Beverley BevenFlorez, Children's and YA Writer

VCFA One Year Later...

2011-08-13T08:47:00.000-07:00

This past July I was at Vermont College of Fine Arts for the Summer 2011 MFA in Writing for Children residency. As I drove up the hill that leads to the campus I had this feeling of coming home. This was a huge difference from the first trip up the hill when I was twisting my hands and wondering what I was getting myself into. Now that I've been in the program for a year, I can say that entering the program was one of the best decisions I've ever made.

I think one of the best things about VCFA is that during the semester you are working one-one-one with your adviser. It's not like taking a creative writing class or a workshop where the teacher is giving a broad lesson to try to help as many of the students as possible. Your adviser is tailoring the work and her or his instructions directly to your work and your needs. Also, you work with a different adviser every semester, so each semester you are getting new insights. My first two advisers were quite different in personality and outlook, and I felt that working with them both was like being given two halves of a puzzle. It's also probably good practice for working with editors.

The advisers truly care, too. This residency I walked in not clear on what my critical thesis topic was going to be. My first two advisers each spent time helping me with ways I could possibly structure various topics or how to narrow them down (though they both told me that I shouldn't finalize any ideas before meeting my "new" adviser). It made me feel warm, though, knowing that even though I wasn't officially their students anymore, they still felt compelled to help me going forward. In fact, this kind of camaraderie extends past the advisers and onto the students also. You spend most of the time with the people of your class. Several of the Secret Gardeners (that's our class name) spent time with me going through ideas and trying to make them work. In case you're wondering, I did end up with a topic I feel passionate about, and I'm going to be turning in the first draft to my new adviser on Monday.

The residency should be called "Boot Camp for Writers." The days are long and filled with faculty and graduate lectures; workshops; faculty, graduate, and student readings; and meetings with your advisers. Many VCFAers joke that when they return home they still look for the pink schedule to see when lunch time is. I think the system works, though. It jump starts your muse. By the end of the ten days my fingers are itching for my keyboard. I'm yearning to write. If I need another jump start later in the semester I can always download one of the lectures from our bookstore website (one of the perks of being a VCFA student or alumni). This time around I was also in the library doing research or reading critical theses in College Hall. Yet I also made time for going to the Skinny Pancake in town with friends and chatting with my roommate over a cup of coffee in our room.

I'll admit that I've warmed up to the dormitories. They have improved them a bit. Also, the weather this July was much cooler. We actually had some gorgeous days--big blue sky, cool breeze, and enough sun to make your skin feel toasty. It is the east, so there was a bit of humidity, too, but the temperature remained in the 70's and 80's the weeks we were there.

The big question, though, is if my writing has improved. Undoubtedly, I feel more confident as I tackle novels. If I look at my work before the program and compare it to what I've done since then there's a definite change for the better in my later work. One of the things to consider if you're thinking about the program is that you aren't going to VCFA to book doctor the novel you are currently working on--you're here to get the tools you need to write and edit any novel. I think some people feel a little worried that they might not finish a novel while at VCFA. It isn't really the point. Sure, the advisers could edit your work, and you would finish the two years with a publishable manuscript. But then would you be able to write another novel without their help? I worked on a brand new project last semester and was glad that I did. It was a contemporary middle grade, and something quite different from what I had worked on in the past. I plan on continuing that project this semester. I would feel cheated, though, if I only worked on one project while at VCFA.

After the ten days were up, I was back on the plane and heading home. The hardest part of being at VCFA was being away from my husband that entire time. I was excited to see him again. I will admit, though, that I also felt a bit wary of returning to a world where writing isn't the highest priority (where you have to balance your writing life with your day job, television, laundry, and cooking). But I knew that I had a new adviser to work with, and new goals to achieve. When the plane touched down in LAX, I knew I was home. Again.

VCFA MFA in Writing for Children and YA - 1st Residency

2010-08-26T21:53:00.000-07:00

I kept putting off writing a blog post thinking I'd wait until I had more time. Tonight I realize that magic day probably isn't going to happen, so I'll squeeze in the time now.

As some of you know, I entered my first semester at Vermont College of Fine Arts this past July. They have a superb MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults low residency program. Of course, hearing alumni rave about the program, talking to professors, and seeing the program ranked number one in the country isn't enough for you to truly know how your experience is going to be. For me, it was exactly what I needed.

So in July I flew off to Vermont not exactly knowing what to expect. Sure, I had a schedule, but even that turned out not to give the full picture of what a VCFA MFA residency is all about. Sure, I knew that there were faculty and graduate lectures, readings, and workshops. But I didn't know how special the graduate readings were until I went to one. The graduate is introduced by their last advisor, who talks about their two years in the program. Then the graduate begins by thanking their four advisers plus anyone else who supported them. I teared up during many of these readings and I didn't know most of the graduates well! After the introduction and the thanking they would read a sample from their creative thesis--in every case, the work was fabulous.

Every graduate must give a lecture their last residency to graduate. These lectures are on diverse topics, and are well-researched. There are usually two graduate lectures happening simultaneously, so you choose the lecture that applies most to your work (or something that you don't know much about).

There were times when I needed a break and I simply couldn't go to a graduate lecture. However, I never missed a faculty lecture since I wanted to get to know the faculty members. Lectures ranged from structural issues to voice to language.

During the residency, you are put into a workshop group with two faculty members leading each group (some smaller groups with one faculty members are available, too). You're sent copies of everyone in your group's work (20 pgs) so you have an opportunity to read and make notes before the workshop. I'll admit--I felt nervous about this most of all. For one thing, each person's work is critiqued for 50 minutes. 50 minutes. This seemed...well...long. However, I needn't have worried. The faculty make sure that everyone mentions what's working about the piece first, and they keep to the positive for awhile. Then, yes, they tear into it, but in a constructive way. Usually when I've gone to conferences there's always that one person in your group who doesn't have any tact and thinks insults are the same as critiques. There was no one like that in my group. Truly, it was the best workshop experience I had.

During the residency, you get paired up with a faculty member who will be your advisor during the coming semester. Of course, we were all nervous about it. After hearing the lectures, and getting to know the faculty, I realized I didn't have anything to worry about. Seriously, working with any of the faculty would be rewarding. So I focused on choosing faculty that would allow me to work on my novel and also write a picture book. Still, I was nervous because I had to create a semester plan. That also turned out to be easy, as my advisor converted my ramblings into cogent, intelligent ideas. Then she offered suggestions or told me when I was heading in the wrong direction.

Just in case you're thinking this is too good to be true...there must be something wrong with the program, you're right. There is. And that would be the dorms.

When I arrived, the heat wave was just at its end. But it was still going on, which meant it was freaking hot and humid. I might have been able to live with the heat, but the humidity totally ruined me. The first night I didn't sleep at all. There's no air conditioning in the dorms. The dorms, in fact, are utilitarian. Or, put another way, horrible. I went searching in town for box fans that you could put in the window, but of course they were sold out. Heat wave, you know. So my roommate and I had two small fans going all the time, but it didn't help that much. The dorms that had box fans in the windows were noticeably cooler.

The other thing is that you really work hard those ten days. You're around people all the time; and you're sharing a room with someone. It is worth it--completely worth it, but it's not easy. But it shouldn't be, right?

Oh, and the food. Not always good.

But somehow the dorm, the heat, the lack of sleep, the food...it just doesn't matter. In some ways, it's a bonding experience. We all eat the same food, sleep in the same horrible rooms, and these shared experiences bring you together. Even if it's to go to town to escape the rooms and the food and the heat.

Once I got home, I started working on my first packet. That includes two essays (short, 2-3 pgs

Since I'm continuing to work during the day, many of my evenings and weekends are now going to this MFA program. So...I'm afraid that this blog will continue to be neglected. I will not be doing the Writers' Well until my schedule opens up. Unfortunately, I won't be able to read enough blogs to make it interesting. Every now and then I'll check in. In the meantime, I hope you all have pleasant writing journeys.

The Writers' Well: A Weekly Recap of the Best Kidslit Blog Posts

2010-06-25T00:01:00.000-07:00

I was given a blog award this week by Julie Musil. It always brightens my day when I hear that someone enjoys my blog. It's nice to be appreciated. :)

This has been a busy week with work and getting ready for my first residency at VCFA, which is just a couple of weeks away now. Since next month is going to be so busy, I've decided that I won't be blogging for the entire month. In August, I'll be sure to share my experiences in case any of you are considering the MFA program.

Now let's get started and discover some fantastic kidslit posts:

Inspiration
WriterJenn talks about the importance of Refilling the Well.

For Fun
I loved this post on The First Novels Club about how their mothers read YA. It's really true that many adults are now gravitating to the YA section. There are many theories as to why, but I think it's because the books are just freaking awesome.

Apparently, Carrie Ryan's mother reads YA novels, too. Ryan discusses how they share a love for the series Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead.

Writing Craft
In the Wordy Wednesday post over at Kirby's Lane, she discusses tight writing.

Sarah's Journal has a great list of links on Writing Advice and she also shares her own thoughts on how to start a novel.

If like me, you enjoy reading about how other writers work you'll enjoy Kathleen Duey's recent post on what she's currently working on.

Author Appearances
Amy Brecount will be signing Forget-Her-Nots at the ALA conference on Sunday. You can read more on her post here.

Interviews
Kiersten White, author of Paranormalcy, is interviewed over at Market My Words.

Hanna, the main character of Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves, is interviewed over at Paranormal Point of View. ;)

Literary Asylum interviewed Chelsea Campbell, author of The Rise of Renegade X.

Alyxandra Harvey, author of Hearts at Stake, is interviewed at Cynsations.

Teaching Authors interviewed Claudia Fridell, author of Goliath.

Through the Wardrobe interviewed N. H. Senzai, author of Shooting Kabul.

Announcements
Laina Taylor's new book has been announced. It's tentatively titled Daughter of Smoke and Bone, and was purchased by Little Brown at auction. You can read more about the novel here.

Kiersten Whites novel Paranormalcy will be released August 31, a month earlier than planned.

That's it for this week! Have a wonderful weekend. See you in August!

The Writers' Well: A Weekly Recap of the Best Kidslit Blog Posts

2010-06-18T00:01:00.000-07:00

Happy summer! It's finally starting to heat up in southern cal, and I'm LOVING it. I'm also excited because in July I'll be starting my first residency at the Vermont College of Fine Arts!

As usual, there were plenty of awesome posts this week so let's plunge right in.

Inspiration
I enjoyed WriterJenn's post on Novel Milestones.

This post isn't writing related necessarily, but it's by a kidslit writer so I'm including it! Jay Asher talks about being grateful for what you have.

Technically, this series of posts is from a week ago, but they are too good not to mention. Beth Revis discusses her transition from college to teacher to author (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, & Part 5).

Interviews
Shari Maurer, author of Change of Heart, is interviewed on Janet Fox's blog Through the Wardrobe. Fox also interviewed JT Dutton, author of Stranded.

Kirsten Miller, author of Eternal One, is interviewed over at Market My Words.

Barry Lyga, author of Archvillain (as well as Fan Boy and Goth Girl, one of my favorite YA novels), is interviewed over at Literary Asylum.

For Fun
Suzanne Young occasionally posts excerpts from unfinished manuscripts. The latest in her Novel Graveyard is a lot of fun.

Megan Frances shared how she reconnected to a childhood favorite book: The Golden Phoenix.

Conferences
Julie Musil had a post on a free Writer's Conference called WriteOnCon. Registration begins July 1st!

Writing Craft
The Bookshelf Muse thinks outside of Character Sheets and gives some great tips on Characterization.

There's a panel of writers over at Kirby's Lane that discuss the benefits of Critique Groups.

Bish Denham has an interesting writing prompt on Dreams.

Sara Wilson Etienne talks about how she uses music to Hear Her Story.

Points to Ponder
Uma Krishnaswami has a post discussing outsider narratives. It's an interesting issue.

I loved Carrie Ryan's post on the difficulty of sharing too much or too little on your blog.

That's it for this week. Have a wonderful weekend!

SCBWI-LA Critiquenic

2010-06-15T14:28:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I attended the LA Critiquenic in Roxbury Park. It was the first time I had attended it, and now I wonder why I didn't attend before! There were about sixty attendees, and we were in groups of about eight. Each group was organized by genre and was led by a published author. I was lucky enough to be in Cecil Castellucci's group (she's the author of young adult novels and graphic novels).

Our group would begin by the author reading her work, and then Castellucci would "send the author to the moon" while the rest of the group would critique what we had heard. The point was for the author to listen to the comments before asking questions or addressing the critique in any way. I thought this was a brilliant way to keep from getting defensive or talking over the critiquers. If you're at the moon, then you can't respond even if you'd like to. After everyone gave their comments, the author would return from the moon and get to respond.

I'm glad that I attended because Castellucci's comments helped me look at my novel in a fresh way. I think you can be so close to a work that sometimes you miss things. I left the Critiquenic feeling energized.

Next year if you're in the Los Angeles area I would highly suggest attending. It's free, which is incredible considering that I've paid forty-five dollars for a critique from a published author not including the price of the event itself (usually around eighty-five for a half day seminar). It isn't perfect. You have to deal with the noise of children playing in the park, and worry over parking meters, but the benefits definitely outweigh the costs.

The Writers' Well: A Weekly Recap of the Best Kidslit Blog Posts

2010-06-11T00:01:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday! As usual, there were some wonderful kidslit posts, so let's plunge right into the well!

Writing Craft
Beth Kephart tackles two issues in a short post (yet still beautifully written as all of hers are): Losing Sentences to strengthen story and Pursuing a project that is just beyond your skill level.

On the Writers in Residence blog, Jackie Houchin discusses interview techniques.

WriterJenn gives examples of novels that start with character, not necessarily action-packed sequences.

Barbara O'Connor shared an inspirational quote to help writers stay focused on writing.

On her Question of the Day blog, Suzanne Casamento discusses the importance of structure in your novel and finding a mentor.

On Kirby's Lane, Kirby Larson discusses how food can add spice to novels.

Interviews
Andrea Cremer, author of Nightshade, is interviewed on Market My Words blog.

Denise Jaden interviewed Chelsea Campbell, author of The Rise of Renegade X.

Sea author Heidi Kling is interviewed by Holly Cupala.

Marketing
There's a fantastic marketing roundup over at the Market My Words blog.

Themes
It was friendship week over at the Books, Boys, Buzz blog to celebrate the release of Lifted by Wendy Toliver (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday).

New Kidslit Blog
Gregory K. had a post about a new kidslit blog launched by twenty-six middle grade novelists. It's called From the Mixed-Up Files of Middle-Grade Authors.

Interesting Discussions
Shannon Hale discusses the flaws of a Book Rating System.

Carrie Jones posted a video on her blog of Colin Farrell speaking out against Bullying.

For Fun
Nancy Sanders is beginning a Summer Reading Club over at her blog. Sounds like fun!

If you like reading the Kiersten Writes blog, you'll love the guest post by Stephanie Perkins that uncovers the real Kiersten White.

D. M. Cunningham over at Literary Asylum reminds us that it's Batman has recently published it's 700th issue!

Have a wonderful weekend!

The Writers' Well: A Weekly Recap of the Best Kidslit Blog Posts

2010-06-04T00:01:00.000-07:00

I believe someone has been influencing the time space continuum. Just before I left for vacation time slowed down to a crawl, while the vacation time zoomed by. Regardless of time problems, there have been a ton of fantastic writer blogs this week, so let's plunge right into the well.

Writers Speak Out
Holly Black answers questions about White Cat, Spiderwick, and The Modern Faerie Tales.

Donna Gamble talks about what it's like to work on book number two.

