Tag Archives: Bryan Davis

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Bryan Davis on Revision

Bryan Davis speaking at the 2011 OYAN Summer Workshops in Olathe Kansas this past July.  I thought you guys would like to see this, (even my OYAN readers who were there :) ).

Having been there I can say it was the best talk on revision I have ever heard.  I still have my handout from this and refer to it constantly.  Hope this helps you in your editing endeavors.

P.S.
I’ll be posting some editing tips that I have discovered through this round of Heart of Hope edits soon.  Passing on my club. ;)

P.P.S
Can you see me? :)

P.P.P.S
Here is a link to the slides handout he gave us.
http://www.daviscrossing.com/PolishingYourMasterpiece.pdf

Check out Mr. Davis’ website HERE.

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Oh the Nerdiness of Me

Plush toy dragons, a Gandalf goblet, countless fantasy novels, weapons on the wall, maps to worlds that don’t really exist, and a homemade Doctor Who calendar; from the book shelf above my bed to my DVD collection, I am a nerd. Go figure. :P

The world would be a boring place without nerds. Seriously, it would.  There would be no imagination, no fantasy, no Sci-Fi!  No books or movies! *gasp*  But not to fear, there are nerds, so the world is not such an empty place. :)

I was looking at all the things I have surrounding me in my bedroom that testify to my nerdiness (is nerdiness even a word?) and thought I’d be, well, a nerd, and do a blog post about it, just for the fun of it, (because I really don’t have anything more interesting to post…. suuuuure).  Everywhere you look in the room I share with my younger sister, in the areas that are considered “my space” you will find something related to dragons. It’s quite comical really. My sister has happy colors, pictures of flowers, collages of friends, funny cartoony pictures, a piano chords chart and scrapbooking supplies. I have; fantasy novels, dragon memorabilia, a scattering of Doctor Who, piles of notebooks, sticky notes galore, maps, pictures of characters and various scattered note related things. Not to mention weapons. ;)

Well, when you’re a fantasy writing, dragon collecting, Doctor Who watching nerd… well, you get the picture. :) And speaking of pictures… here is my nerdiness for your very own viewing.

The bookshelf above my bed holds my plush dragon and Bryan Davis collections.

The wall above my bed

My DVD collection. =)

Tolkien and others.

My desk.

The wall over my desk.

My closet doors.

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We’re Not in Kansas Anymore…

What a cliché title right? But I couldn’t think of anything else. ;)

Wow, what an amazing week. I feel like a different writer then when I left. This past week has been one of the most inspiring, refreshing, renewing, incredible weeks of the year. I learned so much and made some wonderful friends along the way. Old friendships grew and new friendships were born. I can’t really describe how incredible it was.
I had an amazing critique group and I just want to say that you guys rock and thank you so much for all the helpful critiques on Choices.

Seeing all my friends from last year was awesome, I missed everyone so much being there was like getting a breath of fresh air. It’s so renewing to be surrounded by like minded people, I appreciate OYAN so much and everyone in it. You guys are brilliant. :)

Guess what? I MET BRYAN DAVIS!!! :D He is an incredible speaker. Hearing his heart for Christ and for writing was so inspiring. Even hearing him teach about editing was great. After his first two sessions I was ready to charge into revising! I love him even more as a writer now. His testimony, his passion for writing and his faith in Jesus Christ, he is defiantly an author I wish to mirror.

As always Mr. and Mrs. S. were brilliant and I was so thrilled to see them. They are changing a generation, raising it up to be Christ representing lights to show the way in a dark world of dark fiction. Who knows where we would all be without them, thank you Lord for the Schwabauers.

One meeting that week was an answer to prayer. Finally hugging Janey and holding her tight; I can’t find the words to describe that moment. We had to keep reminding each other that she was really there. I am so very thankful to God for bringing her to the US. I love you Janey!

Saying goodbye to everyone was so hard. Good thing we’re all only a few clicks away, else we may have been even more depressed then we already were. The morning we said our final farewells it poured. The weather had been beautiful all week, but that day, the sky cried. A friend said of the cloudy sky and rain: “That’s what happens when you get eighty-seven depressed writers all in one spot, we change the weather.” ;)

Can’t wait ‘till next year! Until then, I have two novels to revise.

(Pictures and more posts to come!)

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Welcome 2011! Books, Movies, and the Best of 2010.

