Welcome to the MG/YA Opportunities post! Find all of the monthly opportunities on the MG/YA support page! All opportunities listed are available to anyone with an internet connection.
REFLECTION ON AUGUST
Lexi’s SEPTEMBER GAME PLAN
LOOKING AHEAD
Does your local writing organization, SCBWI region, etc. host virtual events that are available to anyone with an internet connection? Would you like them listed here? Please share the info in the comments, or use our Contact Form.
To see all the monthly opportunities, what’s available all year long, and what’s coming up the rest of this year, visit the MG/YA SUPPORT resource page.
Hey writers,
With the last of the summer breeze, I am gearing up for fall! For me, that means juggling teaching and writing. I have found time to recharge this summer and I look forward to pouring that energy into my next set of revisions. I invite you to join me in sharing your goals as we enter this next season!
I invite you to:
- Pick one resource or opportunity. Think about what you’re working on right now and pick something that will help you make progress with that work!
- Share your experiences with resources over the last month and what opportunities you want to pursue in the next month in the comments!
Will you join me on this journey?
REFLECTIONS ON AUGUST
In AUGUST, I worked through the first fourth of highlight’s “Seize the Reader,” course. It’s helped me identify space to build more conflict at the beginning of my story. I found that I have a clear sense of the internal conflict, but the external conflict isn’t well defined early on in my manuscript.
What did you accomplish this month? Don’t forget to share in the comments!
Lexi’s SEPTEMBER GAME PLAN
This month I want to continue the journey of revising. I am going to continue my journey into the Seize the Reader,” course. I am debating these opportunities below too!
- Write Now! (Free for newsletter subscribers!) September through December 2022. There’s nothing like a regular meeting time and space to keep your writing commitments honest. Our Write Now! groups offer the support you need to show up and work each week.
- Uma Krishnaswami On Craft In a time when truth is malleable and reality sometimes seems unreal, where do the boundaries lie between fiction and nonfiction? How do you decide which form is best for your story? This SCBWI digital workshop is one I am considering as I continue to explore an idea I have for a graphic novel biography!
- Character Intensive: Bring Your Characters to Life on the Page September 24, 2022. Our virtual, live video class will let you audition the most compelling cast for your fiction or memoir then free them from any conscious or unconscious paralysis (safe, stuck places), via in-class exercises, craft lessons, and sample reading.
What will you accomplish this month? Let’s celebrate each other in the comments!
REGISTER IN SEPTEMBER, HAPPENING LATER:
Keep an eye on some FUTURE opportunities you might want to register for early:
HIGHLIGHTS FOUNDATION COURSES($)
- Line Editing Your YA or MG Novel (Fall 2022) This six-week online course offers the skills to revise and enrich your novel, and features live sessions with faculty, structured assignments, community interaction, and goal-setting.
- Relationships in MG & YA Novels: An Online Course with Editor Kat Brzozowski (September 22-October 13) The relationships between characters are the backbone of every great contemporary MG and YA novel. Participate in weekly live discussions and Q&A sessions with editor Kat Brzozowski and guests to learn more about crafting deeply meaningful relationships in your novel.
- Revising Your Verse Novel: A Three-Part Online Workshop October 5 – November 16, 2022. A 3-Part Online Course The verse novel is an art all its own—sculpted through story and the act of revision.
- From Query to Acquisitions: A Two Night Mini October 18 – October 19, 2022. A Two-Night Mini Online Course Join agent Sera Rivers and editor Jennifer Baker to gain a better understanding of the submission process, from querying your work through acquisitions.
- Shape Your Story: A 6-Week Novel Intensive with Author & Agent Linda Epstein November 3 – December 15, 2022. Mold your novel into the story only you can tell with senior agent, writer, and poet Linda Epstein.
THE LOFT– Here are two that caught my eye! There are lots of fall opportunities listed!
- Refuse to Be Done: How to Write and Rewrite a Novel in Three Drafts with Matt Bell! October 8, 2022. Whether you are a first time novelist or a veteran writer, you will find an abundance of strategies here to help motivate you and shake up your revision process, allowing you to approach your work, day after day and month after month, with fresh eyes and sharp new tools.
- The Art of Pitching October 10-17, 2022. This two-session workshop for writers of all levels will unpack all the components, techniques, formalities, and insider tips of pitching articles to publications (for pay). Writers will submit sample pitches, which the teaching artist, a seasoned freelance journalist and full-time editor of Pipette Magazine, will provide feedback on
- Graphic Novel: Nuts and Bolts with Ken Lamug, award-winning author & Illustrator October 9th, 2022. Ken will share the step-by-step process of writing and illustrating a graphic novel. He will show real-world examples and demystify the visual language of comics.
- REVISING & REVISIONING: Tools & Techniques to Revise Your Manuscript with Emma Dryden October 12, 2022. In this three-hour craft-based webinar, Emma will be sharing a wide array of tools and techniques for revising all aspects of our manuscripts, focusing on character, voice, worldbuilding, emotional and action plots, and much more. She will lead us through several writing exercises and will be providing many invaluable handouts and worksheets.
- Reverse Outlining October 22, 2022. Writers focus so much on how to start their story right, they fail to bring it to a satisfying conclusion. In this workshop, Jes Trudel will share with you her unique Story Endings Matrix tool which will help put your ending into perspective. She’ll then teach you how to use reverse outlining to create a story tightly plotted from beginning to end.
- Webinar: Befriending the Ghosts in Your Stories with Tanya Aydelott October 30, 2022. Ghosts are hallmarks of the horror genre, but can be important in other genres as well. Could a haunting be for generous purposes? Might a ghost hang around to protect, or to make friends? What purpose(s) can a ghost serve in a story? In this workshop, we’ll discuss examples of ghosts that function as metaphors, set pieces, main characters, and other parts of a narrative, and how you can use them to bring your stories to life.
- Children’s Book Writing October, 2022 (2 session options) To captivate young readers, you must balance a youthful imagination with an adult professionalism. Here you will learn about the various types of children’s books and their special requirements, as well as fiction craft and how to market your work.
Alright! Now it’s your turn. Share your reflections on AUGUST and game plan for SEPTEMBER below in the comments!
Does your local writing organization, SCBWI region, etc. host virtual events that are available to anyone with an internet connection? Would you like them listed here? Please share the info in the comments, or use our Contact Form.
Months of a Year Banner Illustrations by Lexi Donahue Featured Image Line Art by Valenty, Can Stock Photos
WRITERS' RUMPUS 
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