35 Day Blog Challenge - Day 16: A little writing humour

Instead of writing a post today, I decided to add a few tidbits of humour on writing. And of course, being an engineer, project manager and writer...it had to be Dilbert. Enjoy!

35 Day Blog Challenge - Day 15: What I learned at #ROSACon2015

Like all good things, #ROSACon2015 had to end. Two days of sharing experiences, and making new friends. Listening to presentations were I either learned something new or was reminded of an important aspect of writing.

Work sessions and discussions that were open and honest, even when the discussion got between the bed sheets. This was a romance authors' conference after all!

We shared lots laughs, but were also moved to tears. The organisation is still in its infancy, but the foundations have been laid for a future of authors growing within themselves, growing as writers and passing on the lessons learned to help and support new authors.

While the publishing industry is changing almost by day, self-publishing notwithstanding, there was much to be learnt from the experienced authors. Persistence, coping with fear and rejection, the daily demands of our time, and commitment to our craft despite all the challenges we have to face.

I enjoyed making my presentation on marketing for authors. While the subject matter is very close to my heart, there was not enough time to cover all the aspects in an hour. It is a good thing then that I am committing myself towards finishing the first draft on Indie Author: The Good, the Bad and the Hard Work by the end of November.

Once I am back home, I will assess the progress on the book and update my planning to ensure that it will be completed on time. In the meantime, my travelling is done until December, and my posts will return to the schedule to complete the book, and a few more posts on planning for pantsers and NaNoWriMo.

See you tomorrow - from my home office!

If you want to see what the other participants are blogging about, you can find their blogs here. Why not pop on over and leave a comment?

Follow Me Day 3 - #ROSACon2015 pictures

As promised the pictures from today's presenters. The Conference is now over, but keep an eye out for the feedback posts about #ROSACon2015 - see you next year!

Karina Szczurek Brink

Jayne Bauling

FltR: Joss Wood, Rae Rivers and Elsa Winckler

Rae introduces Phoenix Kelly

35 Day Blog Challenge - Day 14: Follow Me...Stellenbosch @ #ROSACon2015

Some of the Conference attendees: Day 1

Yesterday I was asked to be one of the bloggers for one of the presentations. The presentation was about Internal vs External conflict - that one thing that sets a story apart from a narrative. I don't know when the post needs to be ready for the SA Romance Writers' blog, but will let you know, and post a link if you want to read it. There will also be posts about the other presentations that you can have a look at.

Today is the last day of the conference and here is what I have planned for my day:
1. The Category Romance Formula by Joss Wood

2. What do you mean I have to market my writing? presented by yours truly
I will be giving the presentation to everyone subscribing to the mailing list on my blog. I have also received a few requests to give the presentation back home too. If you are interested, please keep an eye out for the details of the date and venue. It will be in the Pretoria/Centurion/Johannesburg area.

3. Tips to overcome the fear that can paralyse our writing by Rae Rivers

As promised there will again be more pictures online (in a second post) after the conference finishes today for you to look at.

See you later!

If you want to see what the other participants are blogging about, you can find their blogs here. Why not pop on over and leave a comment?

Follow Me to #ROSACon2015 - Day 2

Some of the speakers today:

     

Left: Romy Sommer (chairman of ROSA); right: Joss Wood (author)

Rebecca Crowley and Jo Watson

A few of the dinner pictures as promised :)