Georgia McBride has an interesting post on what YA writers really make. She has links to a ton of articles and posts on the subject.

I loved Aprilynne Pike's post on You Are Not Your Novel--and how you shouldn't apologize for not having written a bestseller or award winning novel.

New Releases
Suzanne Young's next novel So Many Boys comes out next week. The first review is in and it's positive.

Author Appearances
Carrie Ryan fans who live in the south will be happy to hear that she's going to be attending the Con-Carolinas this weekend.

For Fun
There's a fun post on The Pen and Ink blog titled Writing Seminars I'd Like to See.

I found WriterJenn's post on The Evolution of Ideas hilarious.

Laurie Halse Anderson posted a video made by University of Washington Librarians that's awesome. It's Lady Gaga in the Library. Now you've got to watch it. By the way, Holly Cupala posted it to her blog, too.

Writing Craft
Bish Denham has a series of posts on Writing Prompts.

The Wagging Tale blog has a fantastic post on how Imagery beats Description.

Claudia Harrington's blog has some motivational quotes from Sonya Sones and Laurie Halse Anderson.

The fabulous Teaching Authors blog has a post on Reading as a Writer.

I'm sure there are other great posts out there. Be sure to add any that you find in the comments area.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Remembering the Fallen: Specialist Ross A. McGinnis

2010-06-03T00:01:00.000-07:00

Specialist Ross McGinnis would have only been twenty-one if he had lived to receive the Medal of Honor. Regardless of his youth, he made an impact on the people he worked with. They call him a natural leader and the comedian of the group. His parents said that after he came back from his Army training it was as though he had grown taller.

McGinnis was part of a group that was delivering a generator that would increase electricity in the community when they were attacked. When a grenade was thrown, McGinnis covered it with his body and absorbed the impact, preventing it from injuring anyone else around it. The entire narrative can be read here.

Private First Class Ross A. McGinnis distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving as an M2 .50-caliber Machine Gunner, 1st Platoon, C Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, in connection with combat operations against an armed enemy in Adhamiyah, Northeast Baghdad, Iraq, on 4 December 2006.

That afternoon his platoon was conducting combat control operations in an effort to reduce and control sectarian violence in the area. While Private McGinnis was manning the M2 .50-caliber Machine Gun, a fragmentation grenade thrown by an insurgent fell through the gunner's hatch into the vehicle. Reacting quickly, he yelled "grenade," allowing all four members of his crew to prepare for the grenade's blast. Then, rather than leaping from the gunner's hatch to safety, Private McGinnis made the courageous decision to protect his crew. In a selfless act of bravery, in which he was mortally wounded, Private McGinnis covered the live grenade, pinning it between his body and the vehicle and absorbing most of the explosion.

Private McGinnis' gallant action directly saved four men from certain serious injury or death. Private First Class McGinnis' extraordinary heroism and selflessness at the cost of his own life, above and beyond the call of duty, are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.

The citation can be found here. McGinnis should not have had to die that day, however, his courageousness will never be forgotten.

Remembering the Fallen: Staff Sergeant Jared C. Monti

2010-06-02T00:01:00.000-07:00

None of us know how we will react in a crisis, until we are confronted by the situation. When Staff Sergeant Monti saw one of his fellow soldier's in harm's way he didn't hesitate. He went out to try to save him. Perhaps some people might have tried once, and when it seemed impossible to help without losing your own life, would have stopped. Certainly, no one would have blamed him. But Jared Monti didn't stop. He continued to try to get to the wounded soldier even though it meant walking into enemy fire. Unfortunately, Monti did not survive, but his courageousness motivated the other soldiers and led to a victory.

Staff Sergeant Jared C. Monti distinguished himself by acts of gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a team leader with Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 3d Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, 3d Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, in connection with combat operations against an armed enemy in Nuristan Province, Afghanistan, on June 21, 2006. While Staff Sergeant Monti was leading a mission aimed at gathering intelligence and directing fire against the enemy, his 16-man patrol was attacked by as many as 50 enemy fighters. On the verge of being overrun, Staff Sergeant Monti quickly directed his men to set up a defensive position behind a rock formation. He then called for indirect fire support, accurately targeting the rounds upon the enemy who had closed to within 50 meters of his position. While still directing fire, Staff Sergeant Monti personally engaged the enemy with his rifle and a grenade, successfully disrupting an attempt to flank his patrol. Staff Sergeant Monti then realized that one of his Soldiers was lying wounded in the open ground between the advancing enemy and the patrol's position. With complete disregard for his own safety, Staff Sergeant Monti twice attempted to move from behind the cover of the rocks into the face of relentless enemy fire to rescue his fallen comrade. Determined not to leave his Soldier, Staff Sergeant Monti made a third attempt to cross open terrain through intense enemy fire. On this final attempt, he was mortally wounded, sacrificing his own life in an effort to save his fellow Soldier. Staff Sergeant Monti's selfless acts of heroism inspired his patrol to fight off the larger enemy force. Staff Sergeant Monti's immeasurable courage and uncommon valor are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, and the United States Army.

The Army has a fantastic website in honor of him, where you can see photos from his childhood and learn more about who he was and how he earned the award.

Remembering the Fallen: Sergeant First Class Paul R. Smith

2010-06-01T08:28:00.000-07:00

I just returned from a relaxing vacation in Lake Tahoe with family. It was peaceful and calm there, cold enough for there to be snow in the mountains, but warm enough that my husband and I were able to kayak on the lake. At one point, though, I watched a documentary on Medal of Honor recipients and was amazed by the bravery and selflessness of these individuals. Memorial Day has just passed, and so I think it's a great time to recap some of their stories.

Sergeant First Class Paul R. Smith proved how much he cared about his fellow soldiers long before he earned the Medal of Honor. When he learned that one of his soldier's family couldn't afford to have a Christmas with their children, he went out and purchased gifts for their children. When one of his soldiers had a baby in the hospital, he drove an hour every day to visit them. You can read more here.

He earned the medal of honor in 2003, when he was part of an Engineering company in Baghdad, Iraq. He gave his life to ensure that other soldiers could escape safely.

Sergeant First Class Smith was engaged in the construction of a prisoner of war holding area when his Task Force was violently attacked by a company-sized enemy force. Realizing the vulnerability of over 100 fellow soldiers, Sergeant First Class Smith quickly organized a hasty defense consisting of two platoons of soldiers, one Bradley Fighting Vehicle and three armored personnel carriers. As the fight developed, Sergeant First Class Smith braved hostile enemy fire to personally engage the enemy with hand grenades and anti-tank weapons, and organized the evacuation of three wounded soldiers from an armored personnel carrier struck by a rocket propelled grenade and a 60mm mortar round. Fearing the enemy would overrun their defenses, Sergeant First Class Smith moved under withering enemy fire to man a .50 caliber machine gun mounted on a damaged armored personnel carrier. In total disregard for his own life, he maintained his exposed position in order to engage the attacking enemy force. During this action, he was mortally wounded. His courageous actions helped defeat the enemy attack, and resulted in as many as 50 enemy soldiers killed, while allowing the safe withdrawal of numerous wounded soldiers.

The official citation can be read here.

As writers of fiction, we create heroes from our imaginations. Paul Smith was the real thing.

Five Ways of Making the Most of Your Writing Time

2010-05-25T17:59:00.000-07:00

The first draft of any novel is difficult. No matter how much you may have outlined beforehand, there are still hurdles you hit along the way. When writing isn't your full-time job, it can be discouraging when the word count doesn't grow very quickly. I've discovered a few tricks of making the most of my writing time.

Assign a Writing Time. Years ago, I decided that I would write during my lunch hour every day. I write at other times, too, but I know that at the very least I have one hour of writing done every day. Now when I pull out my laptop at noon I can jump right into writing. It's as though I've hot wired my brain to be creative in the middle of the day. It might be difficult to carve out a specific time, but there are a great deal of advantages to it.
Don't Allow any Distractions. Even if it's brief, this is your time to write. If you're writing at home, make sure that everyone knows not to interrupt you. Since we live in the real world, that's usually not enough. Put on earphones, lock yourself away in another room, or find some other way to ensure that you won't be bothered. If the Internet tempts you, then turn off your wireless connectivity. Close your email so you don't get any signs of new messages, and turn off the ringer on your phone. If home is too distracting try writing in your local library or coffee house. Personally, I love writing in diners.
Write Every Day. We've all experienced situations where we've taken a few days or more from our manuscript and then sat down to start on it again and felt a bit lost. It takes the first five minutes to figure out where we left off, and what needs to come next. If you have an hour or less a day to write then that five or ten minutes is a real waste. By writing every day, the manuscript remains fresh in your mind. When you open up your file or notebook you recall exactly where you left off and can begin writing immediately.
Stop Writing before You're Done. This is a trick I learned from a talk given by author Alexandria LaFaye. If you stop before the end of a scene, then you can easily jump into writing again on your next session. If you only have fifteen minutes to write, then this is an excellent way of making those minutes count.
Day Dream before Your Next Writing Session. When you're in your car or in your shower, think about the last scene you wrote and expand on it. Think about what they might do next. Quite a few times I'll find myself writing a scene in my head and wishing for a piece of paper. It's best, though, to stick to the day dream and allow your mind the freedom to explore different possibilities. Then when you sit down to write you'll feel ready to go with new ideas for the next scene.

In the end, you have to figure out what works for you. We all are busy, but if writing is truly important to us then we find a way to fit in. Regardless of how few the minutes are that you can give to your manuscript, if you keep at it, eventually you'll finish it.

The Writers' Well: A Weekly Recap of the Best Kidslit Blog Posts

2010-05-21T21:07:00.000-07:00

I swear I did remember today was Friday. It's just that instead of thinking Writers' Well, I was thinking today's the day I need to submit my first twenty pages for the VCFA workshop. I spent the last week rewriting the pages after getting critiques back from my writing partners. This evening after sending off my workshop sub, I was relaxing with my husband thinking how glad I was it was Friday when it hit me. I didn't post the Writers' Well. A lot of times I preschedule it so that it automatically posts at midnight. Not this week though! Ah, well. You'll forgive me this once, right?

There's plenty of great stuff this week, so let's plunge into the well.

Blog Roundups
WriterJenn mentions several great blogs on a post today.

Market My Words has links to articles on How to Pitch as well as a list of her fave market blogs this week.

Check out Chasing Ray's schedule for Summer Blog Blast Tour 2010.

Writing Craft
Nancy Sanders has a series of posts on Critique Groups (Network, Encourage, Teach, Challenge Us). Also, Jordan McCullom has two posts on Critiquing (How to Take Critiques, When to Take Critiques).

How do you know when you've written an awesome book? GottaBook discussed this very thing on his blog this week.

If you write picture books, you'll want to read the recap of the Twitter #pblitchat group over on Tara Lazar's blog.

Writing Business
Anna Staniszewski discussed what makes a book event successful.

For Fun
Kiersten White wrote a series of posts this week on Romance in Young Adult Fiction.

The Teaching Authors discuss end-of-the-year (or beginning of summer) exercises for teachers and writers.

Claudia Harrington always has witty and motivational quotes from big time names in the writing biz. I found this one by Michael Bourret excellent, though I think I'd find it easier if I were actually published (you'll understand what I mean after you read the quote).

Paranormal Point of View has some great advice for How to Breakup with a Vampire. ;)

Interviews
Kirby Larson interviewed Jennifer Holm (author of Turtle in Paradise). Also, as part of SBBT, HipWriterMama interviewed Jennifer Holm and Matthew Holm (Brother/Sister Team).

Holly Cupala interviewed Cynthia Leitich Smith (author of Eternal and also a professor at VCFA).

Day by Day Writer had an interview with Valerie Hobbs.

Melissa Walker asks Lauren Baratz-Logsted to discuss her book covers.

Finding Wonderland interviewed The Hazardous Players, Tom Siddell, and Nancy Bo Flood (this was part of the SBBT series).

Juvenescence has a fun series on High School Flashbacks--YA authors discussing their pasts (Jen Nadol, Kay Cassidy, Kimberly Derting, and Christy Diaz Gonzales).

The Literary Asylum interviewed D. M. Anderson (author of The Killer Cows).

Please feel free to add other links in the comments area. Have a wonderful weekend!

Monday Madness at Paranormal Point of View

2010-05-17T08:42:00.000-07:00

Over at Paranormal Point of View today, Lisa Gail Green has Monday Madness where she talks about . . . me. It was really strange reading it, kind of like when you talk about yourself in third person. But very cool! She has a theory as to what type of paranormal creature I might be.

Thanks, Lisa!

The Writers' Well: A Weekly Recap of the Best Kidslit Blog Posts

2010-05-14T00:01:00.000-07:00

I can hardly believe that it's Friday. Between preparing for a trade show at work, being sick and having to go to the doctor, and working on my novel, it's a wonder that I'm still sane. We've all made it, though! Now, we can get to our weekend and relax while reading some awesome writer posts. Let's plunge right into the well.

Interviews
The First Novels Club shared some notes from Arthur Levine's talk at Arcadia University (Part 2 here).

Janet Fox interviewed Kristin McBride, author of The Tension of Opposites.

Suzanne Young has an interview and book trailer for Jeri Smith-Ready, author of Shade. Carrie Jones interviewed Smith-Ready, too.

Christina Diaz Gonzales (author of The Red Umbrella) is interviewed by Denise Jaden.

Cynthia Leitich Smith interviewed Holly Schindler, author of A Blue so Dark.

Holly Cupala interviewed Janet Fox (author of Faithful).

D. M. Cunningham interviewed literary agent Bree Ogden over at his blog Literary Asylum. Cunningham compares Ogden to Yoda and Dumbledore. That's some pretty strong praise!

Writing Advice
When writing is tough, Charmaine Clancy gives some pointers on how to stay on track.

On the DeeScribeWriting blog, she discusses How to Write the Killer Synopsis. You also don't want to miss this post by Lia Keyes, since she gives detailed information on how to write a Selling Synopsis.

Danyelle Leafty discusses how empowerment.

Writing Craft
Kate Forsyth guest blogs at DeeScribeWriting and discusses how she plots out her novels.

Jordan McCollum continues her series on Backstory with a post on using setting and props to convey backstory.

Cynthia Jaynes Omololu discusses revising in her post No Sacred Cows.

Children's Book Week
Samantha Clarke celebrated Children's Book Week over at her blog Day by Day Writer.

The Teaching Author's celebrate it also with posts Still Celebrating and Celebrate It's Children's Book Week.

News
Sarah Dessen has sold a new novel to Viking Children's Books, and it's to be called Cut and Run.

Travels
Uma Krishnaswami discusses her recent trip to Signapore (including school visits). Part 1, Part 2, & Part 3.

For Fun
Emily over at The YA 5 blog has a wonderful post on revealing the journals you kept when you were a teen.

I really enjoyed Barbara O'Connor's post on Omens and Nudges. She talks about how a couple of strange events helps motivate her to get started on a new project.

This post really made me chuckle. Donna Ballman has a guest post on Angela Cerrito's blog about potential murder victims in a mystery novel.

If you've found an interesting kidslit post that isn't listed here, please feel free to add it in the comments. Have a wonderful weekend!

The Writers' Well: A Weekly Recap of the Best Kidslit Blog Posts

2010-05-07T00:01:00.000-07:00

This week has been busy and eventful in the best possible way. My husband turned in his graduate thesis on Tuesday, and he's officially completed his Master's in Communication Management from the University of Southern California! I'm very proud of him. It's interesting that just as he's completed his work, I will be beginning mine. I start the VCFA MFA program this July! It's hard to believe how quickly the time has passed.

There are a lot of great posts to cover, so let's plunge right into the well.

