United Kingdom Magzines

Toronto Life launches new iPad edition

Toronto Life magazine has launched a new iPad edition, coincident with its March "Best Doctors" issue that is available today on newsstands.The free custom app makes the tablet version of the magazine available (by subscription), along with video, interactive features and slideshows. The app is free at the iTunes store.Toronto Life print subscribers are being offered a 30-day free trial

Accolades & New Title for Sizzles, Great Links for Writers

Unknown 01:29 Fire up Your Fiction , Jodie Renner , Jodie Renner Editing , Style That Sizzles & Pacing for Power

The Okanagan Valley, BC

Just in case you haven't signed up for my occasional newsletter, here's the one I sent out today to my subscribers. Scroll down for new developments for me and my books, plus some links to great blog posts for writers and aspiring authors.

~ JODIE'S UPCOMING BIG MOVE

I’m busy selling my house and packing to move across the country May 1, so am cutting back on my editing until mid-May or June. I’m moving to the beautiful Okanagan Valley in British Columbia, Canada, to be near my family. I know I'm going to love the area, with large lakes, fruit orchards, and vineyards nestled among low mountains!

~ TWO AWARDS FOR SIZZLES

I’m thrilled to report that my writing guide, Style That Sizzles & Pacing for Power (soon to be retitled Fire up Your Fiction) has now won two awards, a Silver Medal in Sept. 2013 from the FAPA President’s Book Awards, and recently, Honorable Mention (third) in the 2013 Writer’s Digest Self-Published E-Book Awards. This is significant not only because it’s from the prestigious Writer’s Digest, but also because they only had two categories for this contest, fiction and nonfiction, so only a handful of awards.

Here’s a quote from the all-positive commentary from the Writer’s Digest judge:

“This book should be on the booklist for Master’s Programs in Writing for Publication.”

Speaking of which, several college creative writing courses have added this book to their list of recommended reading for students. If you know of any college or continuing education courses that would benefit from adding my book to their lists, I’d love it if you could suggest it!

~ UPCOMING TITLE CHANGE

And I’ve decided to change the title of Style That Sizzles & Pacing for Power to Fire up Your Fiction, so it’s instantly apparent what the book is about. And of course I'll make it clear in the description and the first few pages of the book that this is the same book, but with a new title.

~ THIRD BOOK TO BE RELEASED IN 2014

I’m almost finished the third book in my series, An Editor’s Guide to Writing Compelling Fiction. This one, called Immerse the Readers in Your Story World, is full of ideas and techniques for engaging your readers and bringing your characters and story to life on the page. Unfortunately, with my big move, the release might be delayed until around mid 2014.

~ ONGOING PRESENTATIONS AT WRITERS' CONFERENCES

I’ve also been busy presenting craft-of-writing workshops at writers’ conferences, most recently, the excellent SDSU Writers’ Conference in San Diego, Jan. 24-26, where I gave two presentations, “Engage Your Readers with Deep Point of View” and “Revise for Success.” Feedback from attendees was enthusiastic for both. Here are a few samples, with more coming that will be posted on my website at www.JodieRenner.com/workshops.

“Jodie Renner made my time a huge success at this year’s SDSU Writers’ Conference in San Diego. Her presentation on revision, titled “Revise for Success,” was thorough, informative, and succinct. ... Jodie Renner was a true find at the 2014 San Diego Writers’ Conference. I intend to stay current on whatever future projects include her.” ~ William Patterson, San Diego, Jan. 31, 2014

“Jodie Renner took 15 minutes to knock five years of bad writing habits out of me. Thank you.” ~ Lauren Monahan, Jan. 29, 2014

For a list of my past and future presentations to writers, as well as other comments from attendees, please visit www.JodieRenner.com/workshops

~ RECENT RELEVANT, USEFUL BLOG POSTS FOR WRITERS:

Writers’ Conferences & Book Festivals in North America in 2014

Book Contests for Indie Authors

Indie Publishing – Lessons Learned and Still Learning

Fire up Your Fiction with Foreshadowing

Using Thought-Reactions to Add Attitude & Immediacy

Character Descriptions – Learn From the Pros!

10 Tips for Attracting a Top-Notch Editor for Your Story

10 Ways to Add Depth to Your Scenes

Thanks, Amazon, for Promoting my Books for Free!

Don’t Stop the Story to Introduce Each Character

Jodie Renner, a freelance fiction editor specializing in thrillers and other fast-paced fiction, has published two books to date in her series, An Editor’s Guide to Writing Compelling Fiction: Writing a Killer Thriller and Style That Sizzles & Pacing for Power. For more info, please visit Jodie’s author website or editor website, her blog, Resources for Writers, and find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. Jodie also blogs alternate Mondays on The Kill Zone blog. Subscribe to Jodie’s “Resources for Writers” newsletter here.

Do Writers Really Have to Learn All That (Yucky) Grammar?

Unknown 13:43 and Word Usage , C.S. Lakin , grammar , Punctuation , Say What? The Fiction Writer's Handy Guide to Grammar , Susanne Lakin , writing fiction

Today's guest post is by my friend, editor and author, C.S. Lakin

Do we? Really?

In a word, yes. In two words: absolutely yes.

I hear groans. I hear protests. You hated English Comp in school? Old, crotchety Mrs. Snigglegrass made you dissect sentences and name the parts of speech? You got a what as your final grade?

I feel your pain. Who ever makes grammar fun and easy? Learning grammar, to some people, is as much fun as getting a tooth pulled. Or having to memorize the multiplication tables or the capitals of all the countries in the world (remember when they never changed?). Terms like dangling modifiers, predicates, participial phrases, and subjunctive mood give some people the chills. Did you have to conjugate verbs back in junior high? Do you know the difference between the past progressive tense and the past perfect? No? Do you care? More than likely, you don’t.

