The Great Hunt Completed!

Peter here again. Today at around 9:00 p.m. in Venice, Italy, intrepid Wheel of Time fan Federico located the final The Great Hunt code's hiding place . . . and confirmed that the code was no longer there. Maybe someone saw Brandon's friend Ryan place it on top of this photo booth, perhaps via the prominent security camera, but in any case the clue is gone.

If you have a theory about what happened to the code, post it with the hashtag #wotghfinalcode. However, all is not lost. Brandon suspected things like this might happen, so he made duplicates of all the code stickers. We'll be mailing Federico the code. But that doesn't mean you all have to wait to read the unencrypted text . . . by complete coincidence, Membir guessed the code in the last few hours. It's "An Unexpected Ally" and was code #28. Jordo has now unlocked the code and you can read the full text.

Congrats to all the hunters. Federico was actually the second person to check the photo booth, but the first Wheel of Time fan and the first to get his picture taken by the booth. WoT fan Claire tracked down a tourist (Lori) who was in Venice and convinced her to check the booth earlier in the day. Even before this, not satisfied to wait, intrepid fans started making educated guesses at the partially revealed text. You can see their efforts here and compare them with the final document. Good job, everyone!

Where's Rebecca?

Hi everyone!

As you may have heard, I've moved to Hawaii. Yes, my husband got a job at BYU-H and so here we are in the middle of the Pacific Ocean!

So if any of you are ever here in Laie, please stop by. We love visitors. Here's my new contact info:

Rebecca J. Carlson
55-444 Iosepa St.
Laie, HI  96762

808-232-2329

What are you currently working on?

Hey everyone! Long time no see. How is everyone doing? Still writing? I hope so!

Let's touch base on the writing world, too... What are you currently writing/reading? :)

Writing contest

Kidlit.com has a writing contest going on--enter up to the first 500 words of your polished manuscript by January 31st for a chance to win.  The grand prize is a 15 page critique by Mary Kole, the agent who runs the site.  For more information, click here.  

WIFYR sans BYU

Looks like things are really changing at the WIFYR workshop. They're holding it at Waterford in Sandy, not at BYU, and they're not even offering it through Continuing Education.

Registration should open next week. The two sci-fi/fantasy teachers are Brandon Mull and Dave Wolverton. I am so excited! Here's the link to the Twitter page:

http://twitter.com/foryoungreaders

Hope to see you there!

Petronella!

Hey! Petronella Saves Nearly Everyone is out for purchase!!!!!!!!!!!!!! At least, I just found out it was. I just bought it and it looks fantastic! I can't wait to read it. It's just the sort of book I love. AND I've met the author, who will have to sign it if ever I see her again. Hooray!

sorry about all the exclamation marks. I seem to have used my quota for the year of 2010.

Who's on Facebook & Twitter?

I've done a better job staying in touch with my 2nd WIFYR group than my first one. A few of us convinced several in the group to join Twitter. It's been fun and educational for me to keep tabs on their lives, but mostly it's been motivational. Since this group has withered a bit, I was wondering if perhaps you folks have moved on to Facebook and Twitter.

Here's my contact info. Please post yours in a comment. Let's try to stay in touch.

http://www.facebook.com/douglascootey
http://twitter.com/DouglasCootey - My creative stream and the one I recommend you follow. My writing centric stream. Low traffic.
http://twitter.com/SplinteredMind - A blog stream full of all the kinetic links and thoughts of my world. For some reason 820 people follow it. Mental health & politics color this stream considerably.

Go Brandon!

Wow! Our teacher from two years ago has knocked Dan Brown off the number one spot on the best-seller list! Of course Mr. Sanderson is benefiting from the reputation of Robert Jordan, but I still think it's really cool.

http://torforge.wordpress.com/2009/11/05/the-gathering-storm-by-robert-jordan-brandon-sanderson-is-a-1-new-york-times-bestseller/

Creative Writing Exercise to Get Your Week Going

I'm launching a new creative writing feature on my blog called 'Musing Mondays. Nothing too time consuming. I post a picture I found or took & then I ask a question about it. I could use your input, even if you contribute just a silly paragraph. It'd be a great way to touch base with some of you again and hear from your wonderful minds. Thanks!