Auctions!
Day by Day Writer noted that there are two auctions going on that writers may like to participate in. There is this one benefiting diabetes research, and another one that benefits flood relief in Nashville. Speaking of difficult issues, Sarah Wilson Etienne has a good post on how when we face difficult situations it's best to put it into our work.

For Fun
I loved WriterJenn's post on how The Muse dropped in for a visit. Funny how the muse always seems to come when you're hard at work on something else.

Ever wonder what a Writer's Customer Service hotline would be like? Check out Pen and Ink's version here.

Quite a few bloggers have been doing the A-Z posts. I wondered what writers would choose for the tricky X, Y, and Z posts. I thought Bish Denham's post Z is for Zedonk was inspired. Don't know what a Zedonk is? Neither did I!

Doctor Who fans will love Lori Ann Grover's post on her favorite doctor. My fave is David Tennant. I was so sad to see him go!

Writing Techniques
Elaine Marie Alphin has an interesting post on Sleep Writing.

Also, Jordan McCollum continues her series on Backstory.

Interviews
Over at Cynsations, there's an interview of Author-Editor Shana Corey (Random House).

Kay Cassidy, author of The Cinderella Society, is interviewed over at Market My Words.

Lori Calabrese interviews The Turning author, Helen Ellis.

Rhonda Hayter, author of The Witchy Worries of Abbie Adams, is interviewed over at Literary Asylum.

Suzanne Young has an interview, book trailer, and reviews of Jessica Brody, author of The Karma Club. Carrie Jones interviewed her, too (here).

Janet Fox interviews author Jennifer Cervantes (Tortilla Sun).

Writing Motivation
This week was NaPiBoWriWee (National Picture Book Writing Week) hosted at Paula Yoo's blog.

Claudia Harrington has motivational quotes from Lisa Yee and Rosemary Brosnan.

Book Releases
Holly Black's White Cat came out on Tuesday, May 4th! I've been looking forward to reading it.

Please feel free to share other posts that you've enjoyed this week. Have a wonderful weekend!

When Have You Made It?

2010-05-04T07:36:00.000-07:00

Not that long ago, there was a series of posts on various blogs about writers who have made it. The criterion was you needed either an agent or a book contract. I will admit that my first reaction to this was, "I made it? Really? How did I miss that?" I do have an agent, but no book contract (yet). I feel like I'm in a pretty good spot, but I still wouldn't say that I've made it. Whatever it is.

That got me thinking. What is making it?

I used to think that as soon as I got a book contract life would be perfect. I would continue to spin out novels, work with the same editor at the same house, and walk into a bookstore and see every one of those novels sitting on a shelf under the letter B. After joining the SCBWI, going to multiple conferences, and befriending published authors, I learned that the publishing business isn't quite so simple as what I imagined it to be.

Editors, like any working person in today's corporate world, will often change houses to gain promotions (or sadly, be laid off when the economy takes a downturn). Even if you are lucky enough to work with the same editor for multiple books that isn't a guarantee that the editor will buy every one of your books. Also, even if you have ten novels published, it's possible some of them will go out of print.

I'm not trying to deter anyone from pursuing publishing. Nor, am I saying that the blogs that interviewed people who have gotten that first big break were wrong. Writing paths are usually a long one, and we need to celebrate every milestone, every bright moment along the way. Whether it's finishing the first draft of a novel, having an agent request a Full, or opening a box full of ARCs of a novel we spent years on, it all should be celebrated.

But I'm calling for an end to the term You've Made It.

All this does is give a false hope that there's this perfect situation waiting for us--if only we were them. If only this one thing happened. If only we were lucky enough.

Even if the extraordinary happens and you're living the dream with fans and a house that love your work, even if all of the normal problems are avoided, what then? Is it a time when you can just sit back, put your hands behind your head, and be content? I would argue that after a few months of bliss, this lucky writer would then start to think about what's next. Pursuing something new is inevitably risky.

It doesn't matter what stage we are in. There's always going to be problems. I think having goals is necessary. Dreaming is essential. And there's no better way to stay sane than to spend time with other writers and toast each other's successes. We need to feel great about where we are at the moment in our writing journey.

I have a lot of dreams. I still want to have a long working-relationship with an editor I respect. I still want to walk into a bookstore and see my novels under the letter B. When that dream is fulfilled, I imagine a new dream will take it's place. I'm not sure what that will be. Perhaps it will be an ambitious project that is outside of my usual genre. I don't know. I only know that there will always be something I want that's just out of reach, and I'll have to keep stretching if I want to get it.

The Writers' Well: A Weekly Recap of the Best Kidslit Blog Posts

2010-04-30T00:01:00.000-07:00

This has been an interesting week. I took a vacation day on Tuesday, and joined a few of my friends at the taping of Dancing with the Stars. We had lunch before hand at Whispers, and since we're all writers it was great to just chat about our WIPs and what's happening in the industry. One of my friends has some exciting news on the book front happening, so it was wonderful to toast her success.

Now let's plunge into the Writers' Well!

Last Friday, Kirby Larson has a wonderful Quote of the Day that I think most children's writers will enjoy. I'll give you a hint: it's from Madeleine L'Engle. Speaking of Madeleine L'Engle, her novel And Both Were Young is being reprinted with a forward by her granddaughter and YA author, Léna Roy.

Guest Blogger Phoebe Kitanidis Debunks Writer Myths over at WriterJenn.

Beth Kephart has a lovely review of Rebecca Stead's novel When You Reach Me. Finding Wonderland review's Stead's novel as well as Somebody by Nancy Springer. Georgia McBride reviews Andy Brigg's novels Hero.com: Rise of the Heros and Villain.net: Council of Evil over at the YA 5 blog.

There's an interview with Lee Nichols (author of Deception) over at The First Novels Club blog. Uma Krishnaswami interviews Plot Consultant Martha Alderson on her blog Writing with a Broken Tusk. There's an interview with Kathy Erskine (author of Mockingbird) by Amy Brecount White. Michele Markel interviews author of A Very Improbable Story: A Math Adventure, Edward Einhorn, over at her blog The Cat and the Fiddle.

Jordan McCollum some interesting posts on Backstory and Technique.

Since we're in the last week of Poetry Month, you don't want to miss these posts: On Beyond Words & Pictures, Lorie Ann Grover, GottaBook, Jama Rattigan's Alphabet Soup, and Susan Taylor Brown.

There's a cover story and a book trailer about The Karma Club by Jessica Brody over at Melissa Walker's blog.

In response to listening to Meg Cabot at the LA Festival of Books, Suzanne Casamento poses a thought-provoking question on her blog about whether you read to escape or for some other reason. Interestingly, Sara Wilson Etienne has a post comparing Meg Cabot's reasons for writing happy books with Kate DiCamillo's reasons for writing sad books (both authors spoke at the LA Festival of Books).

I've long believed that Kiersten White leads a far more entertaining life than me, and this was confirmed when I read her amusing post "In Which I'm Rescued by a Librarian, Meet Some Literary Idols, and Discover a Previously Untapped Propensity for Blushing." Though I will admit to sharing two thirds of that experience: meeting a literary hero and being utterly incapable of speaking an intelligent word (see "A Potentially Humiliating Encounter").

Charmaine Clancy has a fun post on Writing Wrongs over at her blog Wagging Tales.

Lisa Green has an amusing review of Libba Bray's Going Bovine by guest blogger Dave--I mean Dr. Paradox--on her blog Paranormal Point of View.

On Samantha Clarke's blog, Day by Day Writer, there's a post on Dealing with Rejection (within it, she has links to Cec Murphy's series on Rejection).

If you're interested in what Shannon Hale has been working on, then check out this post on her blog Squeetus. You can also find out what Barry Lyga's been up to on his blog.

Does every book need a Happy Ending? Bryan Bliss has a post on that subject. Elaine Marie Alphin tackles the question of whether a plot built upon a coincidence falls apart.

Writers are always being asked about where they get their inspiration. Karen Hooper has a post about her favorite independent bookstore, and a muse, Haslam's.

Suzanne Young gives a brief synopsis of her novel So Many Boys that's going to be released in 40 days (she has a handy counter).

As usual, there were a ton of great posts. Be sure to share any others you've found in the comments. Have a wonderful weekend!

One State Passes Legislation to Stop Bullying in Schools

2010-04-29T19:21:00.000-07:00

Massachusetts lawmakers have passed an anti-bullying bill. It still needs to be sent to the governor for signing, but it seems that soon it will be reality. I was alerted to this by the Young Adult Authors Against Bullying group on Facebook, and the article that gives all of the details is here.

The article described what the anti-bullying bill addressed:

The 12-page bill prohibits bullying on school grounds, school buses, at school-sponsored activities, and through the use of electronic communications.

The bill also bans retaliation against someone who reports bullying.

Under the bill, teachers and other school employees must report any bullying incidents to the principal. The principal must investigate those reports, take disciplinary action, notify parents of the victim and aggressor and alert police if necessary.

Each school district, charter school or private school must provide instruction on bullying prevention in each grade, according to the bill.

While I'm usually wary of giving teachers more work to do, I believe that this is important enough to warrant the extra time and training. Bullying is something that far too many people feel is a normal part of school, and so the situations do not get addressed most of the time.

I didn't realize just how tumultuous a topic Bullying was until I inadvertently started a discussion in a Community Psychology class I took about ten years ago. We were studying how Community Psychologists deal with violence in schools. As our professor talked about stabbings and shootings, it dawned on me that this was antithetical to what Community Psychology was supposed to be about. Community Psychologists focus on prevention first, then give attention to secondary issues (the problem is just beginning), and the least to tertiary issues (when the problem has been going on for years). I raised my hand and innocently asked what was being done to prevent the violence, such as addressing bullying. My professor said, sadly, very little is being done about bullying. Despite his words, my question started a heated discussion. It was like I dropped a lit match onto a gasoline soaked floor.

Half the room passionately felt that Bullying was a serious problem and should be addressed by schools and psychiatrists. The other half of the room argued that Bullying was normal, and did not cause any lasting damage; Bullying is simply part of growing up. Mind you, I was taking the course to satisfy a general education requirement, however, most of my classmates were Psychology majors. I was disturbed, profoundly, by how so many budding psychologists were so unsympathetic to bully victims.

I decided to use Bullying in Schools as my research topic. What I found was even more disturbing. Very few psychologists in America (at that time, at least, which was about ten years ago) studied Bullying. Out of necessity, I had to supplement my research with some studies from Europe and Australia. One of the common findings was how bully victims continued to suffer even into adulthood.

I'm thrilled that lawmakers in Massachusetts have put anti-bullying policies into law. Whether Bullying is normal or not, is material. Children shouldn't be scared to go to school. They shouldn't be victimized by their classmates while adults look on and do nothing. Perhaps many of you will feel that the legislature has overstepped their bounds; that schools should have more control over how to handle Bullying; that there's no way to ever make our schools one hundred percent safe.

I might agree if I felt that schools adequately addressed Bullying on their own. Since they haven't, I hope California follows with their own twelve page bill.

LA Times Book Prizes Announced

2010-04-26T08:29:00.000-07:00

On Friday, the Los Angeles Times announced the 2009 winners of the paper's Book Prizes. The prize in Young Adult Literature was awarded to . . .

Elizabeth Partridge, Marching for Freedom: Walk Together Children and Don’t You Grow Weary (Viking Children’s Books/Penguin Group)

In a tightly focused narrative, Elizabeth Partridge chronicles the events of Martin Luther King’s historic march from Selma to Montgomery, shining a bright spotlight on some of its most important participants: children and teenagers. Their vivid and dramatic accounts are complemented by breathtaking photographs that, when woven into Partridge’s history, provide a sense of immediacy and provoke a sense of moral outrage.

The finalists for the 2009 LA Times Book Prize in YA Literature were . . .

James Cross Giblin, The Rise and Fall of Senator Joe McCarthy (Clarion Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
Frances Hardinge, The Lost Conspiracy (HarperCollins)
Deborah Heiligman, Charles and Emma: The Darwin’s Leap of Faith (Henry Holt Books for Young Readers)
Elizabeth Partridge, Marching for Freedom: Walk Together Children and Don’t You Grow Weary
Shaun Tan, Tales from Outer Suburbia (Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic)

Here is a complete list of the winners.

Writers' Well: This Week's Not to be Missed Writer Posts

2010-04-23T00:01:00.000-07:00

This was a fabulous week for writer blogs, so get ready to plunge into the well!

If I could only mention one post this week, it would be this one by Kathleen Duey: The Book I Write, The Book You Read...and The Real Wars. If you've ever wondered if books can change lives, read her post.

There's an excellent post on Breaking the Rules on WriterJenn (Jennifer R. Hubbard's blog). Beth Kephart's post on Moving Past No is in the same spirit.

Kephart has several posts on her recent talks at the Fox Cities Book Festival. While you're at her blog, check out the exquisite cake from her party celebrating the release of The Heart is Not a Size.

Lori Calabrese (author of The Bug that Plagued the Entire Third Grade) was interviewed by the Hartford Writing Examiner, Michael Aloisi. You can read about it on her blog, or go directly to Part 1 and Part 2. Calabrese interviewed Danika Dinsmore about her soon-to-be-released Brigitta of the White Forest. Kirby Larson interviewed Karen Cushman (author of Alchemy and Meggy Swann). Larson interviewed Kathryn Galbraith (author of Arbor Day). There's an interview with agent Jennifer Laughran of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency over at Market My Words. Holly Cupala interviews Deb Caletti, author of The Secret Life of Prince Charming. Holly Schindler interviews Teen Writer and Intern Weronika Janczuk.

If you've ever considered writing a novel in verse, you should read this post over at Denise Jaden's blog. She interviews Lisa Schroeder, author of I Heart You, You Haunt Me.

Kay Cassidy talks about the evolution of the book cover for The Cinderella Society over at Melissa Walker's blog. Eileen Boggess discusses how her book cover came about for Mia the Magnificent, also at Melissa Walker's blog.

Claudia Harrington always has inspiring quotes, and this week she had two wonderful writers share some wisdom: Joan Bauer and Lin Oliver.

It's Poetry Potluck month over at Jama Rattigan's Alphabet Soup blog.

If you're looking for graphic novels for younger readers you'll be interested in Shannon Hale's post on her family's favorites.

Cuppa Jolie has an interesting Writing Prompt (even though, sadly, she thought of it after losing her computer).

Hilde Garcia recommends torturing your main character (not literally torturing, of course) in her post on Pen and Ink. If you have problems with torture, then try Susan Berger's writing exercises on Bad Things Happen to Good People.

I enjoyed the two Miscellany posts on Finding Wonderland this week (Midweek Miscellany, Further Miscellany). There's good bits on the real Volterra, Hope Larson Graphics, Tim Burton, and several others. James Dashner has a post with his own list of miscellany that has information about his tour, Maze Runner in foreign countries, and lots of fun facts.

K. A. Holt talks about her experiences at the Texas Library Association Conference on the YA 5 Blog. Jay Asher was there, too.

There's a discussion of how to use research to inspire ideas over at D. M. Cunningham's blog Literary Asylum. There's also some pictures of Creepy Flowers. Charmaine Clancy also has a post about Research on her blog Wagging Tales.

Sarah Dessen posts The Five every week, and I especially enjoyed this week's. Maybe it was the reference to coffee. I'm an addict.

There are a few posts on Earth Day: Peg Kehret Blog, The Question of the Day, and The Teaching Authors.

Kiersten White sings the praises of Twitter on her blog Kiersten Whites. She gives suggestions on what to do and what not to do, so it's a good post to read if you're just starting out on Twitter.

