Virtual Visiting

This is a skinny post... because I’ve been dropping into WriteOnCon which finished this afternoon our time. This year WriteOnCon had live Twitter pitch events with agents and a very active forum for attendees with great discussions.

Some of the topics under discussion...that whole age range thing in Mid Grade and Young Adult... Where is the cut off?

Writing now... the perils of getting it right in the 21st Century... The agents were calling for more contemporary MG and YA.

The classic show don’t tell advice... actually you need some tell.

And agents pet hate... starting in the middle of the scene without giving us time to be emotionally invested. Nathan Bransford gives an example and asks how do you name your characters.

Voice... Voice... Voice... It makes your writing standout... and should be in your queries.

So what else has caught my eye this week.

A heartfelt plea for authors to stop dissing each other.

Turning your website into an online store

Joanna Penn’s interview with Bootstrapper guru Tucker on marketing books.

Jane Friedman has a great post on social media advice.

Janice Hardy has a timely diagnostic post on weak middles.

Moran Chaim wonders whether outlining is a good way to start.

Battling self doubt as a writer (the writer’s curse)

8 things to think about before you publish and

5 things you should not do.

To Finish.

What is the one thing your main character can’t live without? This is an interesting post which also resonates with writers. Social contact with people who understand your weird fascination with invented characters... even if it is only through the computer screen and you are visiting virtually... sometimes that is all you need to get your brain zinging. 

maureen