Every Vocation Requires a Knowledge of Tools
But how in the world will you be a proficient handler of the English language if you don’t know anything about the tools of your trade? What would you think if you brought your ailing car to a mechanic and he didn’t have any tools in the shop? Or he had a box full of tools but hadn’t a clue how to use any of them correctly.

For some reason, many writers feel they should get to “pass go” and proceed to “the bank” without having to do the hard work of learning to write well and become a master (or mistress) at handling language. I often wonder about the logic of that.

I work on about two hundred manuscripts a year—critiquing and editing—and I’m astonished at how poorly written some are. I’m not talking about novel structure, which is difficult and tricky to learn. I’m talking about very basic grammatical issues—punctuation, spelling, sentence structure. Granted, many writers send me a rough draft to work on, so I don’t expect them to have edited it to perfection. But what I see a lot is a lack of understanding regarding so many of the basics of good writing.

A Time to Gush and a Time to Polish

Some of this is just sloppy or lazy writing due to hurrying to slap thoughts on the page, and I get that. I encourage writers to gush and let their prose flow in their first draft. But I would expect they would then follow through by rereading at some future date and cleaning up the mess. And more importantly, knowing how to.

I’m not saying every writer must have super editing chops and spend months memorizing the Chicago Manual of Style. Just as we don’t expect all doctors to memorize Gray’s Anatomy. (Should we? Do they?)

I’m afraid, though, that many writers haven’t a clue how to clean up their messy manuscripts. And even worse, many don’t really care. They think it’s their editor’s job to transform the mess into perfect prose. And we editors often do that; maybe you think I should be grateful for the job security. But, speaking for myself, I would rather work on a draft that’s been carefully edited and shows the writer not only cares about what she’s written but has a respect for the English language (or whatever language she writes in). The way some writers mutilate language makes me wonder if they have a love-hate relationship with writing.

A mechanic or building contractor will take good care of his or her tools, learning to wield them correctly, and will choose the best tool for the specific task at hand. Words are the writer’s tools. Shouldn’t writers treat words similarly? We expect that anyone wanting to become a teacher, nurse, commercial truck driver, or plumber has to hit the books and learn their vocation. So why do so many people feel that being a writer exempts from having to take the time to learn proper grammar? Who started that lie anyway?

Proficiency Leads to Competency and Confidence
One morning I asked my surgeon/author friend to describe how he prepared for each surgery. He went on to explain how he filled out a “menu” of the surgical instruments he would need, which varied depending on the type of surgery he was about to perform. He would put a check mark next to numerous scalpels and other items (which I wouldn’t know what to call) and then turn in his menu. When he entered the operating room, he’d find his requested instruments and accessories neatly lined up waiting for him. With those specific tools, he could perform his surgery efficiently, competently, and confidently.

Well, no one is going to die if I don’t have the exact grammar tools or know all the rules when I sit down to write my novel, right? (you may be arguing). True, although I’ll be daring enough to say if you are lacking a lot of those proper tools, the patient (read: your novel, story, article, or post) may die a slow (or quite fast) and painful death. Which could have an adverse effect on your career as a writer.

You want your writing to shine. You want to show the world you are a terrific writer. Well then, Physician, know thy tools. Then you can perform your writing “operations” efficiently, competently, and confidently. And let me just add this: when you have the right tools and know how to use them, it always makes a job so much easier than if you don’t.

The fun thing about being grown-ups is we can decide how, when, and what we want to learn. The challenge is to erase the bad associations we have with certain subjects we suffered through in school (such as English Comp?) and find a new joy in the learning. It may sound trite, but it truly is a matter of attitude. Make the decision to adopt a healthy attitude about learning grammar. Set aside some time each day or week to dig into books or websites that can teach you what some of those yucky things are all about. Who knows, you may even learn to love those dang(ling) participles or misplaced modifiers!

C. S. Lakin is a multipublished novelist and writing coach. She works full-time as a copyeditor and critiques about two hundred manuscripts a year. She teaches writing workshops and gives instruction on her award-winning blog Live Write Thrive. Her new book, Say What? The Fiction Writer’s Handy Guide to Grammar, Punctuation, and Word Usage, is designed to help writers get a painless grasp on grammar. You can buy it in print here or as an ebook here.

Connect with her on Twitter and Facebook.

Dialogue Nuts and Bolts

Unknown 02:41

by Jodie Renner, editor & author

In another article, Tips for Writing Effective Dialogue, I discuss various techniques for writing dialogue that will come alive on the page. Drop over there for some advice on making your dialogue less stilted and more natural-sounding. Also, check out another post of mine, Some Dialogue Don’ts.

This article just provides a reference for the grammatically correct way to write dialogue, as well as some style tips for dialogue tags. Using correct punctuation and form for dialogue will keep your readers from becoming distracted, confused or annoyed, and maintain their focus on your story. So if you want your manuscript to look professional and your story to read smoothly, it’s best to follow these technical guidelines.

THE BASICS:

First of all, start a new paragraph every time the speaker changes. On the other hand, don’t start a new paragraph if it’s still the same speaker, unless you’re doing it for a good reason, like a pause or emphasis.

Punctuation for Dialogue:

1. Put quotation marks around all spoken words.

Although in Britain and Australia, it’s more common to use single quotes around dialogue, in the United States and Canada, the standard is double quotes around dialogue, with single quotes around any quoted words or phrases within the quoted dialogue.
2. In North America, the punctuation always goes inside the end quote, not outside it:

“What’s wrong with you?” he asked.
“Nothing,” she replied.

3. If the person is asking a question, the question mark goes inside the quotation mark, and a period goes at the end of the whole sentence. The same goes for exclamations.

