Grant Trip Part 1: IU Writers Conference!

Here is part one of my three-part writing adventure this summer! Thanks to my Eli Lily Teacher Creativity Fellowship grant, I will be taking three trips: one to the IU Writer's Conference to learn to write better, one to England to be inspired by the history of literature, and one to NYC to the Writer's Digest Conference 2015 to learn the business end of writing and pitch my book to real agents, in person!

At the beginning of June, I took a trip down to Bloomington for the IU Writer's conference! Here's the story:

Driving down!

Standing outside the old dorm. Ah, memories.

The IMU, where the conference was held

The classic Sample Gates

So I arrived at IU on Saturday and settled in at the IMU, registered and had my first orientation class. Then, after a walk around town and a visit to some bookstores...

...I went to the Irish Lion for our welcome dinner and some read-alouds from our professors and distinguished guests!

Then onto the first real day of classes...

Morning: Creativity Class

Lunch: Panel Discussions

Afternoon-

Class 1-Creating Characters through Embarrassment and Shame

Class 2-Poetry

Class 3-Mystery Writing and Caveman Writing Techniques

Class 4-Psychoanalysis of Writing and General Mind-Blowingness

(Not actual class titles)

Creativity Class

Walking around Dunn Meadow for inspiration

A trip to the graveyard for poetry inspiration...

There were also several nights of readings at the Bloomington Playwrights Project! I even got to read some of my own work, which was well received.

Oliver the Danville Bear, posing for the camera

Five days went far too fast, and I was too busy writing to take many pictures! Next, off to London...

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July 2015 Critique Blog Hop

The ever-generous Michelle has set up a blog-hop for those of us poor souls who did not make it into #NewAgent. Sigh. Always the bridesmaid. And that one time literally, which was embarrassing. But anyway, here we go! My query and first 250 words. Critique away! Carve me a new one, hopefully a better one. QUERY: Dear ____________, I saw __________________, and I hoped you might consider THE MARVELOUS ADVENTURES OF GWENDOLYN GRAY, an Upper MG Fantasy. Twelve-year-old misfit Gwendolyn Gray has an overactive imagination. It causes her no end of trouble in The City, where creativity is simply not allowed. Trouble turns to catastrophe when her ideas won’t stay inside of her head and: forests spring up in the middle of the road, furry orange creatures run amok in her bedroom, and she certainly didn't mean to make that girl in class grow a pair of rabbit ears. When the popular kids chase her all the way to the edge of The City, Gwendolyn runs afoul of the Faceless Gentle...

ENGLAND: Day 7+8-Last Call!

For our last day and a half, we had some more literature inspired spots to hit! First off, The London Zoo, home of Winnie the Bear, inspiration for Winnie the Pooh. A.A.Milne took his soon Christopher Robin here all the time. Born in Captivity Winnie! Otterly Adorable After the zoo, we booked it over to Westminster Abbey for our tour. The cathedral is amazing. I'll give some pics, but they aren't mine, since no photography is allowed. How does this connect to literature, you ask? Well, lets take a look at some of the graves and monuments in the Abbey. Some are buried here, some just commemorated. Though you can't see it well, this is Chaucer's grave. This is the centerpiece of what is now called Poet's corner, full of graves and monuments to famous creative individuals. Also, some other notables... One of the most notable...

New Author Pictures and Bio

Things are heating up here at stately Williamson manor. The new author head-shots are in, courtesy of And y at Andrew Hoffman - Scheer Hoffman Creative. A huge thanks to him for all his hard work on these, I could not BE more pleased with them. And a new author bio to go with it! B. A. Williamson is a proud Gryffindor and the overly caffeinated writer of The Marvelous Adventures of Gwendolyn Gray . When not doing battle with the demons in the typewriter, he can be found wandering Indianapolis with his family, singing in a tuxedo, or taming middle-schoolers. He is a recipient of the Eli Lilly Teacher Creativity Fellowship. Please direct all complaints and your darkest secrets to @BAWrites on social media, or visit gwendolyngray.com.

The Marvelous Adventures of Gwendolyn Gray

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