

4.  Even after getting published, you will still get rejected.

5.  You don't have to have an agent.

6.  You can contact publishers directly but you have to find out who these publishers are who accept submissions directly from writers.

7.  You can submit the same work to as many publishers as you want at the same time.

8.  Agents don't like receiving manuscripts that have already been submitted to publishers.

9.  Give the publisher or agent time to have a look at your work.  Six months is enough time - if you haven't heard from them, it is time to write and make a follow-up.

10.  Publishers are always looking for fresh ideas and new talent so don't ever give up!

There you go, dear friends!  I know some of them you already know as writers but just the same, I thought I'd share them with you as a good reminder.

Happy writing, everyone!

20 comments:

Ann said...

You can never hear these tips to many times Len. Your workshop sounds wonderful. Anything that puts the writing fire under you is time well spent. Have a wonderful Crusade.

Misha Gerrick said...

She sounds wonderful.

Thanks for the great tips.

:-)

Anonymous said...

I attended a workshop recently and came home to my YA Novel with a new enthusiasm. Workshops are very motivating!

Nikki

Old Kitty said...

Oh this sounds like a fantastic workshop!! I'm so glad you had such an amazing time and are thoroughly inspired!! Thank you for sharing these handy tips here too!! I like no.2 - this really gives a story depth!!

Take care
x

Old Kitty said...

Oh how wonderful to come away from an amazing workshop thoroughly inspired!! Yay for you!! And thank you so much for sharing these lessons here. They are definitely well worth remember and keeping in mind when writing. Have a great evening too! take care
x

Unknown said...

Amazing tips!!! I really want to attend a conference one of these days!

Lisha @ DeLovely Life said...

Those are some good things to know. I'm pretty naive about those things. I hope the workshop pushed your work to the next level. :)

Carrie said...

This sounds great! Thanks for the tips! I found you through the crusade and your blog is lovely.

sim only deals said...

Oh how wonderful to come away from an amazing workshop thoroughly inspired!! Yay for you!! And thank you so much for sharing these lessons here.

Glynis Peters said...

It sounds great fun. How wonderful she inspired you. Have fun, Len.

Jen said...

Great tips. Have you read On Writing by Stephen King? Another fun way of getting encouragement and advice.

Elana Johnson said...

These are fabulous tips! Thanks for sharing. I especially like the rejection one. It's so true!

Sarah Allen said...

This looks great! Wish I could join. Hope it turns out fantastically for everyone.

Sarah Allen
(my creative writing blog)

Margo Berendsen said...

I am starting to visit other Crusaders. Wonderful stuff from that writer's workshop you are at. I like the idea of rejections being part of an apprenticeship. And most excellent advice: a story is a problem that needs solved. thanks for sharing!

ruthinian said...

wow... seems that you are back in full circle [sort of]. i am so glad that you are blogging again. take care friend.

have a wonderful weekend.

Tony Benson said...

Hi fellow crusader. That sounds like an interesting workshop. I can see how inspiring it must have been.

Stephanie Skeem said...

Hiya crusader,

Nice to meet you. Love your blog! I look forward to get to know you better.

Hope you have a great day

*Cheers*

Steph

Unknown said...

Hi Len,
I saw you on Rach Writes. Thought I'd stop by. I don't know if your background is always roses, but it's perfect for Valentines coming up. Then again, do they have Valentines in the UK? (I need to get out more, huh?) See you around the blogosphere!

Margo Benson said...

That sounded like a wonderful workshop - thanks so much for passing on the tips.

Great to meet you from a fellow crusader!

Len Lambert said...

Hi Everyone! I can't believe that after attending a workshop, ideas for another two books suddenly came up. Two light bulbs lit up!

Ruthi - hi there! Nice to see you over here! Thanks for dropping by. I did not disappear from the blogosphere, babe, I'm always here :)

Lois - Hi there! Nice to have you! Will drop by your blog too! I've been using the roses wallpaper for months now...so that it's always Valentines Day, LOL.