Blogging from A to Z April Challenge: V
fter a break of four years, from 2018 to 2021,
I’m doing the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge again this year!
In 2017, I collated all my blog posts up till then
In 2016, I focused on JRR Tolkien and the Inklings
In 2015, I featured books I’d read based on a reading challenge
In 2014, I didn’t have a theme!
In 2013, I collated all my Twitter favourites up till then
(it was a LOT easier to organize Twitter back then)
In 2012, I listed all my favourite books
Then, in 2022, I focused on fellow authors and bloggers, covering all the guest posts, blog hops, cover reveals, interviews, and more, that I’ve featured over the years.
👨 he/him @
Tossing it Out
J Lenni Dorner (captain)
👨 he/him or 🧑🏽 they/them @
Blog of Author J Lenni Dorner
Zalka Csenge Virág
👩 she/her @
The Multicolored Diary
John Holton @
The Sound of One Hand Typing
Jayden R Vincente (spreadsheets)
👩 she/her @
J R Vincente Erotica Writer
*Anonymous* (graphics)
🥔 @
*.com
And now...
is for...
Virtual Surrey!
10 years ago, feeling badly that I could not attend the Surrey International Writers' Conference in person, I created Virtual Surrey!
Unfortunately, with the demise of Compuserve (and our shift to www.thelitforum.com), none of the sessions are easily accessible.
This was the original schedule, and the final, detailed Virtual Surrey schedule looked like this:
Friday, 19 October 2012
8 to 9.30 am – Roll Call on the Compuserve Forum
9:30 am to 5 pm – Writers' Workshops. Today's topics are:
9.30 am – Who's Attending SIWC (the real one, in Surrey, British
Columbia)? Writing examples and discussion, showcasing the authors who
are presenting at this year's SIWC, including Diana Gabaldon, Linda
Gerber, Chris (CC) Humphreys, Donald Maass, Jack Whyte, Sam Sykes, and
kc dyer
11.30 am – Author-led Workshop, featuring Kait Nolan
1.30 pm – Adventures in POV, featuring samples from Christopher Brookmyre, Diana Gabaldon, and J.K. Rowling
3.30 pm – The Doctor Is In: Troubleshooting Problems
Night Owl Session: Virtual Surrey is, of necessity, an all-night-owl
event, as participants are joining from many different time zones.
Saturday, 20 October
9 am to 5 pm – Writers' Workshops. Today's topics are:
9 am – Author-led Workshop, featuring Talli Roland
11 am – Grammar Time
1 pm – Technical Topics with Joanna Bourne
3 pm – Blue Pencil: Share Your Blurbs for Critiques
5:30 pm – Book Fair and Giveaway!
9 pm – Movie night! Discuss your favourite adapted novels and screenplays.
Sunday, 21 October
8:30 am – Trade show: Free-for-all Marketing. Talk up your book!
9 am to 12 pm – Writers' Workshops. Today's topics are:
9 am – Genre and Voice
10.30 am – National Novel Writing Month Survival Tips and Hints
12 pm – farewell; there'll be a wrap up session in the next day or two
to discuss what worked and what didn't, and to hear stories from those
who participated in the real Surrey.
The pandemic led the real SIWC to be hosted online for three years, and
the latest edition was a hybrid conference. I am grateful to have been
able to participate! I always gain so much inspiration and motivation
from the workshops and keynotes -- and writing friends!
SIWC slogans!: Instant Writer, Just Add Whisky; This Day We Write; Shove It Into the Luck Hole
Do you attend writers' conferences?
Comments
My publisher runs a professional writer's conference here in the US called SAGA, which I attended this year and taught a class on US taxes for creatives. I made a few memes which made it into my a-to-z postings (links to all five are under "W").
I also attend writer's cons, a more laid back version to conferences. ConCarolinas (in June) draws about a thousand plus; Con*Gregate (July) gets a couple hundred. Ret*Con (brand new this year) is so cute. And I attended DragonCon in Atlanta Georgia once ... when in session, it swells the city by 10% - it's too big for me.
It is interesting how each convention comes with it's own personality.