“Where were you?” she asked.
“Help!” he shouted.

Note that in the above examples, even though your word processor wants you to put a capital letter for “she” or “he”, these need to be lowercase, as they don’t start a new sentence.

4. If the person speaking is making a statement (or a suggestion or a command), replace the period (which would follow if it weren’t in quotation marks) with a comma. Then put your period at the end of the sentence.

“Let’s go home,” he said.

5. If there’s no attribute (he said, she said), put a period inside the closing quotation mark.

“Turn off the TV.”

6. If you start with the dialogue tag, put a comma after it, before your opening quotation mark and the dialogue:

He said, “But my game is on.”

7. If you want to put your dialogue tag in the middle of a sentence, put a comma inside the first set of closing quotation marks, and also after the dialogue tag:
“I can never understand,” she said, “what you see in him.” (Note no capital for the second part.)

8. If one person is speaking and the dialogue goes on for more than one paragraph (definitely not a great idea to have one person speaking at great length), you leave out the closing quotation marks at the end of the first paragraph, but put opening quotation marks at the beginning of the next one. Use closing quotation marks only when that person is finished speaking.

“…no matter what you do.
“And another thing, don’t ….”

STYLE TIPS

1. Avoid overusing dialogue tags. Instead of constantly using he said or she said (or the name and said), replace them often with action beats, which will also help bring the scene alive:

He closed the door very quietly. Too late.
She stood there, hands on hips. “Where’ve you been?”
“Don’t start.” He took off his coat and hung it up.

The action immediately before or after the words tells us who’s talking.
Or, if it can be done without confusing the readers, just leave out the dialogue tag or action beat. Context often makes it obvious who’s speaking.

2. The best dialogue tags are the simple he said and she said (or asked), or with the name: John said, Carol said. These simple dialogue tags don’t draw attention to themselves or interrupt the story line, as they’re almost invisible. Avoid fancy tags like queried, chortled, alleged, proclaimed, conjectured, affirmed, etc., which can be distracting. But I do suggest using verbs that accurately and quickly describe how the words are delivered, like whispered, shouted, yelled, screamed, or stammered.

3. You can’t use words like laughed or grinned or smiled or grimaced or scowled as dialogue tags.

These are both incorrect:

“You look great,” he grinned.
“Why, thank you,” she smiled.

Why don’t they work? Because smiling is not talking; you can’t “smile” or “grin” words.
Change to:
“You look great,” he said, grinning.

“Why, thank you.” She smiled at the compliment. (Note period and capital “She”)
Or “Why, thank you,” she said, then smiled at him.

4. Use adverbs very sparingly.

Avoid:

“I’m sorry,” she said apologetically.
“Come here,” he said imperiously.
“I’m in charge,” she said haughtily.

Instead, make sure the words they’re saying and any actions convey the feelings you wish to express.

5. Slightly off-topic: Do not put quotation marks around thoughts. That’s a topic for another post.
TWO CURRENT STYLE TRENDS (Jodie’s observations):

1. Contemporary North American fiction seems to avoid the reversed form, “said Carol”, in favor of “Carol said.” The reversed form seems to be more British and also considered kind of archaic, which makes it great for historical fiction.

2. Most contemporary North American fiction writers, with the notable exception of Lee Child, seem to put most dialogue tags after the words spoken:

“Let’s go,” Tony said.

Rather than before:
Tony said, “Let’s go.”

These last two points are of course just my observations of common usage, not rules. But aspiring or debut authors would do well to stick with what seems to be in favor, to give a contemporary feel to your novel. Of course, if you’re writing historical fiction, go for the older “said Elizabeth” form.

Jodie Renner is a freelance fiction editor and the award-winning author of three craft-of-writing guides in her series An Editor’s Guide to Writing Compelling Fiction: Captivate Your Readers, Fire up Your Fiction, and Writing a Killer Thriller. She has also published two clickable time-saving e-resources to date: Quick Clicks: Spelling List and Quick Clicks: Word Usage. You can find Jodie at www.JodieRenner.com, www.JodieRennerEditing.com, at The Kill Zone blog alternate Mondays, and on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.

30 Excellent Points to Consider as You Revise / Rewrite Your Novel

Unknown 03:17 how to write a novel , how to write fiction , revising , revision , rewriting , Writers Write

I just discovered an excellent checklist for revising / rewriting your fiction. I highly recommend you go through these points to see if any of them resonate with you in regards to your current WIP.

I tried to copy just the beginning of the list to give you a taste of it, but it would only let me copy the whole thing. It's on an excellent blog called "Writers Write." Here's the link: http://writerswrite.co.za/rewriting-a-checklist-for-authors-1 Follow them by clicking on the links at the end.

Rewriting – A Checklist for Authors

30 questions to ask when you're revising / rewriting your novel

Taken from Writers Write -How to write a book. Join our Writers Write course from 13-16 January 2014 (more dates available on request). Email news@writerswrite.co.za for details.
Join us on Facebook and Twitter for daily writing tips

Follow @Writers_Write

AND SCROLL DOWN FOR A LIST OF WRITERS' CONFERENCES & BOOK FESTIVALS IN 2014.

Writers' Conferences & Book Festivals in North America in 2014

Unknown 20:09 book festivals , writer's conferences , writers conferences , writers conventions , writers workshops , writers' conferences , writers' workshops

by Jodie Renner, editor, author, speaker

As I do several times a year, I've compiled a list of writers' conferences and book festivals in North America, this one for all of 2014. I'll continue to update it with new conferences and dates as I find out about them, so check back regularly. Please let me know if I’ve missed any and I’ll add them to the list. Be sure to give me the name of the conference, the date(s), location, and website URL. Thanks!

