James River Writers Conference

by Betsy Ashton

Betsy Ashton, born in Washington, DC, was raised in Southern California where she ran wild with coyotes in the hills above Malibu. She protested the war in Vietnam, burned her bra for feminism, and is a steadfast Independent. She is a writer, a thinker, the mother of three grown stepchildren, companion and friend. She mentors writers and writes and publishes fiction. Her first mystery, Mad Max Unintended Consequences, was published in February 2013. The second in the series, Uncharted Territory, A Mad Max Mystery, came out in April 2015. In her spare time, she is the president of the state-wide Virginia Writers Club. She loves riding behind her husband on his motorcycle. You’ll have to decide for yourself if and where she has a tattoo.

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Dash Shaw | Gigi Amateau | James River | Katherine Neville | Maggie Stiefvater | Meg Medina

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5 Comments(s)

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October 12, 2009

Once again, the JRW conference sold out two weeks prior to the event. And the caliber of talent on panels surpassed even the great talent from last year. I continue to be amazed at how many writers reside in Virginia and don’t publicize that fact. Makes me feel like I’m in the right state at the right time.

Most helpful sessions were on marketing your work. I took tons of notes and need to sit down and refine my marketing guidelines for writers. Anyone know how much time (percentage of time) authors spend on marketing and how much time they spend on writing? I’d be interested in your experience.

Sessions that will help improve my writing included ones on setting the scene, detailed character development (particularly putting flesh on secondary characters), dialogue development, serial characters, and point of view.

Writers who shared their thoughts included:

Katherine Neville, NYT best seller who says she writes the oldest type of story in the world, the adventure-quest

Maggie Stiefvater, a wonderful YA writer who actually seduced me enough to buy Shiver

Meg Medina, a middle grade writer whose themes focus on multicultural experiences — she’s Cuban American

Dash Shaw, I only wish I loved graphic novels as he does. His Bottomless Bellybutton looked fantastic

Gigi Amateau, who got a bit of short shrift when her agent was stricken with the flu upon arrival and had to drop a panel on interaction between writers and their agents, moderated a good panel on the art of the ending.

I walked away with so many nuggets that my brain felt squished. Unsquished my brain yesterday by not working. Today I’m sorting through the gray cells and putting some of the nuggets to work right away.

I can’t wait for next year’s conference.

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