Here I am back home from my third time at the Surrey International Writers’ Conference. Each time I attend it, it just seems to get better.
This year I started with an afternoon master class on Thursday, October 17th. The master class was “A Thematic Approach to Science Fiction”. Presented by bestselling Science Fiction author Robert J. Sawyer, it gave me another way to approach writing my books. What a great class.
Friday brought additional experiences. I didn’t bring a watch, so I worked at the computer in the hotel business center, until it was time for my pitch with agent Nephele Tempest. Wow! I get to send her the first three chapters of my book, as well as a two page synopsis. I will go through it one more time before I send it.
Another thing available at SiWC (Surrey International Writers’ Conference) is what’s called a blue pencil. This is the opportunity to have one of the author presenters read and comment on three pages of your manuscript. The past two years I was lucky enough to get feedback from ‘Michael Slade’. This year I sat down with Jane Espenson, long time writer and contributor to successful TV shows such as Battlestar Galactica, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and now Once Upon A Time, just to name a few. I was thrilled with the comments and recommendations she gave me. I will work on these before I submit to Nephele Tempest.
The workshops were amazing. Some of the things I learned will kick in automatically, some I will have to work on. Either way, once more I have reaped great benefits.
Now it’s time to get back to work. My posts over the month of November and beyond will be pages of the story I wrote for the 2012 Surrey Story Tellers contest. I look forward to hearing your comments.
Keep reading and writing.
Jodi