Forgive me readers. I've been busy with rewrites on MY GIRLFRIEND BITES so I've been naughty on neglecting the blog. But...On Saturday, April 20th I attended our local SCBWI writer's conference in Tulsa, OK. In my opinion, it is one of the best Kid lit writer's conferences in our part of the country and this year's event was no exception. If anything, it was even better than last year. What makes it great is our people. Anna, Pati, Helen, Jerry and everyone else involved in organizing the conference. And let us not forget the attendees who always seem to come back for more. This year, some of the illustrators wowed me with some impressive artwork that made me seriously want to start writing Children's Picture Books. Oklahoma SCBWI member Regina Garvie wrote a wonderful blog post about this year's conference that captured the day perfectly. So I've decided to feature it on my blog today. So without further ado, here's Regina...
So I went to my first writers’ conference on Saturday!
I have been excited and nervous about it for months. I’ve only been a part of SCBWI since January, but I’ve been attending all the gatherings faithfully. I wanted to make sure I knew people before going to my conference. I’m so glad I did!
This year’s conference was in Tulsa, but I couldn’t spend the night there because of $$ concerns. The eldest daughter also had a dance competition all weekend, so I was at that with her on Friday until late. I ended up getting about four hours of sleep, and then I met with some writer friends and we drove to Tulsa together. (I’ve only been to Tulsa a handful of times, so I was thankful for my mom’s GPS.)
The conference was absolutely perfect. I cannot think of a way it could have gone any better. Of course, we’re not supposed to discuss specifics from the speakers, but they were all great. Here’s a little overview.
First we heard from Maria Middleton, Associate Art Director at Abrams Books for Young Readers. Since my focus is on YA, I didn’t think that I would get much from this speaker, but it was really enjoyable. I had no idea how many steps were needed to tie art into a manuscript. Her step-by-step discussion allowed us to learn about the fascinating process. I particularly enjoyed seeing early sketches and polished artwork compared via Powerpoint.
You are welcome!
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