Some time ago, I was lucky enough to attend BYU’s weeklong workshop for children’s writers and illustrators. The workshop is more like a workshop and conference, with morning classes and afternoon seminars. I was only just starting to shop my fiction then, and thought the workshop would me get a handle on the ins and outs of the publishing world. Despite my great love of books and book-learning, there really isn’t a substitute for chatting to someone who’s been there, done that.
My someone was the marvellous Ann Dee Ellis, YA/MG writer extraordinaire. Although she was teaching the beginners’ workshop, Ann Dee and her assistant, Sarah Cutler, really went above and beyond with our group, sharing exercises, tips, and techniques. More importantly, though, Ann Dee offered us encouragement, and helped me actually get up the nerve to speak to my first agent (although it didn’t work out, I received some great feedback, and actually started sending out work). So, starting this afternoon, I’m going to share some of the things I learned during Ann Dee’s class – beginning with the things I learned from her book, This is What I Did.