I enjoyed the cute post on My Big Nose and Other Natural Disaster blog about Why Sydney Salter Writes Middle Grade.

Angela Ackerman was a guest-blogger at Tabitha Olson's blog Writer Musings, and wrote an interesting post on Naked Dialogue.

Laurie Halse Anderson vlogs on Revision (it seems to be geared to a younger audience, but it's still worthwhile to listen to). I like her tip on how when you read over what you've written don't ask yourself if it's okay as it is. Instead, ask yourself how it can be better. It's so simple, yet such an important distinction.

There's a great discussion about Love Triangles (Part 1, Part 2) over at Beth Revis's blog Writing it Out.

Bish Denham has been blogging A-Z. I especially enjoyed her J is for Journey and K is for Kryptonite. She even finds a way to connect Kryptonite with writing. How fun is that?

Speaking of Kryptonite, Jay Asher got to play the superhero by flying to Kansas to speak in place of a writer who cancelled at the last minute. I envy the cool the CD of Harry Potter themed music he got, but hey, as the superhero he clearly deserves it.

I just heard about National Picture Book Writing Week over at Nancy Sander's blog. Paula Yoo's blog has all the info.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend, and have an opportunity to visit some of these amazing blogs!

Inspiring Lyrics: The Ocean by The Bravery

2010-04-22T07:27:00.000-07:00

Like many writers, I create a playlist for every project I'm working on. The song that's been inspiring me the most lately is "The Ocean" performed by The Bravery (song composed by Sam Endicott). It isn't simply the beautiful waltz, but it's also the haunting lyrics.

"The Ocean"

I climbed up a mountain, and looked off the edge
At all of the lives that I never have led
There's one where I stayed with you across the sea
I wonder do you still think of me
I carry your image always in my head
Folded and yellowed and torn at the edge
And I've looked upon it for so many years
Slowly I am loosing your face

[chorus:]
Oh the ocean rolls us away, away, away
The ocean rolls us away

Six's and seven's we live on jet planes
So many faces I don't know the names
So many friends now and none of them mine
Forgotten as soon as we meet
All of these moments are lost in time
Your caught in my head like a thorn on a vine
To forever torment me and I wonder why
Do I wish I'd never known you at all

[chorus x2]
Oh the ocean rolls us away, away, away
The ocean rolls us away

The sun and the moon
An ocean of air
So many voices
But nothing is there
The ghost of you asking me why
Why did I leave

[chorus]

Oh the ocean rolls us away away away

And I lose your hand through the waves

When Spell Check Fails with Comic Results

2010-04-21T00:45:00.000-07:00

I was catching up on Pub Rants blogs when I found this gem. Apparently, there was a typo in a cookbook published by Penguin that was significant enough to cause the poor publisher to have to pulp 7,000 copies. You're going to love this one.

The publishing company was forced to pulp and reprint 7000 copies of Pasta Bible last week after a recipe called for "salt and freshly ground black people" – instead of pepper – to be added to the spelt tagliatelle with sardines and prosciutto.

I'd really hate to be that copy editor.

Writing with Passion: Paul Harding's Pulitzer Moment

2010-04-20T00:03:00.000-07:00

The journey to publication isn't an easy one, so when I read the article Paul Harding's Pulitzer Moment in the New York Times yesterday I felt like cheering for Harding. Apparently, Harding received a ton of rejections from editors and agents when he submitted his novel Tinkers.

“They would lecture me about the pace of life today,” Mr. Harding said last week over lunch at a diner in this college town, where he is now teaching at the workshop. “It was, ‘Where are the car chases?’ ” he said, recalling the gist of the letters. “ ‘Nobody wants to read a slow, contemplative, meditative, quiet book.’ ”

It was three years before he found a publisher for Tinkers (Bellevue Literary Press). Incredibly, the novel that was so difficult to be published managed to win the Pulitzer Prize last week.

What I found particularly interesting was how the story wouldn't seem to let him go. This affected his writing methods:

After his first son was born and he was teaching expository writing to undergraduates at Harvard and creative writing to night-school students, the novel became an extracurricular project. “It got so it was guerilla writing,” Mr. Harding said. “I could flip open the laptop and start writing anywhere.” He wrote on bookmarks and the backs of receipts, transcribing the scraps into the computer later.

Finally, one Saturday night, he printed out his mishmashed computer file and laid it out on the living-room floor. Nursing a few fingers of whiskey, he cut up the document, stapling and taping sections into the structure that ultimately made it to publication.

I think it's necessary to have passion for the project you could spend years on, and Harding had an abundance of it. He wouldn't allow anything to stop him from working on Tinkers. I can imagine him standing in line at the grocery store and scribbling a sentence onto a back of a receipt because that's all there was available to him. Then collecting all of these bits and pulling it together into a cohesive story. Perhaps his novel wouldn't have mainstream appeal, but it was a story he was compelled to write.

It's wonderful to see such passion and hard work rewarded.

LA Festival of Books

2010-04-19T08:24:00.000-07:00

The LA Festival of Books is a fantastic event if you're in town, and it's just around the corner (April 24th & 25th). You can get information about the festival here. I've copied the panel information that relate to Children's literature below to make it a bit easier. Admission to the panels is free, though there's a processing fee if you get tickets to any of the panels through ticketmaster.

Saturday Panels:
12:30 PM
Young Adult Fiction: ‘Tween the Lines
PANEL CODE: 1102
Moderator: Mr. Neal Shusterman
Mr. Pseudonymous Bosch
Mr. Gordon Korman
Mr. D.J. MacHale

Ackerman Grand Ballroom
10:30 AM
Meg Cabot in Conversation with Cecil Castellucci
PANEL CODE: 1121
Interviewer: Ms. Cecil Castellucci
Ms. Meg Cabot

Korn Convocation Hall
——————
10:30 AM
Children’s Books: Feeding Imaginations
PANEL CODE: 1071
Moderator: Ms. Sonja Bolle
Mr. Kadir Nelson
Ms. Pam Munoz Ryan
Mr. David Shannon

Fowler Museum Lenart Auditorium
——————
10:30 AM
Fact vs. Fiction: Storytelling in Young Adult Nonfiction
PANEL CODE: 1061
Moderator: Mr. Jonathan Hunt
Ms. Deborah Heiligman
Ms. Stephanie Hemphill
Ms. Elizabeth Partridge

12:30 PM
Kate DiCamillo in Conversation with Susan Carpenter
PANEL CODE: 1052
Interviewer: Ms. Susan Carpenter
Ms. Kate DiCamillo

Sunday Panels:
Moore 100
——————
11:00AM
Young Adult: The Kids Are Alright
PANEL CODE: 2101
Moderator: Ms. Amy Goldman Koss
Ms. Robin Benway
Ms. Meg Cabot
Mr. Don Calame
Ms. Rosalind Wiseman

Korn Convocation Hall
——————
10:30 AM
John Green & David Levithan in Conversation with Denise Hamilton
PANEL CODE: 2071
Interviewer: Ms. Denise Hamilton
Mr. John Green
Mr. David Levithan

Fowler Museum Lenart Auditorium
3:00 PM
Young Adult Fiction: Teens and Turmoil
PANEL CODE: 2064
Moderator: Ms. Sonya Sones
Ms. Gayle Forman
Ms. Cynthia Kadohata
Ms. Jandy Nelson

The Writers' Well: A Weekly Recap of the Best Kidslit Blog Posts

2010-04-16T00:10:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday! Welcome to the Writer's Well where I recap the best of the kidslit blog posts from this week. It's been a pretty busy week in the kidlitosphere, so let's plunge right into the well.

There's an interview of Tenner Leah Cypess (author of Mistwood) at Amy Brecount White's blog. Lori Degman was interviewed by Monsters and Money in the Morning on CBS. You can read about it at Habitual Rhymer (Degman's blog). Debut author Jame Richards was interviewed at Janet Fox's blog Through the Wardrobe.

Beth Kephart usually has beautiful photographs at her blog. I especially enjoyed this one (the caption underneath makes it special). I also liked WriterJenn's post on Writer Friends.

Jordan McCollum continues her Series on Writing the Senses (Dealing with Sensory Overload, Tapping into Your Character's Senses, Selecting Character Senses, Experimenting with Your Character's Senses).

There's a sneak peek of Holly Schindler's A Blue so Dark here. The YA novel received a star review from Booklist!

Bryan Bliss guest blogged on Suzanne Young's site about what it's like as a male reading YA. This is a must-read post. It's so funny and true!

There's some interesting agent and contest information over at Samantha Clark's blog Day by Day Writer.

There are a lot of posts related to National Library Week. [It's also National Library Month, so it's not too late to celebrate libraries.] Market My Words explains why libraries are so important and she has a HUGE list of links to other bloggers who are celebrating libraries, too. On The Teaching Author's blog they have two: Your Local Library (by Jeanne Marie Grunwell Ford) and To All the Libraries I've Loved Before (by Esther Hershenshorn). Edith Cohn has a post Libraries=Love over at her blog Locket. Laurie Halse Anderson most recent blog on why we need to fight for our Libraries is here. Tina Nichols Coury has a Library of the Day interview over at her blog Tales From the Rushmore Kid.

Yesterday, was Operation Book Drop. Check out Holly Cupala's blog as well as Melissa Walker's blog.

Claudia Harrington's words of inspiration on tax day was amusing.

The Books, Boys, Buzz blog has a series of posts on Time Travel to celebrate the release of Heather Davis's YA novel The Clearing.

The Bookshelf Muse has had an ongoing series on Symbolism Thesaurus. I especially enjoyed Angela Ackerman's recent entry on Coming of Age.

Today is National Day of Silence and Lee Wind has a thoughtful post on how to get the most out of the day.

Gregory K. continues his 30 Poets/30 Days series on his blog GottaBook. You may be especially interested in this one by Arthur A. Levine--yep, the editor who brought Harry Potter to America. I've also been admiring Susan Taylor Brown's 30 Poems/30 Days all father-daughter themed.

Fans of The Forest of Hands and Teeth and Dead Tossed Waves will be happy to know that Carrie Ryan announced there will be a third book called The Dark and Hollow Places! Plus, there will be three short stories taking place in the same world. You can read about it on her blog here. Yah, so excited!

P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast are doing a book tour for Burned the next book in their House of Night series. It's announced on PC's blog here. They're going to the Grand Cayman island, but not California. Go figure. Holly Black posts the second half of her tour on her blog.

There's a great post over at Ana Staniszewski's blog on Knowing the Purpose of Every Scene.

The First Novel's Club continues their parody of Vampire Diaries (episode 17).

Cecil Castellucci wrote a Comic Book Opera and if you're in Montreal you can go see it! Check out her blog for more info.

D. M. Cunningham talks about the uses of Text Novel on his blog Literary Asylum.

As usual, there were a ton of brilliant writer posts. I'm sure I missed some so if you think of one that should be here, please add it in the comments area.

Also, if you have a children's or YA writing blog and it isn't in the list of Writer Blogs on the right panel (you'll need to click on Show All), you can email me or add a comment with your blog address and I'll add it to the list.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Seriously Disturbing: Race Segregation in Mississippi Schools

2010-04-14T21:08:00.000-07:00

It's been forty years or more since schools were integrated, yet today I read in the Christian Science Monitor that a school district in Mississippi has been ordered to end policies that segregate students by race. Has the district been sucked into a time warp where it's still the 1950's?

Apparently, the district was segregating students in two ways. First, they were allowing hundreds of white students to transfer to schools in predominantly white areas. Second, their Elementary schools were creating separate classrooms for children of different races. So even though the schools weren't technically segregated, the children didn't mingle with each other.

What disturbs me about this is that the school district looked for ways to get around the laws instead of trying to find ways to heal the divide between races. If anything, schools should be trying to find ways to help children socialize with different races, not keep them apart.

It's quite disappointing.

Vlog: The Road to Publishing a Children's Book

2010-04-13T00:53:00.000-07:00

Today I learned about the Google Search Stories Tool on YouTube from Greg P.'s blog The Happy Accident. He created a video to support the libraries, which is an awesome idea. I haven't done that yet, but I did manage to create a video showing the steps involved in getting a children's book published. It's extremely simplified, and doesn't include ingredients such as blood, sweat, and tears, but, hey, I was limited to seven searches.

What the Dystopian & Western Genres have in Common

2010-04-12T18:38:00.000-07:00

There has been some buzz recently about the rise in popularity of dystopian novels (PW Article, My blog). Some of my friends and I are among the people clamoring for more novels like Hunger Games and The Forest of Hands and Teeth. The other day, we discussed just why we enjoy dystopian (also referred to as Post-Apocalyptic) novels. After all, the subject matter is depressing. The future has descent into a chaotic, poverty-stricken world where most people die young. It doesn't matter if the cause is an evil government or zombies, the effect is that the characters' lives are far more difficult than our own.

That's exactly what I believe is the reason why we love these novels. It's man versus environment. The survivors are heroic because they haven't allowed their harsh world to defeat them. Katniss in Hunger Games has learned how to hunt for food for her family, and crosses into forbidden territory to do so. Mary in The Forest of Hands and Teeth takes many risks through a forest full of zombies to reach the ocean. I think this is clear to me, because it's the same reason that I love wagon trail stories.

Every novel based on wagon trails I've ever read has followed the same pattern. The protagonist has a desperate reason why they need to reach their destination. Once the train is off, they are challenged in every possible way. Not enough food was packed; unexpected weather conditions lengthen the journey; mules become lame; people become sick and die; a pregnant woman miscarries; and there is always one family who fails to listen to the wagon master and rides towards a mirage (which leads to their death). When the destination is reached, only a handful of people survived. The protagonist is forever changed by the experience.

Sounds kind of bleak, right? In my teenage years, I read a ton of western novels, and particularly the wagon train subgenre. I gravitated to these books because the characters were strong. They worked hard and they persevered. When the terrain was so rocky that the wagons broke down, these hardy people would carry the food and other necessities on their backs and travel onward. I didn't want to be them, but I respected them immensely.

I think teens today (and many adults) are reading post-apocalyptic novels for the same reasons. The protagonists are determined to survive, and we readers watch them pursue their dreams with something close to awe. It is never easy; and it is always costly. Yet, no matter how tough their lives are they never give up. Living in a world where every day brings hardship makes even the most ordinary person heroic. Whether the novel is set in a post-apocalyptic world or the old west, a writer doesn't need to give their protagonist an arch enemy to fight against. Every day, the protagonist must fight the environment they live in for their survival, and that's what makes them admirable.

The Writers' Well: A Recap of the Best Kidslit Blog Posts

2010-04-09T07:01:00.000-07:00

I'm so happy that it's Friday again. I can taste the weekend in the air. There are plenty of awesome children's and YA writer posts this week, so let's plunge right into the well.

On the blog Mad Woman in the Forest, Laurie Halse Anderson discusses why school libraries are so important. There's also a video from her visit to Mexico High School.

There's a book drive happening for Ojo Encino Day School and Alchesay High School. Learn more at Guy Lit Wire (also there's information at Finding Wonderland).

Jennifer Hubbard has collected various posts on Peer Abuse at her blog WriterJenn. [Megan Kelley Hall and Carrie Jones have created a Young Adult Authors Against Bullying group on Facebook.]

Does anyone have a monkey Christy Raedeke could borrow? If you do, or you're merely curious about why she needs one, check out her blog Juvenescence. Sarah Beth Durst's post Tweeting the Tales of Hans Christian Anderson also made me laugh (that's over at her blog Sarah's Journal).

Beth Kephart's had a post reflecting on the essay by Julie Just on Parents in YA Fiction. [The monkey photo on the right does not in any way reflect on Parents. Well, not intentionally anyway.]

