After a month of work, the second draft of my short story went in for critique! It was a good feeling finally having the story at a point where I felt comfortable handing it off to a group. I knew it wasn’t perfect (not even close), but I got a few great suggestions from my fellow writers. I wasn’t able to get as much feedback as I’d have liked because I hadn’t yet been added to the Facebook page. It turns out I should post the story about a week or so before we meet for a more in depth critique. But now I know for next time! I’m still grateful for the advice I got though, the story already flows better. I do think that I’m going to let the story sit for a week or two before I come back to it. After a while, I struggle toRead More
One of the few reasons I love summer and will brave the summer heat is because of the abundance of writer’s conferences. Last week was the Summer Writers Symposium, this week it’s Fyrecon; three full days of writing presentations, panels, and round tables! There is a small amount of pride I feel knowing that my university has teamed up with local authors and artists to give emerging individuals a chance to learn from those who have ‘made it.’ Go Weber! I won’t be able to post everything I learned over the weekend, but I’ll share some highlights from the conference. As I’ve listened to writing instructors, writing podcasts, and read books on the craft of writing, I’ve been told to use my second and third draft to improve the story I’ve written. While at Fyrecon, I had the chance to see a step by step example of one way toRead More
I’ve always agreed that Logan, Utah is beautiful, an eclectic historic city framed by towering green mountains. The Utah State University campus was no exception. It was nothing short of refreshing to spend a day at this lush location learning with other writers how to improve our craft. The 2019 Summer Writers Symposium was a success! I will definitely be marking my calendar for next year’s installment, and I highly recommend it to any writers in the Utah valley area looking to connect with other writers. There were so many amazing tips given and advice said that I almost couldn’t keep up while taking notes. I am more than happy with what I got though, and I plan on referring to them when the need arises. Star Coulbrooke, the poet laureate of Logan, gave the keynote speech for the symposium. Her poetry was engaging to say the least. Each pieceRead More
Well, I’m still working on posting consistently on a specific day every week. One day I’ll get there, but I keep letting it slip my mind. However, practice makes perfect, and perseverance leads to success. The next couple of weeks will be full of fun stuff as I report on my experiences at the Summer Writer’s Symposium and Fyrcon this month! My goal is to post as soon as each conference is over so that my thoughts and feelings are fresh. Hopefully I remember to take some pictures. I’ll also be working more on my steampunk novel once July arrives. By the time I enter my last semester at Weber State, I want to have a few chapters ready for my novel writing class. A quick update about the short story I’ve been working on: the first draft is finished! Right now, the working title is Strictly Nightlife. Since IRead More
Although graduation from Weber State University is still a little over six months away, I have been thinking about what life will be like once I’m not in class every day with aspiring writers and published instructors. Graduation also means that I need a career to step into. Both of these are more than a little intimidating. After spring semester ended this year, I decided that I wasn’t going to waste my summer sleeping in; I was going to start networking. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I have discovered that there is a lot out there for me to do. I kicked my search off by going to a Fan Expo that was hosted by my former high school at the beginning of last month. While there, I had a chance to talk with a few authors and a couple of editors involved with local publishing companies. ItRead More