Deb: 49 Writers weekly round-up

A quiet week, this. Spring break? Or maybe we’re all deep in our projects. I for one am thrilled to be almost through my last revision before submitting my latest novel. More on that later. For now…

Whether you’re an emerging or an established writer, you know adage “show, don’t tell.” But how do you decide when and how to describe? How do you make sure your descriptions enhance, not distract? How do you strike a balance between figurative and literal language? In our next 49 Writers workshop, Power Writing: Description that Works, we’ll focus primarily on setting and character/persona to craft powerful and evocative descriptions. The workshop will be held on consecutive Saturdays, April 24 and May 1, from 1 – 4 p.m. at the Kaladi Brothers Community Conference Room at 6921 Brayton Drive in Anchorage. Designed for writers of all levels, in all genres, the workshop is limited to ten participants. Advance registration with payment is required. We weren’t able to get a grant to help defray costs for this one, so the cost is $49. To register, visit http://www.alaskanauthors.com/, or email debv@gci.net .

Looking for a great way to meet readers? The Alaska State Literacy Association invites authors to present and celebrate their books at its 2010 annual conference in Girdwood on October 15 and 16th. All Alaskan authors, illustrators and photographers are invited to attend the conference luncheon followed by a book signing event. For more information, please contact Linda Horstman, lghorstman@yahoo.com.

Another great way to meet readers: online. Several of you have already emailed guests posts for our new ongoing feature “4.9 Things Writing Teaches,” but we’d love to get more. Email your post along with a one or two-sentence bio and (if you like) a photo and URL link to debv@gci.net.

Finally, we want to say a proper thank you to our last featured author, Mary Katzke, and offer a welcome to Barry Zellen, our author for March. Watch for a continuation of Barry’s posts next week.