Tonnye Writes
I'll share bits here about what I'm writing, with whom, sneak peeks and details.
August 2020 UPDATE
I crushed my monthly goals for August! Well, most of them. I've been a little down about querying and felt like I needed to learn and practice more, so August was all about reading and training and critiquing and being critiqued. It was a crazy busy month! I read over 35 picture books in August and participated in 17 writing trainings. Many of those were from SCBWI Summer Spectacular, which was their on-line version of their annual conference. I also enjoyed a week-long picture book challenge by Storyteller Academy. I am now participating in 5 critique groups, most of which are on-line. I'm so enjoying the writing community on Twitter, and especially enjoying connecting with some groups and authors in particular on there. I received a very helpful critique and had a lovely email conversation with Jolene Gutierrez about some poetry and non-fiction writing I'm working on. I wrote I think 3 new rough drafts and enjoyed a very active writing month!
July 2020 UPDATE
July has started off with a bang -- and I don't mean fireworks! I am happy to be part of another critique group -- this one totally online and focused on picture books -- it originated from the FaithPitch event on Twitter.. It has been a lovely addition to my writing arsenal and I'm enjoying getting to know the girls in the group and we've already been active with each other's manuscripts and getting excellent feedback! I'm excited to have a group focusing and learning about picture books like me!
I applied for the PBChat mentorship and those mentees will be announced at the end of this month, and I also sent in a form to possibly join another critique group focused on picture books that Justin Colon is organizing -- a little match-up. I'm excited to see how all of that goes!
The winners for the KidlitZombie week were announced, and I did not win a pledge prize or a pitch/manuscript critique, but it was such a GREAT experience! 6Ladies and a MANuscript did a FABULOUS job planning really fun ways to make it a week of learning. I learned so much and grew a lot through that experience! And then at the very end came this exciting announcement: https://twitter.com/i/status/1278838683324444672 I won an honorable mention just for being supportive and encouraging for everyone else! (which was super-easy because there are so many amazing people in the KidLit community on Twitter! ) It was a blast and I did lots of revisions to a couple of manuscripts that needed some work, I learned a lot, made lots of great connections and in the end, I won a critique after all! I said I had always wanted to be Miss Congeniality :-) Maybe I just always wanted to be Sandra Bullock, but either way, it was quite an honor!
Also, Shane and I have been working like crazy on the new writing space and I'm excited to do a reveal maybe later this week! Stay tuned!
I applied for the PBChat mentorship and those mentees will be announced at the end of this month, and I also sent in a form to possibly join another critique group focused on picture books that Justin Colon is organizing -- a little match-up. I'm excited to see how all of that goes!
The winners for the KidlitZombie week were announced, and I did not win a pledge prize or a pitch/manuscript critique, but it was such a GREAT experience! 6Ladies and a MANuscript did a FABULOUS job planning really fun ways to make it a week of learning. I learned so much and grew a lot through that experience! And then at the very end came this exciting announcement: https://twitter.com/i/status/1278838683324444672 I won an honorable mention just for being supportive and encouraging for everyone else! (which was super-easy because there are so many amazing people in the KidLit community on Twitter! ) It was a blast and I did lots of revisions to a couple of manuscripts that needed some work, I learned a lot, made lots of great connections and in the end, I won a critique after all! I said I had always wanted to be Miss Congeniality :-) Maybe I just always wanted to be Sandra Bullock, but either way, it was quite an honor!
Also, Shane and I have been working like crazy on the new writing space and I'm excited to do a reveal maybe later this week! Stay tuned!
JUNE 2020 UPDATE
During the Pandemic, I've been really busy! I've been building up my presence on Twitter, watching LOTS of webinars through SCBWI, Highlights Foundation, and Serious Family. I've been blessed to win a couple of critiques on Twitter, which have been really helpful, so I've been revising those pieces. I continue to query the pieces that are strongest. I've received rejections on top of rejections, but every rejection is one closer to publication. :-) At least that's how I TRY to look at it. I'm in this for the long haul -- learning and growing. My writing is getting stronger, and I'm learning more every day. I've had a few more ideas for stories that require some research. I've begun that, but haven't written those rough drafts yet. Currently, I have about 15 picture book drafts. About 10 of those have had some feedback and revision. Some are still in the early stages. It's a constant juggling act -- keeping up social media, learning/training, actually writing, revising/editing, researching, querying, getting feedback . . . I could easily do this job full-time. In other exciting news, Shane (Hubby) and I have been working to renovate our upstairs which includes a guest bedroom, a craft room, and a writing office for me! I'm so excited to have my own space to write and put all my resources. It will be fun to see how that evolves. I'll share pics when it's closer :-) Right now, just raw sheetrock. . .
Currently, I have my hat in the ring for a mentorship with PBChat. So many excellent writers have applied. My fingers are crossed, but it will happen when it's time. In the meantime, I will continue learning and growing on my own. Upcoming are more webinars and trainings, finishing "Writing Picture Books" by Ann Whitford Paul, 2 Twitter pitch events, and a Zombie PB week via Twitter, which I'm super-excited about!
Currently, I have my hat in the ring for a mentorship with PBChat. So many excellent writers have applied. My fingers are crossed, but it will happen when it's time. In the meantime, I will continue learning and growing on my own. Upcoming are more webinars and trainings, finishing "Writing Picture Books" by Ann Whitford Paul, 2 Twitter pitch events, and a Zombie PB week via Twitter, which I'm super-excited about!
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