Recently, I participated in an hour long mini picture book workshop on "How to Get Out of the Slushpile."  It was hosted by Jon Bard and his wife Laura Backes of CBI Clubhouse.
http://cbiclubhouse.com/clubhouse/author/jonbard/

Other participants were: 
Julie Hedlund  www.juliehedlund.com
Emma Walton Hamilton  http://emmawaltonhamilton.com
Katie Davis  http://katiedavis.com

They gave tips on submitting in rhyme, the submission and query process, revise and polish, and submit something the editors/agents haven't seen before. At the end of each speaker's segment, they gave "Action" suggestions for the writer. Very important action suggestions to improve your writing skills. All in all, it was a very productive hour.

Keep writing.
​Sherry

 
FICTION VS NON-FICTION




​
     Just about everyone knows the difference between Fiction and Non-fiction. Definitions as shown in Oxford Dictionaries:
   
        -Fiction: literature in the form of prose, especially short stories and novels, that describes imaginary events and people.

         - Non-Fiction: prose writing that is based on facts, real events, and real people, such as biography or history.
     
     Here are some genres under Fiction.

• Mysteries, crime, detective stories are about solving a mystifying situation.
• Fables can be told by people or animals to present something that can be useful
• Historical fiction are stories about a real place with fictional characters, or real people in fictional places.
• Science Fiction obviously is about something that may have happened, or might happen in the future, involving science, that impacts lives in a fictional setting like space.
• Fairy Tales are about magical or fairy creatures.
• Humor will invoke laughter or smiles in the stories
• Legends are about famous people with fictional stories surrounding them.
• Magic involves the trick of hand, or unnatural events containing invented creatures such as ghosts.
• Romance is a love story of fictional characters
• Horror gives a negative feeling to story and promotes fear and dread
• Suspense is most likely a thriller with fictional character trying to save themselves or others from death or threats.

   
    Here are some genres under Non-Fiction.

• Reference books and textbooks are facts only.
• Speeches are supposed to be founded on facts only.
• Biographies tell the story of a person’s life with true settings and facts.
• Autobiography is a story about the writer’s life with true settings and facts.
• Narrative is factual information in the form of a story for any age.

 
 
I’m sure there are other genres that fall under these two types of writing, that I haven’t thought of. Feel free to leave me a comment below. AND remember, when submitting your work describe the correct genre. 
 
Thanks for visiting my blog, and as always, keep writing.
Sherry