Weekly Scratch: The Revolution, Craft, Fun

Howdy, folks!  Whew, it hot.  I hope the heat is keeping you inside writing masterworks. 
Follow this link to learn more about the upcoming SCBWI Brazos Valley Conference.  Check out editor and author Claudia Gabel's website. Claudia is a speaker at the upcoming conference SCBWI BV conference.
Plan ahead?  The 2012 Austin Conference is on February 17 and 18. 

Remember, the Mini-Retreat is around the corner. SCBWI Saturday: A Mini-Retreat to Inspire Your Writing Voice is on Aug. 27, 2011, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. It's located at Arts Council of the Brazos Valley, 2275 Dartmouth St., College Station, TX. SCBWI Brazos Valley Children’s Literature Book Club co-coordinators, Jacqueline Gramann and Alicia Clay O’Neill, will team up and present A Mini-Retreat to Inspire Your Writing Voice. They are combining their professional backgrounds to inform and inspire beginning and seasoned writers. Jacqueline and Alicia will present new ways to look at writing for children and have several writing exercises to unlock your writing obstacles.

We also have a Schmooze: Schmooze: How to Format a Manuscript with Liz Mertz. She will explain
standard formatting for manuscripts and why is it important at the College Station Barnes and Noble. Critiques start a 9:30 AM.  

Are you a mystery writer? Brazos Writers has an all day workshop: BRAZOS WRITERS PRESENTS THE ART AND SCIENCE OF INVESTIGATION on the September 10, 2011 at the Brazos Center from 8:30 AM to 4:00 AM. Check out their website for more info.

THE REVOLUTION

Children's picture book apps are all the rage. Check out these two companies on the forefront of the technological wave. One from Oceanhouse Media and another from Skyreader Media Inc.

Want to convert a PDF for your Kindle/Nook/Kobo ebook?   Here is a page to help you out.

What are some ebook trends on the horizon?  Here is an an article with preditictons.

CRAFT

Here is a good blog about how to create a character bible. It's from the San Diego Professional Writer's Group. 

Want to know the difference between magical realism and paranormal/fantasy?   Here is a post from WriteOnCon.

FUN

Minimalist Fairy tale posters.  Less can be more.

You probably want to check out Pottermore.  You may need a place for your fans to dwell someday too.