CLICK HERE FOR AN UPDATED LIST OF WRITERS' CONFERENCES & BOOK FESTIVALS FROM SEPT. 2014 TO AUG. 2015.

JANUARY 2014:

Jan. 10-11, 2014 – FWA's Mid-Winter Conference West and Reading Festival, Bradenton, Florida. http://floridawriters.net/Home_Page.html

Jan. 18, 2014 - The New England Book Festival, Boston, Mass., http://www.newenglandbookfestival.com/

Jan. 18-24, 2014: Writers in Paradise conference, St. Petersburg, Florida. http://writersinparadise.eckerd.edu/

Jan. 24-26, 2014 – San Diego State University Writers’ Conference, Doubletree Hotel, San Diego’s Mission Valley. http://www.ces.sdsu.edu/writers/ (Jodie is presenting 2 workshops at this one.)

FEBRUARY 2014:

Feb. 1, 2014 - Cape Fear Crime Festival, Wilmington, NC. http://www.capefearcrimefestival2.com/

Feb. 7-9, 2014 - Love Is Murder Mystery Conference, Chicago, IL. http://www.loveismurder.net/

Feb. 8-9, 2014 – Genre-la writers’ conference, Los Angeles Valley College, Van Nuys, CA. http://www.wcwriters.com/genrela/index.html

Feb. 13-16, 2014 – San Francisco Writers’ Conference, San Francisco. http://www.sfwriters.org/

Feb. 12-17, 2014 – San Miguel Writers Conference, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
http://www.sanmiguelwritersconference.org/

Feb. 13-16, 2014 – Savannah Book Festival, Savannah, GA. Free and open to the public. http://www.savannahbookfestival.org/

Feb. 13-16, 2014 – Writing For the Soul, Colorado Springs, Colo. www.christianwritersguild.com/conference

Feb. 14-17, 2014 – The Southern California Writers Conference (SCWC) – San Diego http://www.writersconference.com/

Feb. 21-22, 2014 – WANACon International – virtual (online) worldwide writing conference http://wanaintl.com/wanacon-feb2014/

Feb. 26- March 1, 2014 – AWP Writers’ Conference in Seattle, Wash., Assoc. of Writers and Writing Programs: http://awpwriter.org/conference/

Feb. 27-Mar. 2, 2014 – SleuthFest annual mystery writers' conference, by the Florida chapter of MWA, Orlando, FL. http://www.mwa-fl.org/sleuthfest.htm

MARCH 2014:

March 7-9, 2014 –The Dahlonega Book Festival, Dahlonega Georgia
http://dahlonegaliteraryfestival.wordpress.com/

March 7-9, 2014 – Wordcrafters in Eugene inaugural Writers’ Conference, Eugene, Oregon. “The focus is on fiction.” http://wordcraftersineugene.org/

March 8, 2014 – Florida Authors & Publishers Association’s 2014 Spring Fling: "Effectively Navigating the Self-Publishing Process," Orlando, FL http://www.floridapublishersassociation.com/fpa-spring-event

March 15-16, 2014 – The Tucson Festival of Books, University of Arizona campus, Tucson, AZ. Free and excellent! http://tucsonfestivalofbooks.org/

March 20-22, 2014 – The Write Stuff, Allentown, PA. Keynote: Hank Phillipi Ryan. http://www.glvwg.org/conference/index.html

March 22, 2014- Unicorn Writers’ Conference, Portland, CT. http://www.unicornwritersconference.com/

March 19-23, 2014 – Virginia Festival of the Book, Charlottesville, Virginia, http://www.vabook.org/index.html/

March 20-23, 2014 - Left Coast Crime annual mystery convention. This year it’s at Monterey, California. http://www.leftcoastcrime.org

March 20-23, 2014 - Romfest. Knoxville Airport Hilton, Alcoa, Tn. Keynote speaker is Brenda Novak. www.romfest.com.

March 27-29, 2014 - The Gulf Coast Association of Creative Writing Teachers Annual Conference, Faulkner State College, Fairhope AL. http://www.gcacwt.com/

March 28-29, 2014 - Northern Colorado Writers Conference, Fort Collins, CO. http://www.northerncoloradowriters.com/

APRIL 2014:

April 4-6, 2014 - UW-Madison Writers' Institute’s 25th Annual Conference, Madison, Wisconsin. http://continuingstudies.wisc.edu/lsa/writing/awi/index.html

April 4-6, 2014 – Mad Anthony Writers Conference, Hamilton, Ohio. http://writelikemad.com/

April 11-13, 2014 - Houston Writers Guild Conference, Houston, Texas. http://houstonwritersguild.org/

April 11-13, 2014 - Missouri Writers Guild conference, Ramada, downtown St Louis. www.missouriwritersguild.org.

April 10-15, 2014 - The Mount Hermon Christian Writer's Conference, http://www.mounthermon.org/event/212

April 19, 2014 – Alabama Book Festival, Montgomery. Free. http://www.alabamabookfestival.org/

April 24-26, 2014 – Las Vegas Writers’ Conference, Sam's Town Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada. http://www.lasvegaswritersconference.com/

April 24-26, 2014 - Arkansas Literary Festival. Little Rock, AR http://www.arkansasliteraryfestival.org/

April 25, 2014 – Southern Kentucky Bookfest. – Free. http://www.sokybookfest.org/KYWritersConf

April 25-26, 2014 - Chicago Spring Fling Writers Conference, http://chicagospringfling.com/

April 25-26, 2014 - North East Texas Writers' 28th Annual Writers' Round-up in Mt. Pleasant, Texas. http://www.netwo.org

April 25-27, 2014 - Pikes Peak Writers Conference, Colorado Springs, Colorado. http://www.pikespeakwriters.com/ppwc/

MAY 2014:

May 1-3, 2014 - The Oklahoma Writers Federation Story Weavers Conference, Oklahoma City. http://www.owfi.org/conference.php

May 2-4, 2014 - Malice Domestic, annual traditional mystery fan convention, in Bethesda, MD. www.malicedomestic.org

May 3-4, 2014 - Dallas - Fort WorthWriters Conference, Hurst Conference Center, DFW Metroplex, Texas. http://www.dfwcon.org. Twitter: @dfwcon.