On Tina Nichols Coury's blog Tales from the Rushmore Kid, Mark McVeigh gives his revision tip of the day.

Tour Dates for Aprilynne Pike are up at her blog Apparently. Holly Black has announced her Tour Schedule as well. [On a side note, I'm still excited that she's going to be a Writer in Residence at the VCFA summer residency!]

There's a series of fantastic posts on Writing Your Senses on Jordan McCollum's blog.

Test your knowledge of Young Adult Novels by playing Name That Book at Suzanne Young's blog. She gives the last line of five novels. Leave a comment today and tomorrow she'll post the winners.

Girl in the Arena author Lise Haines is interviewed by K. A. Holt on The YA 5 blog. On Holly Cupala's blog, there's an interview and book trailer to promote Lauren Oliver's new novel Before I Fall. Holly Cupala also has a series on How to Land an Agent with the Author perspective and the Agent perspective. Beth Revis interviewed Maria Snyder, author of Inside Out, on her blog Writing It Out. She also reviewed Inside Out here. Lori Degman was interviewed on Chicago Public Library. There's a link to it on her blog Habitual Rhymer. On HipWriterMama, Vivian Lee Mahoney interviewed Jeannine Atkins (author of Borrowed Names). Kathy McCullough interviewed debut authors Rhonda Hayter (author of The Witchy Worries of Abbie Adams) and Angie Smibert (author of Memento Nora).

Fans of Marlene Perez's Dead Is... series will want to stop by her blog Not of the Normal to see her book trailer for Dead Is Just a Rumor.

Congrats to Kirby Larson and Mary Nethery for winning the Washington Children's Choice Picture Book Award! You can read about it here at Kirby's Lane. Also, Jay Asher is racking up the Young Adult choice state awards (7 so far) for his novel 13 Reasons Why. They are well deserved!

There's some great poetry this month over at Gregory K.'s blog GottaBook. There's a different poet featured every day, and there's also background information on each writer.

Reading your favorite book from your childhood isn't always a good idea, according to Megan Frances (her blog is On Beyond Words & Pictures).

Whew! Well, that's it for this week's Writers' Well. Have a wonderful weekend. :)

Mistwood Arc Giveaway at Amy Brecount White's Blog

2010-04-08T20:15:00.000-07:00

You can enter to win an Arc of Mistwood by Leah Cypess through Twitter, Facebook, and Blog entries. Check out Amy Brecount White's post for details.

Good luck! :)

First Discovery

2010-04-08T15:31:00.000-07:00

There is something magical about discovering a wonderful novel for the first time. It's like meeting a kindred spirit; you know the friendship will lead to something special.

I had felt a bit sorry for children who were too young to have read the Harry Potter novels as they were being released. There was a sense of discovery for that first generation. Fans of all ages lurked in chat rooms discussing theories such as how Harry Potter would defeat Voldemort, or if Harry would ever think of Jenny Weasley as more than his best friend's sister. Yes, I was one of those fans. My sister and I would meet for dinner once a week and discuss our theories. At the time, my husband was deployed in Iraq and this was a way to distract myself from it. When the last novel was published, we bought our books at midnight and read them together. Some of our theories were correct, while others were proven wrong. It didn't matter, though. We loved the journey.

I read today in the PW Children's Bookshelf newsletter that Scholastic is going to promote the Harry Potter books to a new generation of readers. They have set up a website with a sweepstakes. I think it's a great idea to add some excitement for children who were too young to have experienced the fun the first time around. Still, it won't quite be the same. There was always at least a year of waiting between Harry Potter books when they were being released, which gave readers time to formulate opinions. Now that all of the books are in print, there is no reason to wait and ponder what might be in the next novel.

Regardless, there is something special about discovering a new novel, even if it's only new to you.

A Quote on the Writing Life

2010-04-07T21:59:00.000-07:00

I found this over at The Quote Garden today:

Life can't ever really defeat a writer who is in love with writing, for life itself is a writer's lover until death - fascinating, cruel, lavish, warm, cold, treacherous, constant. ~Edna Ferber, A Kind of Magic, 1963

Ah, so true!

Choose your Words Wisely

2010-04-06T17:57:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I added the Follower widget to my site and wrote a post about why. The experiment is paying off, since most of the people who are following my blog I hadn't met before, and several had blogs I had previously been unaware of. It's interesting and fun getting to know the people who stop by. I hope you always feel free to comment, though lurking is perfectly okay! :)

I get a newsletter from Change.org, and in today's it talks about a recent Twitter exchange between Demi Moore and Kim Kardashian (there's also a blog post on Change.org on the subject). Normally, I wouldn't bother with celebrity gossip, but since writers are concerned with word usage, I thought this was interesting. Here's what occurred (taken from Access Hollywood):

Kardashian wrote, “Big pimpin w @SerenaJWilliams @LaLaVazquez @Kelly_Rowland Love u girls!”

Moore responded asking Kardashian, “Are you using the word “pimpin” as in pimping?”

Kardashian Tweeted back, “Doesn’t everyone? LOL… Nothing wrong with dancing to Big Pimpin’ by Jay Z in the club! Having a girls night out, gotta love that song!”

Moore stated, “No disrespect I love a girls night out but a pimp and pimping is nothing more than a slave owner!” Demi Tweeted, adding in another post, “If we want to end slavery we need to stop glorifying the “pimp” culture.”

Words have power. By arguing against the word Pimp, Demi Moore has sparked a discussion of sex trafficking across the internet. What we write has the power to inspire our readers, so we need to make sure we're choosing the right words. This is not to say we should censure ourselves. If there's a reason to use the word pimpin' then that's fine, as long as the writer does so understanding the connotation and derivations of that word.

The Writers' Well: A Weekly Recap of the Best Kidslit Blog Posts

2010-04-02T08:29:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday, everyone! I hope you all were able to get off at least one good prank yesterday. I managed two. On Facebook, I created a status saying that Facebook and Twitter were going to be merged and the new name would be Twitbook. My friends and I had such a great time choosing funny names (TwitFace was one of my favorites), it didn't really matter that it all started as an April Fool's prank.

Since there are so many wonderful writer posts this week, let's plunge right into the well.

Finding Wonderland has an extensive list of sites that are participating in the Kidlit NaPoMo--the 2010 KidLit Celebration of National Poetry Month. Gotta Book has a list, also.

Kelly Barnhill on YA-5 has a post titled "Listen to Yo' Mama: How Every Sex/Dating Truism my Mother ever Told Me Ended Up Being Just as True for Writing." I know you want to read it.

Anna Staniszewski discusses how Characters Don't Have to be Nice over on her blog.

Dan Greenburg is interviewed by D. M. Cunningham over at Literary Asylum. Cynsations interviewed Editorial Assistant Andrew Harwell (Dutton Children's Books). Holly Schindler on her blog interviews a teen Librarian. Lori Degman was on TV! She has a link to the television interview on her blog Habitual Rhymer. On Through the Wardrobe, Janet Fox interviewed debut author Judith Graves. Also, Edith Cohn on her blog Locket interviewed Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich.

Quite a few blogs are hosting interviews all week. Here's a few: There's a whole week of interviews over at Kathy McCullough's blog (Kristina McBride, Janet Fox, Shari Maurer, Michele Corriel, Angie Smibert). Elana Johnson has been interviewing up-and-coming authors (Natalie Whipple, Jamie Harrington, Beth Revis, Heather Petty, Lisa and Laura Roecker). Market my Words has a huge list of the blogs that conducted interviews this week, so please refer to her post for more of these interviews.

Over at CynJay, C. J. Omololu has an amusing yet instructive post on Waiting (I believe that word should always be capitalized).

Susan Berger on Pen and Ink lists magazines that accept submissions for Children's literature.

Myra McEntire posted her first vlog over at her blog. She has a cute Peeps in the Microwave metaphor for writing.

Carrie Jones and Megan Kelley Hall on their blogs talk about ways that authors can help children who are being bullied in light of the recent Phoebe Prince tragedy.

I'm naming Kiersten White the luckiest author/blogger on the planet (maybe the universe...do they blog out there?). As kind of a joke, she said the other day that whoever found the most famous author who would read the ARC of her book would get a free ARC of their own. Within minutes, one of her blog readers tweeted Neil Gaiman who immediately said yes, he'd read it. On her blog Kiersten Writes, she discusses how awesome this is and how the contest could have gone terribly wrong.

On Market my Words, Shelli has an excellent post on how rejection letters are like dating.

Children's Writers for Room to Read

2010-03-31T20:25:00.000-07:00

Last January Janelle over on her blog Writermorphosis challenged writers to donate cash to Room to Read based on how many words they write between February and April this year. She discovered that it costs about $2500 to build a library, and so she felt if enough children's writers pitched in we could raise enough funds to build one.

I just went to the Writermorphosis site and used her link to contribute funds (it takes you directly to the Room to Read site, and it shows that the funds are part of the Children's Writers United group). I found it very interesting to keep track of word count. In the first month I wrote quite a few words a day, but in the second month I wrote fewer words since I was doing more research and revision than new writing.

I'm sure it's not too late to contribute, if you've been looking for a way to donate some cash to a literary cause.

The Writers' Well: A Weekly Recap of the Best Kidslit Blog Posts

2010-03-26T04:00:00.000-07:00

Yah, it's Friday! Let's plunge right into the Writers' Well.

Writers everywhere are coming up with inventive ways to help save local libraries. Jennifer R. Hubbard talks about How to Help Your Library on her blog writerjenn. If you go to Melissa Walker's blog and make a comment on this post she'll give some cash to her local library. So will Angela De Groot, Janet Fox, and C. J. Omololu. Susan Patron discusses the LA Library situation on Tales from the Rushmore Kid.

There's yet another donation challenge. This one is at My Big Nose and Other Natural Disasters. For ever comment on this post by March 28th, she'll donate a dollar to Room to Read (this is the same organization that I'll be donating to at the end of this month).

There were some great posts on Writing Craft this week, too. On the blog Pen and Ink, Hilde Garcia has notes on Jordan Brown's talk on Revision. Anita Nolan had a three part series on Writing in Scenes (part 1, part 2, part 3). Yesterday, she had a post on How to Research Historical Fiction.

Samantha Clarke was a guest blogger at Jordon McCollum, and she discusses How to Get the Most out of Conferences.

There were lots of great interviews this week. Dave Patneaude (author Epitaph Road) was interviewed by Kirby Larson on her blog Kirby's Lane. There's an interview with debut author Christy Raedeke (Prophecy of Days) on Holly Schindler's blog. Beth Kephart discusses her novel The Heart is not a Size on the HipWriterMama blog. There's also a donation challenge (all you have to do is leave a comment). Kephart was interviewed over at Holly Cupala's blog, too. D. M. Cunningham has an interview with Tom Angleberger, author of The Strange Case of Origami Yoda.

I really enjoyed this post at the YA 5. K. A. Holt discusses the misconception that writing YA novels is less work than writing a book marketed to adults.
Libba Bray talks about her experiences at the NYC Teen Author Festival.

If you love Carrie Ryan's zombie novels, check out Holly Cupala's blog for videos and photos of Ryan's tour for Dead-Tossed Waves.

Lee Wind has an update on the School that Canceled Prom rather than let a lesbian student bring her girlfriend.

Every day in April is 30 Poets/30 Days on GottaBook. Check out this post for details.

Tara Lazar has an inspirational post on What Figure Skating Taught her about Writing.

As a Snoopy fan, I must point to Peg Kehret's post on Snoopy Moments.

That's it for this week. Have a wonderful weekend!

March Madness Continues

2010-03-25T21:46:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I was way too busy biting my nails as I watched the Kansas State v Xavier Basketball game to blog. It went into double overtime! Kansas State finally pulled out the win--which is exactly what I needed. Whew! I'm still in the running to win the Office Pool. [Grin]

Writing: The Badness Climax

2010-03-24T13:27:00.000-07:00

My hubby and I went to a free movie prescreening. It was described as an Alfred Hitchcock type of murder mystery and had a superb list of actors. I'm not going to divulge a title or too many details, because it's possible that they will fix some of the problems before it hits the big screen. IF it ever gets to the big screen. The plot was so awful I'm not sure they will let anyone ever see this film again.

I tried to keep an open mind, but as the film continued it got worse. Plot hole after plot hole emerged until it culminated in supreme badness. I can tell you the exact moment when the badness peaked. There was a scene where the con artists look at each other and ask, "Where's his cell phone?" Then they cut to a grave site where the phone is ringing. The entire theater (which was full, by the way) started laughing. It was as if all of the badness of the movie hit a level that was so high, we couldn't not laugh. Even the most polite audience member had to giggle at the outrageous plot. I call this the badness climax.

I felt really sorry for the actors. They tried their best, but the writing was so bad it was almost painful to watch them uttering nonsense. This film really pointed out for me how important it is not to have plot holes and not to ever talk down to your audience.

In the first ten minutes of the film, we learn the protagonist's secret. Yet, a detective who is interested in her (because she is so eccentric) pursues a clue to her past. Towards the end of the movie the detective discovers what this clue means. Unfortunately for the audience members, we already had the information. So lesson number one for us writers: if we have someone working on solving a clue, the solution needs to add something to the story. If it doesn't, we need to take the entire thread out.

There was a lot of redundancy in the movie as well. A couple mentions a cell phone, and then we hear the cell phone, and then we hear the cell phone again, and then there's a close-up of the cell phone. WE GET IT! The cell phone's in the grave! Lesson number two for us writers: trust our readers.

The plot just didn't work. I can't say too much without giving away what movie I'm referring to. Let's just say there was no reason that a murder needed to happen. It was possible to do the con in a much easier manner, many years before the movie occurs. Sometimes I'll get an idea for a scene or maybe a cool ending, but I can't get the rest of the story to work right. This movie felt like someone wanted to write a cool mystery, but didn't take the time to make it believable. One thing I learned during revisions of The Shaman Apprentice is that if I thought long enough I could find a solution to a problem. The one thing we can't be afraid of is confronting plot holes in our work.

There was one thing that I winced at because it was a large part of my first revision of The Shaman Apprentice. In the movie, there wasn't a definitive reason for the protagonist's main struggle. At times it pointed to one reason, and then at other times it pointed to another. There was great potential for character development, but it didn't work simply because there was too much confusion. Our protagonists need to have a focused motivation for what they want to achieve.

It's always easier to see problems in another's work than it is in our own. Still, we have to try to look realistically at our fiction--whether we're writing a murder mystery, a vampire romance, or a science fiction novel.

Writing & Basketball: The Wow Factor

2010-03-21T11:18:00.000-07:00

I'm a college basketball fan, so this is an exciting time for me. For those who aren't into it, the NCAA Basketball Tournament (aka March Madness) is underway. This year it truly has been madness. Kansas, the top rated seed in the tournament (that's 1 out of 64) lost in the 2nd round to Northern Iowa. Now Northern Iowa is in the Sweet Sixteen for the first time ever. This isn't the only upset to happen so far. If you want drama, check out the tournament.

It made me think of a few things we novelists can learn from March Madness:

1. The Wow Factor
Despite the fact that Kansas losing has hurt me in the office pool, there was something awesome about Northern Iowa beating Kansas. It was so entirely unexpected that I (and every sports commentator) can't stop talking about it. If you think back to your favorite novel, there usually is a spot where you have to put the book down for a second and say, "Wow!" Then you tell your friends they have to read the book. That's the wow factor.

2. No Cheap Tricks
While it's cool to see a few upsets, if every game is an upset then we audience members become disgruntled. We bash the committee who chooses the seeds. We create conspiracy theories. We feel used. I think if there are too many twists in a novel it feels cheap. Some things do need to be predictable.

