Graphic by Alexis Daria
We’re all supposed to blog. Everyone says we should have a blog. But blogging is such an intricate process it’s practically it’s own sport. So how do we get in the game?
If you’ve been blogging for years, come share your skills. If you’ve never written a post, join us and learn.
See you Sunday at 4pm PDT/ 7pm EDT!
~Robin Lovett
By Kate McMurray
At RT in 2017, I’m going to be teaching as part of the pre-conference writing workshop, which I’m pretty excited about. I’ve been teaching at conferences for a few years now, and I really enjoy it. Presenting a panel or workshop at a conference is a great way to get in front of readers or share knowledge. I got my start at small conferences and have worked by way up to panels and workshops at the big conventions like RT and RWA.
So here’s how you put together a stellar workshop proposal.
Graphic by Alexis Daria
Writing conferences are a great way to get our names out there and meet other writers. But what if we could not only go to conferences but present at them? Having the bravery to get in front of a room of writers and talk to them about what you know – it’s a hallmark career moment. How do we get there?
If you’ve been on a panel before, come share your experience. If you’ve never done it or even thought about it, come learn how it’s done.
See you Sunday 4pm PST / 7pm EST.
~Robin Lovett
In September of this year, I signed an agent. I’m giddy. This is a major milestone in my career, the goal I set for myself in February 2016, and I did it in seven months. I celebrated. I have a beautiful fountain pen as a congratulatory gift from friends. I watched all my plans for the last quarter of 2016 get upended and now I am on a different path.
I feel trepidation, because I don’t know where I’m going. I mean there I was, hoping for an agent (and putting in the work to get one) and dreaming about getting a deal on my fantasy novel, WITCHMARK. I worked hard on that story, revising it and revising it again during FicFest with Michelle Hazen. I had sent it out to agents, and I was just at the point where there was nothing left to do but wait.
But while I was waiting for that to come back, I wrote IRL. It’s a contemporary romance about a game designer and an actor cast as the character she’s designing. I don’t think I could have written something more opposite day if I *tried.* And now I don’t know what I’m gonna do with this book, or where it belongs .
I wasn’t thinking about my career direction. I was going in all directions, free to pursue this or that, like the college student enrolled in general studies to discover what ignites her interest. But getting an agent has brought me back down to earth. The game has changed, and I’m now wondering, “Where do I want to go from here?”
So many questions, so many decisions. I’m thinking about what I want to write, what sort of deadline schedule I want, where I stand on the continuum of “commercial” and “artistic” and finally, finally I’m starting to understand why thinking about your brand matters. I thought I had time to think about that later.Well, later is here.
One question I’m pondering is, “Whose writing career do you want?” It’s a hard question! Because of course my path is going to be unique to me, and so I don’t really want to copy any one writer’s career exactly. But I am thinking about my influences and how they shaped the way I tell stories – do they have insight on the way I move forward? Writing is a long game and it doesn’t end with this one book. Now I have to write more, and what I write will shape my brand and build my audience.
The only thing I know for sure is future books will have kissing. How could they not?
Graphic by Alexis Daria
Whose writing career do you want?
That’s right. Think about it, what writer has the career you dream about having?
Now let’s make it happen!
Join us next Sunday with your dream career in mind, and we’ll chat about how we can turn our dream careers into reality.
~Robin Lovett
It may sound like a bit of an exaggeration, but I don’t think it is. Writing 50,000 words in the month of November for the last three years, with the help and support of the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) community has made me the writer I am, and it’s not just because my 2014 NaNo book became my debut published novel this summer.
My NaNoWriMo stickers on the back of my old laptop from the three years I won.
The discipline to commit and write a novel in 30 days is a daunting but very professional task. The respect it shows one’s work with a specific goal and a hard fast deadline along with the accountability of the whole NaNo community is the mark of a budding professional writer.
The number one thing NaNoWriMo did for me was teach me to turn off my overcritical, often debilitating inner editor. I have a tendency to over analyze everything, often making it hard to achieve a goal because perfection gives me writer’s block. But the NaNo philosophy of Don’t-Edit-Just-Write helped me learn to write for the pure enjoyment and pleasure of it.
In the midst of achieving deadlines this year, I’ve been losing sight of that – the joy of writing. I can’t wait until November 1st. NaNoWriMo is fast becoming my yearly commitment to myself to remember I LOVE TO WRITE!
We’re two weeks out from the start of NaNo. The perfect time to start planning your novel for the month. Alexis Daria, NaNo veteran and municipal liaison for over ten years, will have lots of provoking questions and info for us on what NaNo is all about – this Sunday 4pm PST / 7pm EST.
Until then, think about what it is you would love to write next.
~Robin Lovett
Image courtesy of National Novel Writing Month
NaNoWriMo – National Novel Writing Month – starts November 1st.
For the virgin writers out there, it’s a crusade to write 50,000 words in the month of November along with hundreds of thousands of writers around the world. It’s about committing to a writing goal with the help of your peers.
Your #RWChat hosts are big fans of NaNo. Alexis Daria has been doing it since 2004 and has been a municipal liaison for the New York City region since 2006. C.L. Polk has done the NaNo camps in April and July, and my first book published this summer was written for NaNo in 2014.
This Sunday we’ll chat about what it’s like to plan a writing marathon with big word count aspirations. If you’ve done it before, come share your tips. If you haven’t, come learn more.
See you Sunday 4pm PST / 7pm EST!
~Robin Lovett
We all want to succeed, right? Of course. We think. Most days. Sort of.
Battling through our insecurities and self-sabotage on the road to success isn’t easy. But the good news is – we’re not alone. Everyone does it. Join us to talk about how your Fears of Success manifest and learn how others do battle with it. We all fight the fight toward the goals we deserve to achieve. Let’s compare notes! Sunday 4pm PST / 7pm EST
~Robin Lovett
Romance Writers Chat 