Douglas Cootey
☆ @DouglasCootey on Twitter
✍ A Splintered Mind

Anybody Out There?

Hi. How's it going?

Finished Another Book

While I was waiting to hear back on the rewrite of Earthcrosser, I drafted an entire new novel, 67,000 words long.

They told me publishing moves slow.

At the workshop I had a few words with Martha. She said I could call her if it got to be too long before I heard from her. At the time I thought - no way am I ever calling a real editor from New York on the telephone! I'm way too chicken! Three months later. . . it's getting tempting.

Summer Time

Summer time! Writing season! I always get more writing done in the summer than during the school year. Sure, the kids are all here, but they play with each other and leave me alone. During school I have PTA, volunteering in classrooms, and a bored pre-schooler to contend with.

What's your writing season?

So Long WIFYR 2009

It was great to see lots of you again at the workshop this year! I found I really missed the comraderie of being in a morning class. Next year I'll sign up earlier. And I'll have a new book done, I hope.

So what was the most interesting thing you learned this year? I think I learned that if you want to win the daily writing contest you had to write something about Carol and Cheri.

Warbreaker Release Party

Sanderson Sensei's new book is coming out the week of WIFYR! We should all go crash the release party on Tuesday evening June 9th at the BYU Bookstore.

Reunion Lunch

Hey everyone!

Shall those of us who will be in Provo get together for lunch one of the days of this year's WIFYR? I'd like to see everyone again.

Woot!

I just had to share with you guys my awesome news. I recently attended the LDStorymakers Conference where they hold a first chapter contest every year. I entered the story I wrote for our class last year, Newtimber, and I won the GRAND PRIZE! How cool is that?

When's the Book Coming Out?

When was Dene's book coming out?

So When Do You Write?

One of the breakout sessions at WIFYR this year is called "How to finish a novel when you can't even finish the laundry" or something like that. That is so me. I am going to that one.

Exactly one year ago I started blocking out time to write every day. I did it because Elder Faust said in his talk at General Conference that women should set aside time to develop their talents. Before that I guiltily snatched time here and there, and occasionally gave in to bouts of binge writing. These days I write between lunch and when the older children get home from school. I still have one child at home, so I use my writing time to expose him to high art, like "Blue's Big Musical Movie" and "Kiki's Delivery Service." I consider my writing time "going to work" and I give it the same priority I would give a part-time job.

I Woke Up to the Absurdity of it All

Yesterday I woke up to the absurdity of it all. I sprang up from my afternoon nap with the firm conviction that I can't do it. I can't write a book. Those shiny, plastic covered things with words inside that I pick up from the library every few weeks - I can't make one of those! What was I thinking?

"You don't have to make one of those. The publisher will make it. You just supply the words." My husband tried to encourage me.

"But I can't supply the words! What was I thinking?" People like me don't write books.

People like me take their kids to the park and sit on a bench and watch to make sure they don't get kidnapped or climb up the outside of the playground equipment and fall off and break a bone or beat up the smaller kids or play with the drinking fountain and get their clothes soaked when it is windy and sixty degrees outside. Well, I did let them play with the drinking fountain. I felt too despondent to intervene unless it was a life-or-limb-threatening situation. When one of my major life goals suddenly seems like an utter sham I don't care what the kids do so long as it doesn't cause permanent damage.

Gradually, watching the older ones fly kites and the younger ones roll down the grassy hill softened me up enough to laugh with them. We went home and built a fire in our new fire-pit in the back yard, toasted hot dogs and marshmallows, and then I sat out by the dying coals with a book in my hand.

This morning I woke up and knew what to do. Before my nap yesterday I'd been re-writing chapter ten and had taken a wrong turn. One of the characters had done something completely contrary to his personality that threw a wrench in the rest of the plot. Easily fixed, now that I realize what the problem was. I'm back to work!

I Just Couldn't Stand It

I told myself and told myself I couldn't make it to WIFYR this year. My kids would still be in school, I thought. Then I looked at the calendar and realized that NO THEY ARE NOT!!!! I CAN GO!!!

Husband laid off from work - short on $ - signed up for afternoons only. See you there!