3. Tension, Tension, Tension
The most entertaining games to watch are the ones where you don't know which team is going to win. Maybe one team is up by four points, but then a minute later the other team rallies and suddenly they are ahead. You can't stop watching the game, because you aren't sure who the victor will be. Of course, the opposite is true for games where a team is fifteen or more points ahead. You can turn the channel or even leave the game early, because you're sure of the outcome. Novels are the same way. If you can keep the tension high throughout the book, a reader has no choice but to continue reading to the end.

Now that I've discussed writing I can get back to talking about basketball. Despite the fall of Kansas (who saw that coming?), I'm still in the running to win my office pool. I need Kansas State, Kentucky, and Duke to be in the Final Four, and I need Duke to win it all. That's not too much to ask, right?

Anyone else betting on the games? What are your picks for the Final Four and the National Championship?

New Follower Widgets

2010-03-20T00:20:00.000-07:00

If you visit often, you might notice something new on the side panel: follow me widgets.

I've been slow to add the follow widgets to my blog because, well, I just didn't see the point of it. I felt the same way about Facebook at first. My hubby kept telling me I needed to try it, but I didn't understand why you would spend so much time on a website that didn't seem to do anything. Then I tried it and realized what a wonderful way it was to connect with people I hardly see. So I've decided to give the Follow widgets a try. If it helps to connect more people to my blog and me to the readers, then that's a great thing.

The Writers' Well: A Weekly Recap of the Best Kidslit Blog Posts

2010-03-19T04:00:00.000-07:00

There are some weeks where every day brings new challenges and you find yourself muttering, "Is it Friday yet?" I started asking that question on Monday. Today, though, it truly is Friday so I'm doing the happy dance.

The good news is that there were a lot of great writer posts this week! Let's plunge into the writers' well:

You'd think by now a lesbian couple attending Prom wouldn't be a big deal, but unfortunately some schools are still enforcing opposite gender only rules. Lee Wind has a post about a school in Mississippi that has canceled their Prom to avoid letting a lesbian couple attend. Read his post for more information, and you can also sign a petition to encourage the high school to hold the Prom.

There are several interviews this week to be aware of. Janet Fox interviews debut author Swati Avasthi about her novel Split, and Fox also interviews Mara Purnhagen (author of Tagged). This interview with Editor of the new Tu Imprint at Lee & Low Stacy Whitman is inspiring. There's an amusing interview with two teens about their recent reads at On Beyond Words & Pictures. Cynthia Omololu is interviewed on the Teen Author blog. Holly Cupala interviews Elizabeth Scott (author of The Unwritten Rule). You can check out alternate book covers of The Unwritten Rule on Melissa Walker's website.

If an author is interviewed on video is that then a vinterview? Just kidding. Market My Words has a vlog interview with Naughty List author Suzanne Young. There's a new book trailer over at My Big Nose and Other Natural Disasters for Sydney Salter's new novel Swoon at Your Own Risk.

Maggie Stiefvater (author of Shiver) has an interesting post on why it's important to do something more than just write. This is probably the first time I've heard a writer say that having a day job is conducive to writing. She makes some interesting points, though.

There's a great post on Laini Taylor's blog about The Zero Draft. It's not even the first draft, it's something even more primitive. I love the concept.

Day by Day Writer discusses novels written in Present tense first person. Cynthia Jaynes Omololu writes about endings.

It's so inspirational when you hear about a writer get that first deal...especially when that deal involves three books and a comparison to Hunger Games. Congrats, Beth Revis! I heard about it first on Day by Day Writer, and then read it for myself here.

The Dee Scribe blog has tips on how to conduct teen writing workshops.

Kelly Barnhill on The YA 5 blog describes mistakes she made, but also how her boldness made her successful.

Anita Nolan has great advice on how to deliver your comments at live Critique sessions.

If you need a break from writing longer fiction try writing six word memoirs. Check out Tara Lazar's blog to see how it works.

That's it for this week. Have a wonderful weekend!

The End of Publishing

2010-03-18T15:00:00.000-07:00

I originally saw this video on Barry Lyga's website. There's a special twist that happens halfway through so be sure to watch it all the way to the end. It's so true! Take a look.

Write Like the White Stripes

2010-03-17T19:03:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday evening my husband and I watched The White Stripes movie based on their Canadian Tour, Under Great White Northern Lights. In case you don't know, The White Stripes is a band made up of two members: Jack and Meggin White (they refer to themselves as brother and sister, though some evidence shows they are no relation and were married at one point). Yep, I said two members. They don't add muscians to their band when they tour, either. Yet when I listen to their music I don't miss the other instruments. As I watched their film, I started thinking about how much of their philosophies translates to writing. The White Stripes have been together for over ten years and have produced six albums. I think we can learn a lot from them.

1. Keep it Challenging
Remember how I said there's only two of them? Jack White stated the reason for the band's small numbers is that he wanted to make it difficult for himself. If he had a bass player, then he would have to work a lot less to produce a song, and in his mind, this ease produces laziness. He also uses guitars that are over ten years old and are difficult to keep tuned up. He purposely positions instruments far from each other on the stage so he has to work hard to get to each one.

2. Give Your Muse a Tight Deadline
The White Stripes philosophy is that if you don't give yourself a deadline to produce an album, then you'll take a year or more to finish it. Jack White believes the best way to get your mind to be creative is to give it a short time to produce good work. They give themselves 4 to 5 days to produce an album. That's it. Jack White believes that creativity is about hard work, so don't let your muse dawdle.

3. Image can be Premeditated; Art Never Should Be
The White Stripes' brother-sister image and red and white striped outfits were definitely premeditated, but their music evolves with time. I think writers should be careful with branding themselves. Marketing and sales people love it, but we want to always make sure that we're pushing ourselves to grow and we're still passionate about whatever project we're working on. For some writers that means changing up styles (like M. T. Anderson). Every story we write should be one that we are inspired to tell, not simply one that we believe will sell to the biggest market.

4. Innovate, Don't Imitate
I don't think the White Stripes are like any other band. Even when they do a cover of a another artist's work they make it uniquely their own. Every album is different as well. It's as if they are trying to set themselves apart even from their own work. I will admit that I don't love all of their songs. In all cases, though, the work is innovative from the lyrics to the instrumentation to the voice.

5. Prove Your Critics Wrong
Jack White said in the film that critics early on said they were good, but they wouldn't be able to sustain it. Other critics said they would be a fad. Ten years later, The White Stripes still are producing music and still have a loyal following. I think the critics words were a motivator for Jack and Meggin White. They were intent on proving that the band wasn't going to fade away after a couple of albums.

6. Don't Restrict Yourself to the Ordinary, and Extraordinary Things Can Happen
The White Stripes decided to do a tour of every province in Canada including some small towns that usually get ignored by major artists. They also made sure that during the day they would do free impromptu concerts. One time they played on a bus, another time they chose a tiny diner, and on a different occasion they played outside to about 250 town people. Jack White said the reason for playing in small towns and giving impromptu concerts was that he wanted something special to happen. The only way to have something special happen is to do something out of the ordinary. For writers, maybe it's grabbing a pad of paper or your laptop and writing somewhere strange like a bus depot or a park. Maybe it's giving a reading for an audience that you wouldn't normally think would suit your work. Push yourself to think outside of the norm, and something unusual may happen.

and finally...

7. Be Passionate about Your Work
Not everyone is going to want to perform the way The White Stripes do, but if there's one thing to be taken from their style it is their passion. If you listen to Jack White talk about music you can hear the passion that he has for it. You can see it in Meggin White as she moves to the music as she strikes the drums. Passion is the thing that can't be faked or found by following a set of rules in a writing manual. It's inside you. Don't ever let anything take that away.

A Potentially Humiliating Encounter

2010-03-16T18:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I had a terrible migraine (actually that's repetitive, since migraines are by definition terrible), and couldn't bear to stare at a computer screen when I got home. So no blogging for me!

But I did get a wonderful surprise in my mailbox. My Vermont College of Fine Arts packet! I spent my evening going through the winter residency schedule to see what an average day is like (busy!), and reading the manual and other literature they provided. Then this morning I found out that Holly Black and Gregory Maguire are going to be the Writers in Residence this July. I'm so excited! I hope I'll be able to get out a coherent sentence when I speak to Holly Black. I had a horrible experience at the Big Sur Workshop where my friends forced me to sit next to a writer they knew I admired and I swear I think I said two words the entire breakfast. Later, I thought of a ton of witty things I could have said, but at the time I was so in awe I couldn't formulate a thought.

Well, at least I have several months to think about what to say. Maybe I'll jot down some one-liners on my palm so that even if my brain stops working I can just read and repeat. Or maybe not. Doesn't that sound like a scene from a sitcom? Beverley looks down at her palm, but since some of the words are now erased she ends up saying something offensive by accident.

Yep, that's exactly what would happen.

I suppose I'll just have to wing it, and hope for the best. If it's really bad, at least I'll have something to blog about.

The Writers' Well: A Weekly Recap of the Best Kidslit Blog Posts

2010-03-12T04:00:00.000-08:00

This week sped by for me. Yet here we are again, ready for another Writers' Well. There are a lot of great writer posts this week as you'll see!

There are talks of cutting the LA Public Library budget. Lee Wind interviewed a librarian who explains the crisis and what can be done about it.

There are several great posts on Writing craft. Ben Esch (author of Sophomore Undercover) answers the question of how he gets ideas in an amusing way. There's a similar post on Teaching Authors that focuses on choosing what to write about. There's a sampling of writing advice on Laini Taylor's blog. My favorite is by Peter S. Beagle: "Invest in a comfortable pad for the chair in which you work." Teaching Authors has an interesting post on Character's Voice. The question, "Is it vital to write everyday?" is answered on the Dee Scribewriting blog. D. M. Cunningham discusses how Art inspires creativity.

Georgia McBride has a YALitChat followup (YALitChat is a weekly Twitter session) on her blog. It gives some fantastic information on the publishing industry. Day by Day Writer shows how Young Adult book sales are still up (Yah!). On Market My Words, Shelli has some great marketing tips.

There's an inspiring post on Cynsations with guest blogger Tom Angleberger author of The Strange Case of Origami Yoda.

I thought this post on the blog "I'm Here, I'm Queer, What the hell do I read?" was really cute. Lee Wind gives dad's 3 Secrets to Reading to Your Daughter. My favorite is number one: You Gotta Get Over Your Sparkle-Fairy-Pixie-Dust-Pink-Glitter Allergy.

There were a ton of fabulous interviews this week. On Cynsations, Cynthia Leitich Smith interviews M. T. Anderson on Writing Across Formats. It's a very interesting interview, especially if you've had thoughts on branding. If you're wondering what young adults actually think about YA novels, then you'll be interested in this interview. Holly Schindler interviews teen blogger/writer Sam of One Sparkling Star. Through the Wardrobe has an interview with Jan Godown Annino (author of She Sang Promise). Holly Cupala interviews Allan Stratton about his new novel Borderline. YA Fresh interviews Elizabeth Scott (author of The Unwritten Rule). Johanna Hurwitz (author of Amazing Monty) is interviewed on the Teaching Authors blog. Finding Wonderland and Writing with a Broken Tusk have posts on how Tu books is now an imprint of Lee & Low Books. The Enchanted Inkpot interviews editorial director of Tu Books, Stacy Whitman.

Georgia McBride reviews The Reinvention of Edison Thomas by Jaqueline Houtman. There's a funny review of Carrie Ryan's The Forest of Hands and Teeth (recently published in paperback) on the Paranormal Point of View blog.

YA author Marlene Perez announces some fabulous news. The first three novels in her Dead Is... series has been optioned to the Disney Channel!

If you want funny, it's hard to beat Kiersten Writes blog. I especially enjoyed her Teen! Drama! parody.

If there's a post you think other's would enjoy that didn't make it onto my list, please feel free to share it in the comments section. Have a wonderful weekend!

2010-03-11T04:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I was honored to have received the One Lovely Blog Award from Megan Abrahams on her blog On Beyond Words & Pictures. It's nice to be appreciated for the work I do here. There are so many wonderful blogs out there, I think it's a great idea to send a little love out to them this week.

Now it's my turn to honor 15 lovely kid lit blogs. If your blog is on my list - here's the drill:

1. Mention this award in your blog - as a new post or on your sidebar.

2. Give the award to 15 other lovely bloggers.

3. Send them a message or comment to let them know.

VCFA MFA in Writing for Children and YA

2010-03-10T07:18:00.000-08:00

I have some exciting news. I've been accepted into the Vermont College of Fine Arts (VCFA) MFA in Writing for Children and YA program! I got the good news yesterday. For those unaware of the program, it's low-residency, which means I won't have to move to Vermont. I'll be traveling there twice a year, for ten day stretches. In between times I'll be corresponding with a faculty member.

It was difficult blogging on Monday, because I wanted to discuss the lunch I attended for prospective students, but at the same time didn't want to announce that I'd applied to the program. I didn't want to jinx myself, by talking about it. I think I did pretty well keeping that a secret.

Here's another photograph of the campus. Isn't it beautiful?

Tuesday Releases: The Dead-Tossed Waves and Hourglass

2010-03-09T04:00:00.000-08:00

Yah, the day has arrived! The Dead-Tossed Waves and Hourglass have arrived in bookstores! A couple of friends at work and I have an informal YA book club. We have been pining for the sequels to these two series for quite some time. The only problem will be which one will we read first? Ah, decisions, decisions.

THE DEAD-TOSSED WAVES by Carrie Ryan (Delacorte Books for Young Readers)

HOURGLASS (Evernight series) by Claudia Gray (HarperTeen)

I know there are some other fabulous sounding YA novels released today. It's hard, too, since I have a shelf full of novels I've purchased and haven't read yet. That never seems to stop me from buying more, though!

BORDERLINE by Allan Stratton (HarperTeen)
THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE by Jandy Nelson (Dial Books for Young Readers)
SPLIT by Swati Avasthi (Knopf Books for Young Readers)
VINTAGE VERONICA by Erica S. Perl (Knopf Books for Young Readers)
KEEP SWEET by Michele Dominguez Greene (Simon Pulse)
FLIRTING WITH DISASTER by Rhonda Stapleton (Simon Pulse)
POISONED HONEY: A STORY OF MARY MAGDALENE by Betrice Gormley (Knopf Books for Young Readers)
SAVING MADDIE by Varian Johnson (Delacorte Books for Young Readers)

Happy reading!

Writer2Writer Event with Nancy Bo Flood

2010-03-08T18:14:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I attended the Writer2Writer event hosted by Catherine Linka at the Flintridge Bookstore. The guest speaker was Nancy Bo Flood, author of Warriors In the Crossfire, a historical novel based on the dual invasions of the U.S. and Japan on the island Saipan. Here's a book trailer:

Before the Writer2Writer event there was a lunch for Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA in Children's Writing prospective students. Nancy Bo Flood and Catherine Linka are alum of the program, and there were several other alumna there ready to answer questions and share their experiences. Interestingly, one of the topics that came up was how writing for children trains you to write novels with a strong story, which translates well into writing for adults. At the Writer2Writer event, Flood emphasized how the story is more important than the history.

She asked us to think of historical novels we had read and to think about what we think of first: the story or the history in which the events take place. The history should be in the background, and the story front and center. Flood emphasized, though, that the history needs to be absolutely accurate. This might be the only source a child uses for that particular piece of history, so you need to make sure that what you are giving them is authentic.

The culture of the place also reflects on the character. The decisions that characters make and how they think is depended on the culture they are from. If you're writing about a character that is breaking their culture's taboos make sure that you show how that affects the people around them (for instance, their family and friends). What are the consequences of their actions?

