right here, write now

2013 Write On The River SOLD OUT!

Registration is now CLOSED for our 2013 Write On The River Writing Conference this weekend.  We are thrilled and overwhelmed with the enthusiasm over this year’s Conference – but we have just hit the maximum capacity for our facility.  Thanks so much to all of you who are as excited as we are about a truly stellar Writing Conference.  We look forward to seeing you this weekend!

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J.A. Jance Headlines Conference as Keynote

Write On The River is North Central Washington’s only writing conference.  Two days of content-packed workshops with professional editors, successful agents, bestselling authors and nationally-acclaimed speakers, Write On The River is the best way to hone your craft, build your dream and move your writing forward.  Whether your goal is to be a published author, write articles for a local magazine, develop your poetry, or simply write for your own enjoyment, Write On The River has something for you.  Held every May on the beautiful Wenatchee Valley College in Wenatchee, Washington, Write On The River is a writing conference not to be missed! OUR 2013 CONFERENCE IS NOW SOLD OUT! Our 2013 Conference featuring Keynote Speaker J.A. Jance will be May 17, 18 & 19.  With a world-class faculty including three N.Y. Times Bestselling authors, writers featured on Oprah and NPR, and renowned writing instructors from all over the world,

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No. 5: Don’t Answer That!

This week, I want to talk about procrastination. Actually … naw, let’s get back to that one later.

So, here it is: I’m at a party, I’m having dinner with friends, I’m walking down the sidewalk. It comes up. I’m writing a book. What’s the first question out of every mouth?  Invariably, it’s, “Oh, what’s it about?”

I sigh. I get up. I fish out the non-disclosure agreements and a pen. I run them quickly through the fine print, make sure they get the date right … It’s kind of a hassle, breaks up the conversational mood …  No, I don’t actually do that. Most typically what I do is obfuscate, prevaricate, equivocate, and – Dictionary.com’s 2011 Word of the Year, I tergiversate (pronounced “ter-JIV-er-sate”). All of which mean the same thing – I say something that doesn’t really tell them anything. Keep Reading »

No. 4: Serious Moolah

There is real money in writing. Like, crazy money. I know, I know – it’s only for the select few. The majority of writers slave away, underpaid and underappreciated, finding sustenance anywhere but in their writing. I get it. Believing you’re going to be the next James Patterson or J.K. Rowling, or that you’re going to emerge as the next mommy-porn phenom with 50 Shades of Some Other Color, is like believing your garage band is going to be the next Rolling Stones. But here’s the thing – somebody is going to be the next Rolling Stones. And I guarantee you that, whoever that turns out to be, they will have believed along the way that they could be the next Rolling Stones.

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No 3:The Cliff

Okay, I’m coming down off that high-falutin’ prose cloud I’ve been floating around on for the first two weeks of this blog and this week I’m simply going to tell you what it is I’m actually up to – in other words, the main focus of this blog.

A year ago February, I sold half of my business, Howell at the Moon Productions, to my longtime business partner, gave up any sort of a regular paycheck, and set myself a goal of writing my first novel. Keep Reading »

High School Writers’ Competition Winners Chosen!

HIGH SCHOOL WRITERS:  Our team of judges found fiction writing to be alive and well among area high school students!  They are pleased to announce the winner and two excellent “runners up.” CONGRATULATIONS for the winning submissions (you can read these on our website May 1) First Place and $100 prize: Finding Mr. Weston by Bridget Dowd, a Wenatchee High School junior Honorable Mention: No More Lies by Whitney Killoran, an Eastmont High School junior Honorable Mention: Our Unsymmetrical House by Kimberly Smith, a 9th Grader at Eastmont Junior High School THANKS to all of you who sent your best work to the competition. Keep on writing, revising and writing some more (it’s what we do!). You will receive a written critique within a few weeks from professional author and workshop presenter Katherine Grace Bond. The Wenatchee area is lucky to have such an inspiring group of young, talented writers…way to go!  

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