Who wouldn’t want to pack up their laptop, hop a plane, and commune with other creatives in some bucolic setting like Vermont at the the famed Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference or maybe Bali for the annual Ubud Writers and Readers Festival. Sounds good to us.
But let’s be honest, there’s that sticky bit about the plane ticket, the time, and oh yeah, the money. Not to worry, you can still fine-tune your writing without traveling far.
First stop: the Internet. Take a look at these resources and find a workshop near you – or one you can attend online. Here goes:
• Wikipedia’s list of writers’ conferences is fairly comprehensive and includes listings in the U.S., U.K., and Canada. Be sure to dig further and do a little research of your own to make sure the event listing that you’re interested in is current.
• Writer’s Digest University has a great catalog of online courses on subjects as diverse as social media how-tos for authors to the nuts and bolts of grammar to advanced novel writing workshops.
• Poets & Writers magazine also has a terrific database of events, workshops, and resources. They also do a stellar job of laying out questions you should ask yourself before choosing a workshop.
• Mediabistro has a whole menu of online courses. Many of them are geared to magazine writing, but you’ll also find courses on novel writing, social media, and self-publishing.
That’s good for a start. Let us know if there are online resources you’ve found and loved. We’re all for helping Blurbarians get their novel/short story collection/poetry book/memoir/children’s book/family history/cookbook/magnum and mini opus finished, self-published, and out into the world!
