Workshops and Conferences

Better Books Marin
Run by the amazing Darcey Rosenblatt and my critique group. A small, craft-based workshop for experienced YA and middle grade fiction writers

Maggie Stiefvater’s workshops and seminars
I was fortunate enough to attend her workshop, in a stately home, on a loch, in Scotland. She is a master writer and teacher, and my WIP is so much better for her masterful diagnosis and prescriptions

SCBWI Summer Conference, San Francisco North and East Bay Oktoberfest, and San Francisco South Golden Gate Conference
So appreciative of all SCBWI does for writers

Podcasts

Writers on Writing 
UC Irvine’s Barbara DeMarco-Barrett and Marrie Stone, not focused on kid lit, but great craft interviews with authors

New Yorker Fiction
Short stories chosen and read by authors, with analysis/conversation at the end

New Yorker Poetry
Same, but for poetry

A Way with Words
If you love words, sayings, and their origins

Meet the Composer
Nadia Sirota’s brilliantly produced podcast. So sad there are only 41 of these. One influenced a character in my current WIP

A Strong Sense of Place
The absolute best if you love reading and travel!

Software and Tools

Scrivener
Great for me for organizing new projects and until it’s mostly in its final form. So much easier to edit large chunks than in Word.]

Freedom
For tuning out the internet. I should use this more

Pomodoro
For productivity

Craft Books

Too many to list, but some I come back to for inspiration:

The Artist’s Way, by Julia Cameron

Reading Like a Writer, by Francine Prose

On Writing, by Stephen King

Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott

Favorite Bookstores

Copperfield’s Books
My local independent

Book Passage
My critique group met in the cafe in Corte Madera for years

The Strand
When my son was in college in NYC, I spent many happy hours, and dollars, here

Book Club Bar
Ditto. The name says it all