Dialogue Webinar with James Scott Bell

Writer's Digest is offering a live webinar with bestselling author James Scott Bell this Thursday, July 22, at 5 PM (EST). Focused on dialogue, the webinar will teach you:

• The 8 Essentials of Great Dialogue
• The 12 Tools for Creating Dazzling Talk
• Where to put dialogue in your novel queries, synopses, or other proposal materials

The 75 minute webinar costs $49 and includes a live Q&A time.

Writer's Digest has a variety of on-demand webinars you can order. Topics include:

• 3 Secrets to Getting Your Non-fiction Book Published
• Using Twitter to Boost Your Writing Income
• Secrets to Getting Published in Tough Times
• The Dreaded Synopsis
• How Do Agents and Editors Decide

2010 Get Re-Inspired Workshop

Glen Eyrie, one of my favorite locations in Colorado Springs, is the site for the June 6-9 Get Re-Inspired! Writers Workshop featuring Angela Hunt, James Scott Bell, Nancy Rue and Kathy Mackel.

The teachers take a different approach to the workshop. At the beginning of the conference, each teacher explains their areas of expertise and teaching methods. Attendees then "team up" with a particular teacher--spending most of their time with that particular teacher, except for the morning keynote addresses.

Angela Hunt focuses on process, having developed systems to organize and improve any style of writing.

James Scott Bell zeroes in on communication--presenting a clear, effective and entertaining message.

Nancy Rue helps writers develop relationships between characters, and between readers and stories.

Kathy Mackel enables writers to create stories that touch hearts, while sticking to a sellable format.

The coference fee is $288 and there are different room rates for staying at the Glen. Information is available here.

The Reality of Rejection

Photo by baikahl/StockXchange.com

If you hang around writers, you know the topic of rejection comes up.

It's our least favorite thing to talk about--but, talk about it we do. We tell each other when we get rejection letters. Maybe we forward them to our critique partners. Or we compare rejection tallies--battle scars, as it were.

A writing buddy shared that she got a rejection letter -- and several writing friends (me, included) rallied around her with e-mail shouts of, "You can do it!" and "We believe in you!" and "Rejection is all part of the writing game!"

I went sleuthing on the Internet and found a post on Rejecting Rejection by author James Scott Bell. (I've got a fun James Scott Bell story--but that's another post!) He starts with a story about, of all things, a matador:

The writer Barnaby Conrad tells the story of a matador, all decked out in his "suit of lights," talking to a group of reporters outside the arena.

One reporter asks,"How did you happen to become a bullfighter?"

The matador replied," I took up bullfighting because of the uncertainty of being a writer."

Bell then goes on to list a few things writers need to keep in mind when we get a "thumbs down" from an editor, agent or publisher:

1. Rejection is not personal.
2. Rejection happens to the best.
3. Rejection can point the way.
4. Rejection is not final.

I would probably add a fifth thing to remember: Rejection is not optional. But, to best handle that reality, I need to remember James Scott Bell's four points!