May 3-4, 2014 - Ontario Writers Conference, Ajax, Ontario, Canada.
http://thewritersconference.com/

May 7-9, 2014 – Nonfiction Writers Conference, virtual. http://nonfictionwritersconference.com/2014-nonfiction-writers-conference/

May 14-18, 2014– Romantic Times Book Lovers’ Convention, New Orleans, LA http://www.rtconvention.com

May 15-18, 2014 – Pennwriters, Lancaster, PA. Keynote: Kami Garcia. http://www.pennwriters.org

May 15-18, 2014 - CCWWP 2014 – Canada’s Writing Conference, UBC campus, Vancouver, BC. http://www.ccwwp.ca/category/conference/

May 16-17, 2014 - Tallahassee Book Festival and Writers Conference, Tallahassee, Florida. http://www.twaonline.org/ (Jodie is presenting 2 workshops at this one.)

May 16-18, 2014 - SC Book Festival, Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center in Columbia, South Carolina. http://www.scbookfestival.org/

May 17, 2014 - Detroit Working Writers - DWW 2014 Writers Conference Clinton-Macomb Public Library, Clinton Twp, MI http://dww-writers-conference.org/

JUNE 2014:

June 5-8, 2014 - Crested Butte Writers Conference, West Elk Mountains, Colorado. http://www.crestedbuttewriters.org/conf.php

June 6-8, 2014: Philadelphia Writers' Conference, Holiday Inn Historic District, Philadelphia, PA. www.pwcwriters.org

June 6-8, 2014 - Bloody Words mystery writers’ conference, Toronto, Ont., Canada, http://2014.bloodywords.com

June 7-14, 2014 - Santa Barbara Writers Conference, Santa Barbara, CA. http://www.sbwriters.com/

June 13-14, 2014 - Mystery Writers Key West Fest, Key West, Florida. www.mysterywriterskeywestfest.com.

June 13-17, 2014 – Kachemak Bay Writers’ Conference, Lands End Resort, Homer, Alaska. http://writersconference.homer.alaska.edu/

June 13-17, 2014 - Southeastern Writers Workshop, St. Simons Island, Georgia.
http://southeasternwriters.org/Writers_Workshop.html

June 14-16, 2014 – Greater Los Angeles Writers Conference, Los Angeles Valley College, L.A., CA. http://www.wcwriters.com/glawc/

June 18-22, 2014 - CanWrite! Canadian Authors' Association Writers' Conference, Orillia, Ontario. http://canadianauthors.org/conference/

June 20-22, 2014 – RomCon Romance Convention, Denver, Colorado http://www.romcon.com (Jodie is presenting 2 workshops at this one.)

(June 22-23, 2013 – California Crime Writers Conference, Pasadena, Cal. http://www.ccwconference.org/ Seems to be every 2 years.)

June 24-28, 2014 - Western Writers of America convention, Sacramento, Calif. http://www.westernwriters.org/

June 26-28, 2014 - Jackson Hole Writers Conference, Jackson Hole, Wyoming. http://www.jacksonholewritersconference.com/

June 27-29, 2014 - Annual Greater Los Angeles Writers Conference, Van Nuys, California. www.wcwriters.com/aglawc

JULY 2014:

July 8-12, 2014 – Thrillerfest and Craftfest – International Thriller Writers annual conference, New York, NY. http://www.thrillerfest.com/

July 12-18, 2014 – Antioch Writers’ Workshop, Yellow Springs, Ohio. http://www.antiochwritersworkshop.com/

July 10-13, 2014 – Public Safety Writers Conference, Las Vegas NV. Conference speakers include a coroner, fire fighters, police officers, and others in the writing field. http://www.policewriter.com/

July 13-19, 2014 - The Frost Place Conference on Poetry, Frost Place, Franconia, NH. www.frostplace.org.

July 17-20, 2014 – Pacific Northwest Writers Conference, Seattle, Washington. http://www.pnwa.org/

July 17-20, 2014 – West Virginia Writers' Workshop, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia. http://english.wvu.edu/centers-projects/west-virginia-writers-workshop

July 17-20, 2014 – Cascade Writers Workshop, Kent, Washington. www.CascadeWriters.com .

July 23-26, 2014 – Romance Writers of America Annual Conference, San Antonio, Texas.http://www.rwa.org/conference; http://www.rwa.org/p/cm/ld/fid=538

July 24-26, 2014 – 41st Midwest Writers Workshop, Muncie, Indiana. http://www.midwestwriters.org/

July 24-27, 2014 – Book Passage Mystery Writers Conference, Corte Madera, CA. http://bookpassage.com/mystery-writers-conference

July 27-Aug. 1, 2014 – Napa Valley Writers’ Conference - http://www.napawritersconf.org

July 31 - Aug. 2, 2014 - Mendocino Coast Writers Conference, Fort Bragg, California. www.mcwc.org

AUGUST 2014:

Aug. 1-3, 2014 – Willamette Writers Conference, Portland, Oregon. http://www.willamettewriters.com/wwc/3/

Aug. 1-3, 2014 - Writer's Digest Conference, New York City. http://www.writersdigestconference.com/ehome/index.php?eventid=61986

Aug 4-7, 2014 – Oregon Christian Writers (OCW) summer conference, Portland, Oregon. www.OregonChristianWriters.org

Aug. 7-10, 2014 – Cape Cod Writers Center Conference, Hyannis, Mass. Cost varies depending on number of courses you register for. www.capecodwriterscenter.org

Aug. 8-9, 2014 - Florida Authors & Publishers Conference, Pompano Beach, Florida - http://www.floridapublishersassociation.com/fall-conference

Aug. 8-10, 2014 - When Words Collide, A Festival for Readers and Writers, Calgary, Alberta. http://www.whenwordscollide.org/

Aug. 8-10, 2014 - Nora Roberts Writing Institute, Hagerstown, Maryland. www.nrwi.org.