It was a wonderful event, and made me think hard about my own work. The Shaman Apprentice, while completely fictional, is set in a place where various events bring about a war. Have I emphasized the history over story? I'll be considering this in the future.

The Writers' Well: The Recap of this Week's Best Kidslit Blogs

2010-03-05T06:52:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you, but I'm thrilled that it's Friday. I'm also excited about my new writers' well photo I downloaded from istock. Isn't it delightfully witchy? It's the Chalice Well in Glastonbury, a Sacred site for all people and maintained by a local group. The water of this well is believed to contain healing properties.

On another exciting note, I've reached my 10,000 word goal almost a month early! I'll still be keeping track of my word count to see how much I'll be giving to Room to Read in April. I've pledged to give one cent for every two words I write in February and March.

Now onto this week's coverage of the kidslit writer blogs:

March seems to be becoming the Dig in and Write month. Maybe it's because it's the beginning of Spring, so writers want a fresh beginning? Or perhaps it's the NCAA Basketball Tournament inspires a sense of competition. If you'd like to make a firm goal to commit to this month, join with Cuppa Jolie, Grow Wings, Denise Jaden, and Blogzone for some companionship and support.

This post by Carrie Jones (author of Need) really touched me. She talks about how when she's on tour she is constantly speaking about herself, and how that honesty helps other children to share their experiences with her.

Several of the writer posts were on upcoming author events. YA Authors Beth Kephart (The Heart is Not a Size), Elizabeth Eulberg (The Lonely Hearts Club) and Patrick Carman (Skeleton Creek and Trackers) will be on a panel at the Philadelphia Book Festival on April 18th. Kephart talks about it here. Maggie Stiefvater (author of Shiver) posts about her appearances in March including Charlottesville, Virginia, the NYC Teen Author Festival, and Books of Wonder (NYC). Amy Brecount will be interviewed on the Live Blog Radio show A Book and a Chat tomorrow, and she asks that you call in with your questions.

There were a whole lot of interviews to report, and I'm sure I probably missed a couple. But here goes!

Georgia McBride interviewed Dirty Little Secrets author Cynthia J. Omololu. One of the things you learn is how Omololu met her agent in an elevator. Read the interview to hear the entire story. And in a strange coincidence (in the same week even!), Swati Avasthi (author of Split) confesses that she met her agent in an elevator as well! The morale here is don't be shy. Stalk prospective agents in elevators! I'm just kidding folks. Avasthi was interviewed by Holly Cupala, and she discussed more than just her penchant for elevator networking.

Day by Day writer continues to post her notes from the Houston SCBWI conference including talks from Editor Nancy Feresten. Sydney Salter interviews Shani Petroff (author of the Bedeviled series). Author of Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs Ron Koertg is interviewed by Janet Fox on her Through the Wardrobe blog. National Book Award Nominee Deborah Heiligman is interviewed by Tina Nichols Coury. Nancy Sanders interviews Syeda Mleeha Shah (author of Peace in my World). Here's something different: One of Kathy McCullough's characters (Delaney Collins, F.G.) discusses How to Write using a Teen Voice on Randy Russell's blog.

You can bid on a critique from Cynthia Leitich Smith (New York Times Bestselling author of Eternal and Professor at the prestigious Vermont College of Fine Arts) at the YA & Kids Books Central Auction. Read about it on her blog Cynsations.

Okay, this isn't really about writing or children's lit but it's really cool. Jay Asher (author of 13 Reasons Why) posted two videos made by students at their high schools. Talk about some talented kids! Also, don't miss Laurie Halse Anderson's first vlog. She answers questions, talks about some Library promos she will be making, and her dislike of the word vlog (among other things). Speaking of first's, watch the video of the Beginning of the YA 5 blog.

Peg Kehret (author of Small Steps) discusses how she responds to children when they ask how much she gets paid.

Every Wednesday, Suzanne Young (author of The Naughty List) will be posting an excerpt from unfinished works in her novel graveyard (her words, not mine). This week's excerpt was hilarious and superbly written. We all wish our scrap pile was that good.

If you watch American Idol, you'll enjoy the post Rejection Lessons from American Idol on the Market My Words blog.

If you're interested in the mix of comic books and novels check out the Illustra-Novella post on Literary Asylum.

I always find it interesting to learn about a particular writer's process. Barry Lyga discusses his method for writing novels here.

I applaud Maggie Stiefvater (author of Shiver) for her rebuttal to an ignorant blogger's assertion that YA literature is going down the toilet.

I love Libba Bray's blog. She went for awhile without posting, but now we have two delightful posts in a row. First, she shares with us about her harrowing experience of (almost) breaking Holly Black's coffee pot. Second, Bray gives us tips on how to avoid being an easy Serial Killer target (yeah, she's joking, of course). She's currently on a writer's retreat with some friends of hers. Last year, some of my writer friends and I did the same thing. We rented a house for a week to write in. During the day we'd each go in our own corner to write, and in the evenings we'd eat dinner and stay up late talking. I highly recommend the experience.

Well, that's it for this week! Please share more blogs in the comments section. Have a wonderful weekend!

A Few Excellent Agent Posts Today

2010-03-04T19:43:00.000-08:00

There were several important agent blogs today I think are worth your time:

Mandy Hubbard explains the reasons she rejected recent submissions.

Jill Corcoran has updated her submission policy.

Kristin Nelson continues to discuss how contracts must be visited due to the recent changes in business models (and how certain publishers are being slow to respond to these changes).

Enjoy! Tomorrow is the Writers' Well, when I recap the best kidslit writers' blogs from this week.

Save the LA Public Library

2010-03-03T20:51:00.000-08:00

It's no surprise that the city of Los Angeles is facing budget cuts. This, sadly, is true for most cities in the U.S. this year. When politicians are looking for ways to cut, it's important for us to voice what we feel shouldn't be cut.

The Save the LA Public Library website makes it easy to tell the politicians to not cut the library budget. There's a an email tool that sends a message to the decision makers of Los Angeles. It just takes a second to send, so please check it out.

If you want to see what wonderful programs would be loss through budget cuts, check out the Los Angeles Public Library website. They have a really cool YA website, too.

Think you can balance the budget? Take the Los Angeles Budget Challenge. I was happy that I was able to balance the budget without touching the library dollars (even if it was just in a virtual world).

Writing: Archetype v Cliche (Nathan Bransford's Post)

2010-03-02T19:51:00.000-08:00

Nathan Bransford's blog is usually a great place to spend some time. Today's post, Archetype v Cliche, is excellent. In essence, he's saying that writers shouldn't try to imitate a popular work like Harry Potter or Twilight, but instead create an original take on a common plot. So true!

Writing Simply: How the A-Team Tackled (Blew Up and Obliterated) Bullying

2010-03-01T18:01:00.000-08:00

Okay, I'll admit it. When I think of the A-Team the first thing that comes to mind is a giant explosion. One of the fun aspects of the 1980's television show was how the problem was always solved through blowing something up, yet no one ever got hurt. I watched a few episodes over the weekend and laughed when cars were shot at, crashed, and rolled until they were smashed yet the bad guys got out unscathed. I don't think that the special effects (though cool) are the only reason the show was so loved. I think it has to do with two things: first, the main characters are simply drawn with distinct traits; second, the A-Team unfailingly uses their finesse to free good people from bullies.

There were four main characters that made up the A-Team: Col. John "Hannibal" Smith, "Howling Mad" Murdock, B. A. (Bad Attitude) Baracus, and Templeston "Faceman" Peck. Each character had a specific role to play on the show and on the team.

Hannibal is the leader with the plan so crazy it has to be effective. He's always got a grin on his face while biting down on a cigar. The other team members respect him as well as have a healthy fear for his ideas (even though they always work).

Murdock is the mad genius. The team has to break him out of a psychiatric ward. The Vietnam War played a part in his madness. It's a light-hearted take on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. His value on the team is that he seems to be able to fly any plane or helicopter there is. He's also the comic effect guy as he teases B. A. and assists Face with stealing the supplies they need straight from the bad guys storerooms.

B.A. is played by Mr. T. Not only did we know he was tough by the 30 pounds of gold necklaces he wore in every episode, but by the crazy things he could lift. B.A.'s the lovable giant, the guy who is constantly manipulated by clever Hannibal, and teased mercilessly by Murdock (because B.A. is scared of flying).

Face is the handsome guy who is constantly hitting on the ladies at the same time he's swindling the crooks. He's also a bit more selfish than the other guys, always emphasizing that they're helping people for money.

The A-Team is made up of simple, yet heroic, figures that we can count on not to change episode after episode. This simplicity wouldn't work for every show, but for their purposes (which involves the strong A-Team freeing the innocent from bullies) it works well.

Bullying is about a person or persons using brute force or verbal abuse to subjugate an individual or group of people. The A-Team almost always were hired to combat bullies that would not (or could not) be removed through legal channels. At the beginning of every episode an announcer would say, "If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire... The A-Team."

Even though they were being paid to help the victims, that never tarnished their image. There was always danger, and whatever they were paid wasn't usually enough to provide all of the ammo necessary to deal with the bullies. One of the episodes I saw this weekend featured a scene where Face and Murdock con dynamite from one of the suppliers that they were trying to take down. It helps that there's never anything nebulous about the side they are on. The A-Team always represents the innocent, and the other side is always clearly wrong. The producers of the show never worry too much over realism. That, truly, would have ruined the whole concept.

There is an A-Team movie being made, and the timing of it is interesting to me. The current trend is towards showing imperfect heroes that face every day challenges. The A-Team never was about the every day. It was about freeing the innocent using wit, muscle, and dynamite.

World Building: Everything More than 15ft Underwater is Blue (and other seemingly insignificant things that fuel my creativity)

2010-02-27T22:33:00.000-08:00

If you dive into the ocean and swim beyond fifteen feet the only color you will see is blue (due to light, or the lack thereof). But the cool thing is if you have the right kind of camera you can take a photo and voila! Suddenly it's a technicolor world.

This is just one of many little facts that causes me to smile because it adds some credibility to my mermaid story. Mer people see differently than humans in my story. This is important because they can see souls. When I read the fact about color it made me realize that ocean creatures would need eyesight far advanced from ours to see the true colors around them. Brilliant! I don't know if this fact will make it into the novel. It doesn't really matter. For me, it's just a way to show that something that's fantastical could also be true. When you've got a novel that features mermaids, a Sea Witch, and souls it's important to ground it in reality.

The past week I've been doing more world building than writing. I've been refining how the mer people communicate with each other and also the setting. I think my first draft made the mer world too much like our world. There needs to be a similarity so that readers can empathize, but it shouldn't be absolutely the same either. I have never been an enthusiastic researcher--I prefer to be crafting the story, than the details--but I understand it's important so I get it done.

What about you? What fuels your creativity?

The Writers' Well: The Recap of This Week's Best Kidslit Writer Blogs

2010-02-26T09:18:00.000-08:00

It's Friday, so let's dive right into the Writers' Well.

Ask Bonnie Hearn Hill a question, and you could win a copy of Aries Rising. Check out Day by Day Writer's Saturday blog for more information.

The Habitual Rhymer blog moved to a new address, so be sure to update your bookmarks.

Meg Cabot announces that she will be touring in Southern California this April as well as discussing upcoming books Insatiable (for Adult readers) and Glitter Girls and the Great Fake Out (the latest Allie Finkle novel).

In the Picture Book World, Tara Lazar discusses Saying a Lot with A Little using examples from Newberry Award Nominee Kathi Appelt.

Anita Nolan has a post on Writing Tips from Many Authors, which were originally published online in The Guardian (Part One, Part Two).

On The Literary Asylum blog, D. M. Cunningham asks Mary Cunningham, Arthur Slade, and Lisa Yee to share their advice on writing the first draft.

If you want to help your local libraries (and who doesn't, right?) and you have a blog, check out Writerjenn's post, Let's Love Some Libraries. She is offering a challenge to bloggers from March 23-27. [I most likely won't be participating because I'm committed to giving money towards giving money towards Room to Read. Read more about that at Writermorphosis.]

One of the funniest blog posts of the week is on Merry Sisters of Fate. It's called Round Table on Slime. I dare you to read it. If you tweet you'll also find Cynthia Jaynes Omolulu's post How Twitter is Like High School amusing.

Kiersten White wrote an episode of Lost (snicker). She also has a post on rewarding your readers using examples from Lost.

Suzanne Young has pictures of book signings for her new release The Naughty List.

There is a fabulous television interview with Laini Taylor and Jim Di Bartolo about their National Book Award Nominated YA Novel Lips Touch Three Times (Taylor as Writer, Di Bartolo as Illustrator; they also happened to be married). The video is an excellent source for anyone interested in the collaboration process, the writing and illustrating biz, and Taylor's and Di Bartolo's background. Taylor describes how she found writing difficult for many years because of perfectionism.

You can take a peak at what will be the jacket copy of A Blue so Dark by Holly Schindler. The book should be on the shelves May 1, 2010.

Michelle Markel wraps up her series of posts on Picture Book Endings on her blog The Cat and the Fiddle.

New agent Mandy Hubbard is interviewed on Cynsations. Aprilynne Pike talks about Hubbard on her blog Apparently! as well. Hubbard is an agent at D4EO Literary Agency.

Cuppa Jolie (gotta love the blog name) had an interesting Monday Moment Writing Prompt.

If you write for teens, you may want to check out Lee Wind's post on Teen Bloggers.

Several writer blogs have discussed the partnership of Common Sense Media and Barnes and Noble (Cynthia Jaynes Omololu, SassyMonkey Reads, Ben Esch). It seems to have started quite innocently with Sarah Dessen noticing a Common Sense Media review on one of her novel's B&N pages. From there it went all over the blogosphere and resulted in an article in Publisher's Weekly. Sarah Dessen created a second post to further discuss the issue. She stated on her Friday's Five that she has moved on from the debate, and wants to leave further arguments to others.

Aprilynne Pike (author of Wings) discusses why it's not an idea that is important, but the execution of said idea.

Jay Asher (author of 13 Reasons Why) uses the Peanut's gang to help demonstrate ways to handle your reviews.

If you have been pining for Dead Tossed Waves, you can get a Counter at Carrie Ryan's blog so you can never forget the day. It has in great big letters:

Eat. Prey. Love.

Quite possibly the coolest tag line ever.

Day by Day Writer has notes from Editor Ruta Rimas's talk at the Houston SCBWI conference. Samantha Clarke also has a great post on What Writers Can Learn from the Olympics.

The Bookshelf Muse has a new Symbolism Thesaurus (if you haven't already, check out her past Thesaurus blogs).

There are quite a few great interviews on writer blogs this week. Cynsations has an interview with April Lurie (author of The Latent Powers of Dylan Fontaine). There's an interview with Nancy Bo Flood (author of Warrior in the Crossfire) at Through the Wardrobe. Teen blog Once Upon a Book has a terrific interview with author Sara Zarr (Story of a Girl). Tina Nichols Coury interviews Jennifer R. Hubbard (author of The Secret Year).

Head over to the Teaching Authors for help on the "R" word: Revision.

If you're curious about the Graphic Novel choices for the Cybil awards, check out the Finding Wonderland blog .

As you can see, we writers have had a busy blogging week. Enjoy! Be sure to share other great kidlit writer posts that you know about in the comments.

How Do You Find Time to Write?

2010-02-25T16:30:00.000-08:00

Since I have another full-time job, I'm asked that question a lot. It always kind of surprises me. In my view, if we want something enough then we'll do whatever it takes to get it. Writing isn't something I can stop doing. My biggest fear is that I'll get into some accident where I'll lose my fingers so I won't be able to type anymore. I'm not joking, either. So while I definitely wish for more time during the day that I could write, I've never let working full-time stop me.

