** Be warned, he uses four-letter words and some people may find elements of his writing style mildly offensive, but it’s worth a look.**

Frankly, most of these are life learnings that could apply to anyone, not just writers. Here’s a summary:

1. Stop running away
2. Stop stopping
3. Stop writing in someone else’s voice
4. Stop worrying
5. Stop hurrying
6. Stop waiting
7. Stop thinking it should be easier
8. Stop deprioritizing your wordsmithy
9. Stop treating your body like a dumpster
10. Stop the moping and the whining
11. Stop blaming everyone else
12. Stop the shame
13. Stop lamenting your mistakes
14. Stop playing it safe
15. Stop trying to control &*%$ you can’t control
16. Stop doing one thing
17. Stop writing for the market
18. Stop chasing trends
19. Stop caring about what other writers are doing
20. Stop caring so much about the publishing industry
21. Stop listening to what won’t sell
22. Stop overpromising and overshooting
23. Stop leaving yourself off the page
24. Stop dreaming
25. Stop being afraid

To read the full post, go here.

There are some fascinating blog posts by Rachel Stark on her Trac Changes blog. The one that caught my eye was “Cover Trends in YA Fiction: Why the Obsession with an Elegant Death?”. She is talking about what she called “internalized misogyny”, where teenage girls may be romanticizing and looking for an “elegant death”.

Whether you agree or disagree with her point of view, it’s certainly worth thinking and talking about.

To read the entire article, click here. I recommend you follow her links to her other posts on topics such as “the glorification of abusive relationships in Twilight“, definitely one to stir the pot!

SCBWI British Isles and SCBWI Ireland jointly organized a weekend writing retreat from November 4^th to November 6^th, 2011. The retreat was held at the serene Emmaus Centre just outside Swords north of Dublin and near the Dublin airport in Ireland.

The weekend included lots of writing time, delicious meals and an abundance of tea, coffee and biscuits, time to mix and mingle with other writers, and presentations from three speakers: children’s author Steve Hartley, who facilitated the event; illustrator/children’s author, Oisín McGann; and Elaina O’Neill, Managing Editor for Little Island Books.

I arrived early on Friday, so once I dumped my bag in my room. I went outside with my camera and enjoyed the sun, scenery, and squirrels for an hour or so.

Emmaus Centre

Everyone met up for dinner and after a bit of writing and relaxation, we met up for an icebreaker and chat with Steve Hartley. After introductions from all twelve participants, Steve shared some of his writing and publishing experiences with us and what he’d learned that might be helpful for other writers working towards publication.

Saturday came early as we were on the early breakfast schedule at 8:00 a.m. but that meant we had loads of time to get together and share our writing and ideas and discuss any problems we might be having. For example, I was feeling stuck with my current story because I wasn’t really sure what the conflict was. Steve’s advice to me was to figure out the purpose of my book, and that would help me to decide on the conflict or problem. I had feedback from another participant, which was also very useful, and I managed to write several more pages and lots of notes over the course of the weekend.

Steve gave his presentation before lunch, entitled “Keeping Characters in Character”. It was a very useful session as Steve explained how he uses a type of personality/social style analysis and applies it to his characters. I don’t think any of us had ever thought to use it this way, to apply it to our characters. It is quite ingenious, because you have a quick way to determine whether your character is, for example, a Driver, an Analytical, an Amiable, or an Expressive. From this, you can determine how they should react in normal and in stressful situations. It also helps you to determine the conflicts that can arise with other personality types.

Very useful and has probably changed our lives forever. (Wink to Steve.)

After a yummy lunch, we met up to listen to Oisín McGann talk about plot and structure or “What Happens Next” for his session. One point that stood out for me was the three critical elements to make a good story: people, place, and problem. We spent some time coming up with ordinary events and then changing them just a little to make them into problems. It was a lot of fun and quite surprising at times!

A great piece of advice that Oisín says he learned from his brief sojourn as a copyeditor was “If you can take it out, do take it out”.

Oisín finished up with a question and answer session while he did a sketch of his Mad Granddad character. There was only one illustrator in the group, but we were all impressed with his speed and skill.

Oisin McGann

We took a group photo before we went off for our next round of tea and biscuits. I think everyone was laughing at the wolf howl setting on my camera’s timer or perhaps it was my mad dash and dive to the floor for the photo.