Aug. 9-13, 2014 – RNC’s First annual Romance Novel Convention, Las Vegas, Nevada. http://romancenovelconvention.com/

Aug. 14-17 - IOTA: The Conference of Short Prose, Campobello Island, New Brunswick, Canada. www.cdc.me/iota

Aug. 14-17, 2014 - Writer's Digest Novel Writing Intensive, Los Angeles, Cal. www.WritersDigestConference.com

Aug. 14-17, 2014 - Writing Yoga Retreat, Long Island. www.writingandyogaretreat.com

Aug. 14-17, 2014 - Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts, Sechelt, B.C., Canada. http://www.writersfestival.ca/

Aug. 14-23, 2014 - Breadloaf Writer’s Conference. Middlebury, VT.
http://www.middlebury.edu/blwc

Aug. 21-24, 2014 – Killer Nashville mystery and thriller writers’ conference, Nashville, Tennessee. www.KillerNashville.com

Aug. 30 - Sept. 1, 2014 – Decatur Book Festival, Decatur (Atlanta), Georgia. http://www.decaturbookfestival.com

CLICK HERE FOR AN UPDATED LIST OF WRITERS' CONFERENCES & BOOK FESTIVALS, SEPT. 2014 TO AUG. 2015

SEPTEMBER 2014:

Sept. 5-7, 2014 Colorado Gold Writers Conference, hosted by Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. http://www.rmfw.org/conference/

Sept. 4-7, 2014 – Writers’ Police Academy, Jamestown, North Carolina. http://www.writerspoliceacademy.com/

Sept 13-14, 2014 – Alaska Writer’s Guild Conference, Anchorage Alaska. http://www.alaskawritersguild.com/

September 19-21, 2014, Imaginarinum Writing & Film Festival, Louisville, KY http://www.entertheimaginarium.com/

Sept. 20, 2014 - ORAcon2014 - Fiction Writers Conference in Springfield, Missouri.
https://www.facebook.com/events/604825859555575/

Sept. 19-21, 2014: Southern California Writers' Conference Newport Beach, Calif. http://www.writersconference.com/la

Sept. 24-28, 2014 - WORD Vancouver: Inspiring Words, Vancouver, BC, Canada. www.wordvancouver.ca

Sept. 25-27, 2014 – Florida Heritage Book Festival and Writers’ Conference, St. Augustine, Florida. www.fhbookfest.com

Sept. 25-27, 2014 - The American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) annual conference, St. Louis. http://www.acfw.com/conference

Sept. 26-28, 2014 – The Midwestern Book Lovers Unite Convention for Readers and Authors, Minneapolis, MN. http://midwesternbookloversunite.wordpress.com/

OCTOBER 2014:

Oct. 3-5, 2014 – Write on the Sound Writers’ Conference, Edmonds, Washington. www.writeonthesound.com.

Oct. 9-12, 2014 - Moonlight and Magnolias romance writers' conference in Norcross, Georgia; http://www.georgiaromancewriters.org/mm-conference/

October 10-12, 2014 - The Southern Festival of Books, Nashville TN.
http://www.humanitiestennessee.org/programs/southern-festival-books-celebration-written-word

Oct. 16-19, 2014 – Women Writing the West Conference, Golden, Colorado. http://www.womenwritingthewest.org/currentWWWConference.html

Oct. 17-19, 2014 – Digital Authors 2.0 and Self-Publishing Conference, sponsored by West Coast Writers Conferences. Los Angeles Valley College, Van Nuys, California. www.wcwriters.com/da

Oct. 17-18, 2014 – Put Your Heart in a Book, New Jersey Romance Writers Conference, Iselin, N.J. http://www.njromancewriters.org/conference.html

Oct. 17-19, 2014 – Emerald City Writers’ Conference (Romance Writers of America), Bellevue, Washington. http://www.gsrwa.org/conference.php

Oct. 17-19, 2014 – Whistler Readers and Writers Festival, Whistler, BC. http://www.whistler.com/whistler_readers_writers_festival/

Oct. 19-24, 2014 – Salt Cay Writers’ Retreat, Salt Cay, Bahamas. www.saltcaywritersretreat.com

Oct. 25, 2014 – Boston Book Festival – free and excellent! http://www.bostonbookfest.org/

Oct. 21-26, 2014 - The Vancouver Writers Fest, Vancouver, BC, Canada. http://www.writersfest.bc.ca/

October 22-26, 2014 – The Author’s World, the Novelist, Inc. (NINC) writers conference, St. Petersburg, Florida. http://ninc.com/conference_center

October 24 - 26, 2014 - 13th Annual Florida Writers Conference, Lake Mary, FL. http://floridawriters.net/2014_FWA_Conferences.html

October 24-26, 2014, Magna cum Murder in association with Crimefest, Indianapolis IN
http://cms.bsu.edu/Academics/CentersandInstitutes/EBBall/MagnaCumMurder.aspx

