Writing High

I'm on such a writing high, I can't persuade myself to come down, which is good right? It's better than hitting a wall and having to coerce myself up and over.

It all started September 11th with Smart Chicks Kick It Tour...a Q&A panel with seven popular YA authors. Being there only fed my thirst for being on the 'signing' side of the table.

Thanks to an awesome novel-writing workshop put on by Erin Shakespear, on September 15th I drove to Cedar City, Utah to glean what I could from amazing authors Lindsey Leavitt, Brodi Ashton, and Emily Wing Smith. Unfortunately, Emily was unwell and couldn't be there. But what I learned from the other two was enough to make me want to rip apart my whole YA manuscript and 'kill my darlings'...I've still got a ways to go before my writing is in the same league as Brodi's and Lindsey's.

Last night I attended Las Vegas Writer's Group (LVWG) and listened to local Lindsey Leavitt (again, but she's hard to get sick of) share her witty words of wisdom about writing for the YA market. I've got HWG Fall Conference in St. George October 12-13 and (fingers crossed) Highlights Foundation week-long workshop in secluded Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania on October 21-27.

I'll be danged if anything keeps me from getting this YA manuscript off the ground and soaring into the clouds by the end of that workshop! Publishing world, here I come!