Participants with two presenters

Standing L to R: Barbara, Trish, Steve Hartley, Helen, Oisín McGann, Anne, Lisa
Seated L to R: Benjamin, Jane, Jacqui, Jean, Stephen
Floor: Colleen

We had more writing time before dinner. Most of the group decided to go into Swords for a pint of Guinness then came back for a quiet chat in the lounge. A few of us stayed back to rest or write for the evening.

Sunday started early again with breakfast and some writing time. Elaina O’Neill, Managing Editor at Little Island Books, arrived to talk about her current list. She showed us a selection of books published by Little Island in the last year and talked about why those books were chosen. What came across most strongly for me was that no matter what other issues, like gate keepers, controversy, and marketability, had to be considered, the number one factor in choosing stories was definitely based on the quality of the writing. Elaina was very generous with her time and answered lots of questions from the participants.

Finally, we had time to pack, write, or go for a walk on the grounds before lunch and then we all departed back to our various homes.

The weekend was very enjoyable and the smaller group allowed us time to get to know each other. Steve did individual critiques for participants who asked. He was kind and supportive while also being practical with his advice. Thanks Steve!

Very special thanks to:

• Benjamin Scott, Assistant Regional Advisor for SCBWI British Isles, Jane Mitchell, Assistant Regional Advisor for SCBWI Ireland, and Jacqui McVeigh, Regional Advisor for SCBWI Ireland, for organizing the retreat and making it all happen.
• The Brothers and Sisters and staff at the Emmaus Centre for their warm welcome and wonderful facilities.
• Steve Hartley, Oisín McGann, and Elaina O’Neill, for their engaging, entertaining, and helpful presentations.

For those of you who couldn’t make it, as Steve would say, you missed a cracker of a weekend!

The show opens on November 17, 2011 at 7:30 pm in the Little Green Street Gallery on Little Green Street (near Capel Street), Dublin 1. The Exhibition runs until November 30th. The opening night includes outstanding new artwork plus the Irish Distillers drinks promotion and Pichet nibbles!

Inklings Invite

The next series of courses begins in January 2012 (Tuesday and Wednesday evenings) from 6:30 to 9:00 pm, €780 for 24 weeks. For more information, syllabus, to view student work, and read testimonials, visit Adrienne’s website: www.adriennegeoghegan.com

Places are very limited (3 left on Picture Book course and 6 on Illustration Boot Camp), so hurry if you want to sign up!

“These are very interesting times for the publishing industry: bookstore closures; the proliferation of e-books; the new legitimacy of self-publishing; the rise of Amazon, Google and Apple; the launch of new digital publishers … There are almost daily announcements and changes. Scott Sigler‘s story presents an example of the new publishing paradigm.”

Go to Jane Friedman’s blog to read the full article.

In a recent Glimmer Train bulletin, “Cutting Out the Bad Bits,”by fiction writer Will Boast, he says:

“Give yourself a good deal of raw material to work with before you begin to edit. Try multiple angles—change the point of view, change the perspective. Multiple takes—write the same scene two, three, ten different ways. Allow yourself multiple performances—let your characters deliver their lines with several different inflections and respond to each other in new, unexpected ways.

Then, when you have your rough cut, mix up the chronology. Try intercutting one scene with another … as you splice different passages together, remember always that you’re working toward rhythm.”

To read the full article, go to Glimmer Train’s site.

This book could prove useful to storytellers, writers, illustrators, playwrites, and filmmakers, in fact, to anyone who is trying to communicate to others in any form.

The excerpt includes:

• Story leads to meaning
• Going beyond narrative and beyond plot
• Less is more
• But: Spin out certain threads
• The oldest art

Read the full excerpt in Jane Friedman’s blog, then go and buy the book!

A lot of these will be American-centric, but many could still prove useful to writers in Ireland and other locations. It may help you search out additional resources.

Lists include:

• Book publishers
• Agents
• Literary journals
• Magazines and periodicals

Please see Jane Friedman’s blog for the full article and lists.

She offers some wisdom from her own mother:

• There will always be really high praise and then also the really negative. It’s best to discard both and take what’s in the middle.
• Remember the path leads through both valleys and peaks.
• Stand up straight and keep walking.
• Share the journey with a few who understand.

Visit Rachelle Gardner’s blog for the full article.

There are still spaces available for any writers interesting in attending this fabulous event! You don’t have to be a member of SCBWI to attend.

Please see our Events page for all the details and contact information. Hurry! You don’t want to miss it!!