Oct. 24-26, 2014 – Surrey International Writers Conference, Surrey, BC, Canada. http://www.siwc.ca/

Oct. 24-26, 2014 - Chicago Writers Conference, University Center, Chicago, Ill. www.chicagowritersconference.org

Oct. 24-26, 2014 - Stars of Florida Writers, 13th Annual Florida Writers Conference, Orlando Marriott Lake Mary. www.floridawriters.net

Oct. 24-26, 2014 – The La Jolla Writers Conference, Paradise Point Resort and Spa, San Diego, CA http://www.lajollawritersconference.com/

NOVEMBER 2014:

November 1, 2014 - Louisiana Book Festival, Baton Rouge, LA
http://www.louisianabookfestival.org/
Nov. 6-8, 2014 - Tony Hillerman Writers Conference, Santa Fe, NM. www.wordharvest.com/registration.php

Nov. 6-9, 2014 – Sanibel Island Writers Conference, Sanibel Island, Florida. http://www.fgcu.edu/siwc/

Nov. 7-9, 2014 – The New England Crime Bake Conference, Dedham, Mass. http://www.crimebake.org/

Nov. 8, 2014 - Murder and Mayhem in Muskego, http://murdermayhemmuskego.com/

Nov. 13-16, 2014 – Bouchercon Crime Fiction Convention, Long Beach, California. http://www.bouchercon2014.com/

Nov. 13-16, 2014 - Writing Across Boundaries, Windsor International Writers Conference, Windsor, Ontario, Canada. www.WI-WC.org

Nov. 15, 2014 - Baltimore Writers' Conference, Towson, Md. www.baltimorewritersconference.org.

Nov. 16-23, 2013 - Miami Book Fair International, Miami, Florida. http://www.miamibookfair.com/

DECEMBER 2014:

(Not usually any conferences in December)

2015:

CLICK HERE FOR AN UPDATED LIST OF WRITERS' CONFERENCES & BOOK FESTIVALS, SEPT. 2014 TO AUG. 2015

JANUARY:

Jan. 16-19, 2015 - 22nd Annual Winter Poetry and Prose Getaway, Seaview Resort, New Jersey Shore. www.wintergetaway.com

Jan. 23-25, 2015 – San Diego State University Writers’ Conference, San Diego Marriott, Mission Valley. http://www.ces.sdsu.edu/wc

January 26-31, 2015 - 2015 Todos Santos Writers Workshop, Todos Santos, Baja Mexico. www.todossantoswritersworkshop.com

FEBRUARY:

Feb. 5-9, 2015 – Florida Romance Writers cruise conference. http://www.frwriters.org/fun-in-the-sun-conference/

Feb. 11-15, 2015 - San Miguel Writers' Conference & Literary Festival. www.sanmiguelwritersconference.org.

Feb. 12-15, 2015 - San Francisco Writers Conference, San Francisco. www.SFWriters.org

Feb. 26 - Mar. 1, 2015 - Sleuthfest - an annual conference for mystery, suspense, and thriller writers, Deerfield Beach, Florida. http://sleuthfest.com/

MARCH:

March 14, 2015 - Unicorn Writer's Conference, Purchase, NY. www.unicornwritersconference.com

Mar. 27-28, 2015 - Northern Colorado Writers Conference, Fort Collins, CO. http://www.northerncoloradowriters.com/

April 23-25, 2015 - Las Vegas Writers Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada. www.lasvegaswritersconference.com

APRIL:

April 24 - 26, 2015, Tallahassee Writers Conference, Tallahassee, Florida.

July 22 - 25, 2015, Romance Writers Conference, New York Marriott Marquis. www.rwa.org.

Jodie Renner is a sought-after freelance fiction editor and award-winning author of the multi-award-winning Fire up Your Fiction and Writing a Killer Thriller (and the upcoming Captivate Your Readers), as well as her handy, clickable e-resources, Quick Clicks: Spelling List – Commonly Misspelled Words at Your Fingertipsand Quick Clicks: Word Usage – Style and Usage Tips for Busy Writers and Editors. Her blog posts appear alternate Mondays on the award-winning blog, The Kill Zone. Find Jodie on Facebook and Twitter.
Subscribe to Jodie's sporadic (3-6 times a year) newsletter HERE.

Time for Looking Back and Looking Ahead!

Unknown 16:36 Jodie Renner , Jodie Renner Editing

Happy New Year, everyone! May 2014 exceed your expectations in every way!

First, thank you.
I just want to say, first of all, that I'm so grateful to all the readers of my posts on various blogs and my two fiction-writing guides. And a special thanks to those of you who were kind enough to take the time to write a review of one or both of my books on Amazon! Thanks so much, all of you, for enriching 2013 for me, and I hope my books and blog posts have provided you with lots of helpful tips to make your fiction stronger!

And thank you to the writers I've worked with this year to make your novels and short stories more intriguing. I've enjoyed our interactions and reading your exciting stories!

It's the time for looking back on the past year and looking forward to the next one. How did 2013 go for you? What are you planning and hoping for in 2014?

Considering it has the number 13 in it, the year 2013 wasn't at all unlucky for me. I had a great year, in fact. And I've got some major lifestyle changes coming up in 2014! It promises to be a big year for me! Scroll down for those.

HIGHLIGHTS OF 2013 FOR JODIE: "It was a very good year..."

Travel and presentations:
I managed to continue travelling to various places in North America in 2013, starting with a trip to Cuba in January, then Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, in February, Colorado in March, Boston in May, NYC in July, Nashville in August, then visiting with my family in various parts of BC, Canada, in September. All stimulating and fun!

