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This past weekend, I had the pleasure of attending the 2010 SCBWI Florida Mid-Year Workshop. It was FABULOUS. Did I say it was FABULOUS?! Hands down best conference I’ve been to this year.

Attendees posted live tweets throughout the conference, so if you missed any of them, you can go to the Twitter #scbwifl thread to get the highlights.

The Novel Intensive was also AMAZING. I think with the smaller number of attendees (limited to 25) and of course having the dynamic trio of author Kathleen Duey and editors Alvina Ling (Little, Brown) and Stephanie Lurie (Disney/Hyperion) for the whole day dropping gems of knowledge also made it a great experience.

Okay, let me just take a brief moment to talk about Kathleen Duey. I’ve written on my blog about how phenomenal and down-to-earth she is — but ya’ll I’m telling you this writer shares so much great information and life experience from an artist’s perspective — and she has a gift of looking at a first page and/or query and making it better. I was very impressed with her suggestions — it was something to see. So if you have a chance to see this author present a workshop or critique pages at a conference, please try your best to do so. I’m just saying.

I also met some great writers in person that I’ve met either here on the blog or via Twitter like Sylvia, Harley, Medeia, and Larissa. It was great to meet them in person! So if you don’t already follow them on Twitter or read their blog you really should start. They are talented writers to watch.

Overall the conference was everything I hoped it would be. I also had a MAJOR epiphany at the conference so my summer revision is already kicked up a notch and I’m fired up to implement this new strategy to my WIP.

Here are some highlights of some of the great things I learned this past weekend from the authors and editors:

When you think of voice, think of voice per book not necessarily a voice per author - Kathleen Duey

A good entertaining story is always what editors are looking for - Stephanie Lurie (Disney/Hyperion)

Character is voice, beliefs, and experiences - Alvina Ling (Little, Brown)

Don’t stress about the query letter. Focus on the novel - Brian Farrey (Flux)

You have to decide whether you want to put art before commerce. As a writer this is a choice you have to make - Kathleen Duey

You have to know your character before you can introduce them to others - Stephanie Lurie (Disney/Hyperion)

Make a list of things most people have done and then a list of things most people haven’t done. This can be a starting point for your character - Alvina Ling (Little, Brown)

The most important relationship you’ll ever have as a writer is the relationship with your editor - Brian Farrey

The rest of the week I’ll continue to share highlights from the conference. On Wednesday, I’ll share information about query letters and then on Friday, I’ll share what the authors and editors said about the First Page critiques — hopefully they will be as helpful to you as they were for me.

Stay tuned!

5 Comments on 2010 SCBWI FL Mid-Year Workshop: Highlights, last added: 6/7/2010