I spent Friday and Saturday at the New England Writing Workshop. (It was virtual.) It was extremely helpful and productive. I got feedback on the query letter I've been using to query agents for FINDING BALANCE, I got to pitch three amazing agents about the novel, and there were tons of helpful classes and panels about craft, marketing, and publishing.
Overall, it was an incredible experience, and it gave me a lot of ideas about how to revise my novel. I have been querying agents about FINDING BALANCE since the beginning of the year, but this has revitalized my querying process.
I was asked once why I felt the need to continue to read writing craft books and to continue to attend workshops, classes, and other writing events even though I had a BA in English and an MFA in Creative Writing. The short answer is that when it comes to writing, you are never done learning.
So if you are thinking about ways you might want to improve your writing, here are a few things you might want to try:
Attend Events
There are a million writing workshops and conferences that you can attend. Some of them are in person, but many of them are either online or offer an online version of the conference.
If you are able to pitch literary agents at these events, I highly recommend that. When you are simply sending out cold query letters, you will often get a form rejection letter or maybe even no response at all. You won't typically get a lot of specific feedback about your story. But these pitch sessions allow you a chance to get some immediate feedback which can be invaluable.
Here are some you may want to check out:
Written Word Media List of 2025 Conferences
Take Classes
There are so many writing classes you can take. There are many colleges and universities that even offer free classes, but there are also organizations like The Writing Barn that have both in-person and online classes frequently.
Online Creative Writing Courses Taught for Free By Universities
Read Writing Craft Books
There are so many amazing writing craft books out there. Books about storytelling, character development, dialogue, emotional tone, etc. Here are some of my favorites:
Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott
The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer's Guide to Character Expression by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi
The Art of Dramatic Writing: Its Basis in the Creative Interpretation of Human Motives by Lajos Egri
Enjoy Free Online Content
There are about a million writing podcasts and writing YouTube Channels. In fact there are so many, I plan to do another blog entry linking to them. But for now, I'll just share a few of my favorites.
The Shit No One Tells You About Writing
I hope these suggestions are helpful to you and your writing journey. Go forth! Happy writing!