I participated in two panels at Left Coast Crime's conference in Colorado Springs in March and enjoyed getting together there with my blog pals at Crime Fiction Collective. In May I attended Grub Street's 2013 conference in Boston, The Muse and the Marketplace. In July, I was off to Craftfest and Thrillerfest in New York City for the fourth time, where I participated in a panel on revision and self-editing and sold a lot of books, especially Writing a Killer Thriller. Then I was on a similar panel in August at Killer Nashville in Nashville, TN, and I also presented a 90-min. workshop on point of view at Killer Nashville - and sold lots of books. Then, during a trip to BC in Canada, I presented to a writers' group and an editors' group. As well, I gave two talks, one on first pages and one on self-publishing, to my local writers' group, the London Writers Society.

Both books out in print, too:

And between traveling, presenting, and editing, I managed to revise and expand both of the books in my Editor's Guide to Writing Compelling Fiction series and publish them both in trade paperback format. Style That Sizzles & Pacing for Power came out in print in March, then I published a significantly updated and expanded version of my Writing a Killer Thriller also in paperback in early July, just in time to sell at Thrillerfest in NYC. I love having these books in both e-book and print, and sales indicate that readers do, too!

Book Award:
And one of my books, Style That Sizzles & Pacing for Power, won an award! It received a Silver Medal in the Florida Authors & Publishers President's Book Awards, in the reference category.

Magazine Articles:
I was interviewed in Southern Writers Magazine in the Sept./Oct. 2013 issue, and had two of my articles on tips for adding suspense, tension and intrigue published in Suspense Magazine.

Judge for Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Awards:
I evaluated books again for this contest. I received 25 books to review and was only allowed to choose one to go on to the next level. I submitted written evaluations for all of them, to go on to the authors.

Writing:
I've got about three-quarters of my next book in the editor's guide series, Immerse the Readers in Your Story World. I plan to publish it by April.

Blogging:
I've been busy blogging all year, too. After guest-blogging on the award-winning blog, The Kill Zone, for a year, I was welcomed on Oct. 7 as an official member and biweekly contributor (every 2nd Monday). I've continued to blog on Crime Fiction Collective on the alternate Mondays, and I also guest-blog occasionally on other great blogs for writers, like D.P. Lyle's Writer's Forensics Blog, Elizabeth Craig's blog, Mystery Writing is Murder, Angela Ackerman & Becca Puglisi's blogs, and others. And of course I still post here whenever I can!

Links to some of my recent blog posts:

The Kill Zone: Using Thought-Reactions to Add Attitude & Immediacy

Writers Helping Writers: Character Descriptions – Learn From the Pros!

Crime Fiction Collective: 10 Tips for Attracting a Top-Notch Editor for Your Story

The Kill Zone: 10 Ways to Add Depth to Your Scenes

The Kill Zone: Don’t Stop the Story to Introduce Each Character

The Writer’s Forensics Blog: Thrillers vs. Mysteries

The Kill Zone: Immerse Your Readers with Sensory Details

The Bookshelf Muse: Let the Characters Tell the Story

Mystery Writing is Murder: Concrete Tips for Developing an Appealing Voice in Your Fiction

Editing & Critiquing:
And of course I've been hard at work editing fiction manuscripts and also doing critiques of the first 10-50 pages of novels. I specialize in editing thrillers and other fast-paced fiction and I love my freelance editing, especially since I get to pick and choose the manuscripts I work on! I've had the privilege of working with some very talented writers in the last few years, so I find my work really satisfying and rewarding. And I love the interactions and friendships I've made with the authors whose stories I helped polish up to get ready to successfully publish or submit to agents.

BIG CHANGES FOR JODIE IN 2014:

The big move:

Kelowna, BC

My biggest news is that I'm planning to move across the country in May or June, and am busy decluttering and downsizing a 3-bedroom house with a full (and filled!) basement in preparation for the long-distance
move and setting up an apartment in Kelowna, BC, Canada. So of course every spare moment on the weekends is spent sorting through stuff and deciding what to give away, what to sell, what to toss, and what to take with me. I'm excited because I'll be near family and old friends again, and the area, the Okanagan valley, is gorgeous, with large lakes, low mountains, fruit orchards and vineyards everywhere!

Okanagan Valley, BC, Canada

Presenting at various conferences in 2014:
- January 24-26: SDSU Writers' Conference, in San Diego, CA. Two workshops: Deep Point of View; Revision and Self-Editing.
- May 16-17: Tallahassee Writers' Conference, in Tallahassee, Florida. Two workshops.
- June 18-24, RomCon University, Denver, Colorado. Two workshops: Deep POV; Revision & Editing.
- August - When Words Collide, Calgary, Alberta
- Sept. 25-27 - Florida Heritage Book Festival & Writers Conference, St. Augustine, Florida

Next book out!
I'm excited about my third book in the editor's guide series, Immerse the Readers in Your Story World, which will be out in print in the next few months!

And more editing.
And I'm looking forward to finishing fiction manuscripts I'm editing and collaborating with some new writers in 2014!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Here's hoping 2014 will be your most creative, productive, and satisfying year ever!
How was 2013 for you? What are your plans for 2014? Please share in the comments below.

Jodie Renner, a freelance fiction editor specializing in thrillers and other fast-paced fiction, has published two books to date in her series, An Editor’s Guide to Writing Compelling Fiction: WRITING A KILLER THRILLER and STYLE THAT SIZZLES & PACING FOR POWER(Silver Medalist in the FAPA Book Awards, 2013). Both titles are available in e-book and paperback. For more info, please visit Jodie’s author websiteor editor website, or find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. Jodie also blogs alternate Mondays on The Kill Zone blog and Crime Fiction Collective blog.

To subscribe to Jodie’s “Resources for Writers” newsletter (published about 4-10 times a year), please click on this link: http://eepurl.com/C9dKD