Here we are in a new year!  2011, can you believe it?  I remember New Years Eve 1999, the year 2000 just sounded so futuristic and strange, we thought we would never get use to it.  Now it’s 2011, eleven years later and well, we’re use to it. :)   This year, for me, has been one giant rollercoaster, but a good rollercoaster, (and that’s saying something since I don’t like rollercoasters. :P )

 Recap:  

I had the second sugary on my foot; I finished draft II of HEART OF HOPE; I got to go to Kansas and meet, in person, some amazing people; my little sister turned sixteen; my little brother turned thirteen; my niece celebrated her first birthday; I had some amazing times with close friends and family; I started writing CHOICES; I bought a car; my oldest brother asked his super awesome girlfriend to marry him (she said yes, :) ); and I turned twenty.  Not to mention all the little things that happened in between.  (Not to mention Doctor Who. ;) )

As for the books I read and the movies I saw in theaters, (I’m adding movies this year.):

Movies:

  • Extraordinary Measures (rating – **** Great story, ruined with language.)
  • Robin Hood (rating – ** Interesting story, content, not so good.)
  • Toy Story 3 (rating – ***** Great family movie.)
  • Megamind (rating – **** Hilarious and very entertaining.  I think I remember some rude comments, hence only four starts.)
  • Tangled (rating – **********  Awesome!  Perfect family movie!  One of my favorites.)
  • Voyage of the Dawn Treader (rating – ***** Fantastic!  See it.)
  • Tron (rating – **** Awesome action and adventure story set in a super cool digital world.)

 Books:   (!=good !!=great !!!=favorite/must read)

  • The Candlestone – by Bryan Davis (!!!)
  • The Circles of Seven – by Bryan Davis (!!!)
  • Tears of a Dragon – by Bryan Davis (!!!)
  • A Prisoner of Versaillies – by Golden Keyes Person(!)
  • Swords – by Ben Boos (!!)
  • Favorite Medieval Tales – by Mary Pope Osborne and Troy Howell(!)
  • The First Four Years – by Laura Ingals Wilder (!)
  • Just Friends: Guarding you heart for a wonderful someday – by Mike Ray and Cary Schmidt (!!!)
  • I know why the angels Dance – by Bryan Davis (!!)
  • By Darkness Hid – by Jill Williamson (!!!)
  • Fable Weaver – by Carlie Gernhart (!!!)
  • The Sword of Shannara – by Terry Brooks (!)
  • The Hobbit – by J.R.R. Tolkien (!!!)
  • Vienna Prelude – by Bodie and Brock Thoene (!!)
  • The Eagle of the Ninth – by Rosemary Sutcliff (!!)
  • Starlighter – by Bryan Davis (!!)
  • Comma Sense — by Richard Lederer and John Shore (!!!)
  • So Long Insecurity – by Beth Moore (!!!)

Unpublished Books: (All of which were awesome. :) )

  • Night of Shadows — by Daniel Beals
  • Becoming Human — by Jared Schmitz
  • Messenger — by Sarah Ulrich

 There were lots of good books this past year, and a few good movies too. :)

What’s up for this year?  Tons!
I start college; my brother’s wedding; another Kansas trip; my other brother and his wife will welcome to the family another baby and much more! 

I’m super excited about this year.  God was so good and faithful through 2010, I can’t wait to see what He has in store for me in 2011.  My hopes for this year is that I will get HEART OF HOPE to a point where I can send it to publishers, finished CHOICES and do the same and just keep writing and becoming the person God wants me to be.  :)  

May God bless you all in this new year!

-Laura

One thing I do:  Forgetting what is behind and straining foward what is ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.  Phil. 3:13-14

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2009 Book List

Wow, 2009 is almost over!  Yikes.

I wanted to share something I did differently this past year, what?  I kept a list of all the books I finished between January 1st and December 31st.  Why?  Last year I wondered how many books I had read, so, for the year 2009 nine I decided to keep a list.  The number of books surprized me, honestly I thought I would have read a lot more, but, it’s been a buys year and I didn’t always have time for reading.  Well, now that I have your attention and curiosity, here are all the books I finished in the year 2009.

The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica (4 book) by James A Owen
Inkheart by Cornelie Funke
Little Woman by Louisa May Alcott
The Oracles of Fire (4 books) series by Bryan Davis
Outlaws of Sherwood by Robin Mckinley
The Brothers Grimm : Two Lives, One Legacy by Donald R. Hettinga
King Raven trilogy by Stephen Lawhead
Happy Trails: Our Life Story by Roy Rogers and Dale Evens; with Jane and Michael Stern
Raising Dragons (book 1 of Dragons in Our Mists) by Bryan Davis (Note: I got this series for Christmas and finished this book in one and a half days. :) )

Only seventeen books in a years, well… plus three or four unpublished books written by friends and a few I started but never finished.  I’m planning on reading more this year, maybe I can make it to thirty, but then, we’ll see. ;)

So what were your favorite books of 2009?