Writing Conference

Whew, my novel is almost ready for the big conference next week!

When I say 'conference,' I am normally referring to the BYU Writing & Illustration for Young Readers conference, and by 'almost ready,' I mean that I almost have the first two chapters of version 5 written and revised. I wanted to have much more done by now, but I am good at getting cold feet and procrastinating. But they only require the first two chapters for the conference, anyway, so I should be okay.

They also want us to bring an idea to work on during the week, one that we haven't done any actual writing for. I am going to bring Hailey's Pearl, which only has that one image and a few other sketches. I don't know why I am so excited to write that one... I mean, it's about dealing with the fear of the ocean and more importantly, the evils of whales. I mean, that is some serious and scary stuff. Then again, maybe that is why I am excited. I have thought much about my fear of whales. The story also has mermaids, which I think is pretty rad.

But back to The Tailor, I think that I will start working on character sketches and post them here with tidbits and thoughts. That will not only help me, but if I somehow get famous some day, my dearly devoted fans will come back here and eat it up like lucky charms or, my personal favorite, honey bunches of oats. Mmm.

So much has changed in the different versions of the story. I think that, one day, I really will make a website just for The Tailor (and my other writing, possibly), to discuss at length the differences in story and why things changed the way that they did. Even if no one else will care but me, I will consider it a writing exercise and my narcissism will have a productive outlet - everyone wins!

Anyway. I think that's enough for now since I don't have any images to post (bad me). The conference starts at 8am Monday morning, so I think that I will work on my novel and rest up! I'm so excited to meet Brandon Sanderson, who is my group mentor for the conference.

More updates soon!