Catherine Stine's IDEA CITY

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Monday, October 8, 2012

Writing Conference near Philly, Notes on Revolution & Fringe, & Web-building

Conference sponsored by
Philadelphia Stories Magazine

SATURDAY, OCT 13, Push to Publish WRITING CONFERENCE OPP! 
Anyone situated in eastern PA (Philly, Bryn Mawr, Westchester, Fort Washington, Ambler and the like) want to attend a very helpful one-day conference on writing? I will be presenting on the Writing for Children & Young Adults panel at PUSH to PUBLISH, Strategies and Techniques for Getting Your Work in Print and Online. The event is sponsored by Philadelphia Stories Magazine, and takes place at Rosemont College on Saturday, October 13th. That’s this coming Saturday!
Anyone want his or her manuscript edited and critiqued? I will also be on the speed-dating panel, as a freelance editor and manuscript doctor. There are agents, authors and editors galore. For schedule, full list of faculty and directions info, click here.

I’ve been busy designing a brand new website on Wordpress! My old website was run by someone I hired long ago. It was super-frustrating, because I couldn’t change even one line myself. No more! This one will be complete with downloadable study guides that I created for both of my YA novels, and other cool stuff. I'm still baffled by how to add certain widgets and other thorny issues that make me want to scream and tear at my hair. But I am determined to figure this all out.

On another note, I got a very thoughtful review from a blogger in the Philippines at her Books for YA. Check it out here.

Update on my dogged determination to keep watching Revolution. Report: The acting is actually getting better and the shocking switchback twists that JJ Abrahms is so very good at has just paid off with one character. Miles, but I can't say how. Report: The first new episode of Fringe (Last season-bwah!) was effortlessly awesome in comparison to Revolution's clunky, cutesy start. In Fringe, it's jumped to the year 2034, and the Watchers rule. Olivia, Peter and Walter have jumped too, and are still the same age since they were preserved in amber (hahahhahha). The new plot point here, is that the daughter they had is now twenty-something, and she's amazing on so many levels, including being able to kick as*s in the investigatory Fringe kind of way. So, she'll be a part of the team going forward. Sounds contrived but the writer/director/actors managed to pull it off.

Getting back to my work grind, my next quest is to create an online newsletter, and of course, finish that sequel. I’m thinking of doing Nano to help me. Anyone else doing Nano in November? What have you all been up to? Any word to the wise about Wordpress?

20 comments:

  1. Congrats on the review and good luck with the new website.

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  2. Love fringe and can't wait to see what happens to the team. Congrats on the review

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  3. Hi Catherine!

    Congrats on the great review! The conference sounds so nice. Wish I was in the area. I am doing a writer's retreat in Oregon in a week so I'm really looking forward to that.

    I'll be looking to do a newsletter soon too with an up and coming project. Susan Quinn does a really nice one. Are you a member of the WS4U group on facebook? If not, let me know and I'll send you an invite. It's a nice group of writers around the globe.

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  4. Ah! I had to scroll down past the Fringe stuff because I haven't had a chance to catch up on it yet. I'll probably pull it up on Hulu tonight or tomorrow night and watch with my husband. Can't wait to see it!

    I'm planning on doing Nano to work on my sequel as well (actually, I've already started, but I guess I'll use Nano to help push me to finish and edit).

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  5. Wonderful review. Wish I could be at the conference. I am having a book signing locally on the 13th, wearing my Civil War dress. That's always fun.

    Don't know anything about Fringe. See, I'm so out of date. Must catch up to the times. :)

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  6. The conference Oct. 13 sounds incredible, wish I could go. Hmmm. I will send to a writer or two I know in the area. I don't have any brilliance to add about wordpress, but I do think the basics are pretty simple--to make it gorgeous is probably harder. Nano seemed so productive for you last time, why not? Get that sequel going! Glad you also have time to write thoughtful reviews. You really are up on things. Your ideas for newsletter are great, and I'd still like to see you offer a hands on workshop on doing the social media stuff.

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  7. I feel myself twirling in the whirl of all of your news!

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  8. PK, yes, please do send an invite to the group you mention! Nickie, let me know your nano handle closer to the date and we can cheer each other on-that goes for any one who would like to be cheer-buddies over there in NOV. Sheila, I am working up to that social media intensive... Suze, I'm whirling and twirling, and frankly, way over-busy, what with teaching and writing and... but I'm not complaining! I just got asked to sub one college lit class in gothic horror, so I'm reading Lovecraft and Poe and LOVIN' it! All of that creeping fungi on the manse walls, and the dreadful fog over the moors...

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  9. Fringe is really strange this season. I'm gonna stick with Revolution some more but the whole electricity not working, yet thunderstorms still exist thing is grating on my nerves. I'm so happy that you got that amazing review. I need to read your book soon :)

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  10. Michael, you crack me up! I have to read your novel too! Just bought and loaded Slipstream into my Kindle Fire. Yay! Now, if I can ever finish The Passage's 900+ pages... I'm about 69% through.

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  11. Good luck getting all those widgets figured out. I'm sure you can do it! I hope the review was good (I couldn't get her page to load on my slow browser.)

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  12. If I were in the NE,I'd come to your workshop sounds fun. That's why my brother put a wordpress template on my website, so I can change and manipulate it. He gets much less frequent emails from me about it.

    I thought Revolution slightly improved this past week, but they tend to spend more time on the sappy and ignore the logic. I'll still watch but I'll switch to watching on the computer. I hate watching TV that late.

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  13. Thanks, M. Yes, I know you just switched to Wordpress! I like the way your website looks. My web guy is in Japan of all places, but we Skype so it's cool. Pretty soon, I will be an expert (uh, huh, yeah, right...).

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  14. I'm doing NaNo! Also, I'm thinking I really need to start watching Fringe.

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  15. I just wanted to say, Catherine, I'm very impressed with your book thus far. And whoah...you're an illustrator with a capital "I". I'm blown away by your talent.

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  16. Elizabeth, let me know your username over there and I'll be a cheer bud.

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  17. I tagged you on my blog today. :D Hope you're having a great workshop.

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  18. Michael, thanks for the compliments. I'm liking Slipstream so far! M Pax, would that be the murder mystery game? So far I've been a victim AND a murderer! Quite confusing to the psche.

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  19. I read the Philippine blog review of your book! Congrats!

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  20. Madonna, cool, huh? I love that people in the Philippines can read Fireseed.

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