The best method I've found for finding the time to write is to have a set writing time every day. I have a one hour lunchtime at work that I reserve for writing. I usually eat at my desk so that I have the entire hour without distraction. I've been doing this for so many years that I can't not write during lunch anymore. I also find that I can dive right in quicker then than any other time. It's like my brain is hotwired to be creative at noon.

Another thing I do is reserve a four-hour block on Saturday or Sunday. Usually if I have weekend plans, they are usually on Saturday evening, so I'm free to write away during the day without feeling like I'm missing out on anything. I'm sure this is probably harder if you have children . . . or dogs. I have neither. I keep an assortment of stuffed animals in the apartment, because they're cute, they don't make a mess, and I can leave for a weekend without getting a babysitter or putting them in a kennel. But I digress.

It helps if you have a spouse in Grad school. Despite that my hubby works on his thesis during the day, he's also often working on it in the evenings and weekends. I see him working on it and think, hey, I should work on my book now. So I pull out my laptop and start working. The funny thing is I'm probably one of the few people who has no issue with their spouse spending a ton of hours working in school, because it makes me feel less guilty for spending so much of my free time writing.

So my advice is to get rid of your children and pets and force your spouse to get a P.H.D. Just kidding. Though, it might help.

In my younger days, I would get up at four in the morning to write. This gave me a 2 to 3 hour writing block depending on if I spent a lot of time on hair and make up or merely put my hair into a ponytail and headed out the door (sadly, it was usually the latter). Now I'm bleary eyed at seven in the morning. If I want to write for several hours on a weeknight, I'll go to a coffee house after work.

I've heard of a writer who's written several novels say that she usually only has fifteen minutes at a time to write. She has three young children so she seizes any available time, even if it's brief.

In the end, I just carve out the time that I can without losing my sanity or driving away my hubby. There are times when I have to put away my laptop, such as to meet some friends for lunch or go on vacation with my hubby. There are weeks (or months) when I'm so driven that I'm almost never away from the computer. For me, it's about doing what I love while not forgetting the people that I love, too.

Like my hubby, my friends, and Snoopy. I own a lot of Snoopy's.

A Trip to the Past

2010-02-24T21:22:00.000-08:00

I read something I wrote about 7 years ago and thought: That's not nearly as bad as I remember it.

I should explain. A few weeks ago, I had to compile a list of conferences I had attended. While I was digging through my file drawer I found a few chapters of a novel I had never finished. In fact, I had forgotten all about it. I opened it up and started laughing . . . in a good way. Here's the title:

Amazon Witches Lost in Anaheim

Isn't that funny? It's literal, too. There really were three witches lost in Anaheim. I can see it as a middle grade novel. Maybe I'll work on it after Torrent. Usually, I feel it's important to look forward, because new projects are better than old ones, but maybe there are times when it's good to look back. Even if it's just to remind yourself how far you've come.

Writing for Yourself

2010-02-23T22:06:00.000-08:00

There's something a bit special about writing just for yourself. I've only shared the synopsis of Torrent with one of my writing friends and with my agent. No one has read any of the chapters yet. The plot hasn't been picked apart; the characters haven't been judged; and the writing hasn't been scrutinized. I'm only a little more than fifty pages in so the story is still largely sitting in my head. It's perfect there. It's translating that story to the page so that everyone else can understand it, too is the challenge.

The last few days I've gone back to the beginning and making sure it flows as it should. I think it's almost time to send it to my writer friends. I won't lie . . . I'm not looking forward to it. Like Alanis Morissette sing's:

Swallow it down (what a jagged little pill)
It feels so good (swimming in your stomach)

If all I wanted to do was have a nice book my mom would love then I could protect my little book from the ~~demonic~~ ~~bloodsucking~~ helpful critics. But since I want total strangers to pick up this book and love it, then I've got to push my ~~baby~~ novel into the ~~cold~~ ~~brutal~~ beautiful world.

The 2009 Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalists Are Announced

2010-02-22T11:05:00.000-08:00

The finalists of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in Young Adult Literature were announced today:

James Cross Giblin, The Rise and Fall of Senator Joe McCarthy (Clarion Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)

Frances Hardinge, The Lost Conspiracy (HarperCollins)

Deborah Heiligman, Charles and Emma: The Darwin’s Leap of Faith (Henry Holt Books for Young Readers)

Elizabeth Partridge, Marching for Freedom: Walk Together Children and Don’t You Grow Weary (Viking Children’s Books/Penguin Group)

Shaun Tan, Tales from Outer Suburbia (Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic)

Good luck to all the authors! The award will be given out on Friday, April 23rd to start off the LA Times Festival of Books at UCLA. The festival of books on Saturday and Sunday is free (though parking will cost you 9 dollars). The panelists will be announced some time in March. I've gone to this several times, and it's a wonderful event. There are panels on topics in every genre of literature about practically any topic--and they're all free. Tickets are free through Ticketmaster, though in many cases I have been able to get into events the day of without one. If it's a celebrity author then definitely get a ticket ahead of time.

Meg Cabot has posted on her blog that she will be attending the LA Festival of Books as well as doing signings around Southern California.

I hope to see you there!

Structuring Chapters

2010-02-21T12:48:00.000-08:00

It's kind of amusing to me, that while I posted a link on Friday's Writers' Well to the Writing Excuses podcast: Pacing with James Dashner, I hadn't actually listened to it. I had every intention of doing so, but the week was a busy one, I was more intent on using my free time for my own writing, and "let me swell out the causes ever so ingeniously" as Emma Woodhouse would say, it all came down to this: I forgot about it.

So this morning, when Samantha Clarke left a comment regarding the podcast, I thought to myself I should really listen to it. So with coffee in hand, and my Harry Potter throw over my lap, I curled up with my laptop and gave it a listen.

Have you ever had an experience where it's like someone took a question right out of your mind and answered it? That's what it was like for me listening to it. This week, I'd been a bit bothered by the chapter length of my new project Torrent. They are short, far shorter than my novel The Shaman Apprentice. I could start combining chapters willy nilly, but what point would that serve? No, I needed to think it through, and make a rational decision on the subject.

James Dashner, Brandon Sanderson, Howard Tayler, and Dan Wells discussed chapter length quite a bit in the Writing Excuses podcast. They talked about strategy--why a Thriller, for example, would have shorter chapters and why an Epic Fantasy would have longer ones. Dashner stated that he often spends five minutes or more considering each chapter as a whole and how to make that particular section interesting for the reader.

Now I plan to look at my chapters again in a new way. I don't want it to have an episodic feel, but I do agree that the best way to get readers to read on is to make it as interesting for them as possible. Please feel free to add comments about how you structure your chapters.

The Writers' Well: The Recap of This Week's Best Writer Blogs

2010-02-19T08:02:00.000-08:00

Yah, it's Friday! It's time to take a plunge into the Writers' Well.

Ben Esch gave some great advice on how to research agents on his blog. [If you're looking for agent tips then I would also suggest checking out agent blogs such as Nathan Bransford and Pub Rants. A subscription to Publisher's Marketplace is helpful, too.]

Day by Day Writer and Jill Corcoran blogged about the Seven deadly sins of novel writing, which was originally posted by The Bookshelf Muse.

Kathleen Duey (author of Skin Hunger) had an amusing post on Saturday about collaboration.

Maggie Stiefvater debunks the rumor that there will be a fourth novel in her werewolf series Shiver.

If you've ever wondered how you could bond with your local bookstore manager, check out this post by J. H. Everett. [Admittedly, it's a couple of weeks old, but I discovered it this week and I think it's important enough to bend the rule here.] This week, Everett has a post about Saving our School Libraries.

If you just can't wait for Dead Tossed Waves to come out in March, you can read the first chapter on Carrie Ryan's blog.

Robin Friedman (Author of The Importance of Wings) guest blogged on Cynsations on Tuesday. If you're a Gen-Xer like me then you'll find the post especially amusing. Also check out the interview with Ellen Hopkins, author of Tricks (part of the SCBWI Bologna interviews), and today's New Voices interview with Lauren Kate (author of Fallen).

There's a podcast on Pacing with James Dashner at Writing Excuses. James Dashner discusses the podcast as well as his recent talks at LTUE on his blog.

There's a whole week of marketing advice on the blog Market My Words. You can read about Marketing to Librarians, Frugal Marketing for Authors, Marketing to Indie Bookstores, and Effective Social Media.

Barry Lyga gives some writing advice on Ending Scenes and Friends as Critics.

Day by Day writer has a couple of interesting posts on revision (Getting Unstuck & Revising on Paper or Computer). Today she has an interview with Newberry Award Winner Kirby Larson.

The Cybil's were announced this week, and Laurie Halse Anderson expresses her joy at winning two of the awards.

Michelle Markel discusses Picture Book Endings this week.

Whew! It's been a busy week in the writersphere. If there's a great kidslit writer's blog that I missed be sure to add it in the comments. Have a wonderful weekend!

The Rise of Dystopian Novels (and Why You Don't Need to Write One)

2010-02-18T18:40:00.000-08:00

Today's Word Count: 680

Publisher's Weekly has an article about the rise of dystopian novels in Children's books.

While I think it's important to stay current on market trends, I also think there's a danger in believing that if you write in a certain genre you're sure to have a New York Times selling book. I believe that most books sell through word of mouth. I read something that's so good I can't stop talking about it. Three of my friends read it and they love it to, and in turn tell their friends about it.

Does that mean that promotional dollars are worthless? No way. There needs to be some buzz to get people to pick up the book in the first place. And let's face it, you're more likely to notice a book that's on a table than you are one that's buried on a shelf with hundreds of other books. Writers, though, don't have control over promotional dollars; we do have control over what we write.

So all we have to do is write a great book. No stress, right?

Sacrifice Done Right: Joss Whedon's The Gift

2010-02-17T18:18:00.000-08:00

Today's Word Count: 730

I'm a sucker for a good death scene. There's something about the sacrifice plot that moves me more than any other. Perhaps it's the heroism, or the emotional impact such stories naturally have. It's a tall order for any writer. The protagonist needs to either die or at least give up something that is important to them. Heroic, yes, but it also is bleak. Yet when done right, the sacrifice plot can leave a reader (or audience member) feeling a sense of rightness and completeness.

My favorite television episode of any program . . . of any time is The Gift by Joss Whedon. It's the final episode of season five's Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and if I had my way it would be the final Buffy episode period. I often joke with my hubby that Buffy's dead, because I feel that the end of season five is so complete.

Whedon started off the season five in a strange way. He introduced a younger sister for Buffy. At first, this seemed like a cheap ploy to get higher ratings. Soon, though, it became apparent that he had some other ideas as to why it was important. Buffy's little sister, Dawn, was not human. She was a key that can open a hell dimension. This could only happen to Buffy, right? It gets worse, too. If Dawn opens the portal, then the only way it will close is by her own blood. Meaning, if everything goes wrong, Dawn will have to be killed.

Whedon adds depth to the situation by having Buffy get to interact with a previous slayer. This slayer tells Buffy that "her gift is death." Buffy becomes angry, and later despondent over this. She does not want her gift to the world to be killing; she wants her life to mean more. But as a slayer, she is afraid that her life will only be valued by the demons she has killed.

Whedon pushed the knife further by having Buffy's mentor, Giles, tell her that if the hell portal is opened, then it's Buffy's responsibility to kill her little sister, Dawn. Buffy absolutely refuses this. When Giles points out that if she doesn't the entire world will die--including Dawn, Buffy answers that if that happens the last thing Dawn will ever see if Buffy fighting to save her. Powerful words, but this presents an impossible situation. Buffy's gift is death, and yet she has stated she will refuse to kill.

All of Buffy's friends and allies try to prevent Dawn from opening the portal, but they do not succeed. Poor, innocent Dawn is kidnapped and is forced to open the portal. It's too late. The hell dimension is opened, and now Buffy will need to either watch the world die or kill her own sister.

Except . . . she remembers the words she was told long ago by Dawn's maker. Dawn was made from Buffy's blood. They are sisters who share the same blood. Buffy's expression clears, and suddenly she smiles. She does not need to kill her sister to save the world. She can give herself. The prophecy comes true, Buffy's gift is death, but the gift is now a beautiful thing. She turns to her sister:

Dawn, listen to me. Listen. I love you. I will *always* love you. But this is the work that I have to do. Tell Giles... tell Giles I figured it out. And, and I'm okay. And give my love to my friends. You have to take care of them now. You have to take care of each other. You have to be strong. Dawn, the hardest thing in this world... is to live in it. Be brave. Live. For me.

Buffy gives her a huge hug, and then runs towards the portal. When she leaps in, she has a huge smile on her face. The world is saved; Dawn is saved; and Buffy will be remembered not for the demons she killed, but for the lives she preserved. Yes, of course, we are saddened by Buffy's loss, but we can feel good knowing that she went out on her terms. Her life had purpose. Whedon crafted a beautiful ending for his heroine.

I think the reason why the Sacrifice episode works so well is that it's a culmination of everything that the protagonist has been struggling with. The emotional power doesn't come from Buffy giving her life for her sister (or at least, not only that), but it's from how the act gives Buffy what she needs. Everything she has been worrying about and struggling with for the last year is resolved.

Sadly, Buffy was brought back to life and forced to continue on in two more television seasons and now has life in comic books. But from my point of view, she resides in the Sunnydale cemetary.

ARC Contest at Words on Words by Maggie Stiefvater

2010-02-16T21:22:00.000-08:00

I'll probably regret this but . . . there's a contest for a free ARC of Linger over at Maggie Stiefvater's blog. You really shouldn't bother to enter since I'm going to win, anyway. I wouldn't want to waste your time.

Okay, okay, apparently she's giving out nine copies so some of the rest of you can win, also. I have a generous nature.

Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

2010-02-16T20:20:00.000-08:00

In Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. Now, in Linger, they must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping a very dangerous secret about her own well-being. For Sam, this means grappling with his werewolf past . . . and figuring out a way to survive into the future. Add into the mix a new wolf named Cole, whose own past has the potential to destroy the whole pack. And Isabelle, who already lost her brother to the wolves . . . and is nonetheless drawn to Cole.

At turns harrowing and euphoric, Linger is a spellbinding love story that explores both sides of love -- the light and the dark, the warm and the cold -- in a way you will never forget.

Comes out in stores everywhere July 20th. Pre-order here.

Enter to win an advanced review copies of LINGER, Sisters Red, The Dead-Tossed Waves, and The Replacement on Maggie's blog.

Children's Book Characters All Grown Up (Sweet Valley Confidential)

2010-02-15T23:02:00.000-08:00

Today's Word Count: 624

I've heard rumors that Francine Pascal had plans to write a new book showing us what happens to the Sweet Valley High characters. Sweet Valley High fans were so excited they actually started a petition to encourage Pascal to publish the novel. The deal is official. I read this announcement in Publisher's Marketplace yesterday:

Francine Pascal's SWEET VALLEY CONFIDENTIAL, following her iconic identical blonde twins and full cast of characters into adulthood, now in their late twenties and early thirties, "where the real world intrudes," to Dan Weiss at St. Martin's (who created the original series with Pascal when he was a book packager), with Hilary Rubin Teeman editing, for publication in early 2011.

All you have do is type in Sweet Valley Confidential in a search engine to see there's quite a bit of buzz on the book. The Guardian has an article on the subject, but it may be more fun to check out Shannon's Sweet Valley High blog or the Sweet Valley High My Space forum.

Of course, I bring up this to get to the real question: would you like to see a book showing what your favorite children's book character is like in his or her thirties? If so, what character?

Here's my wish list of characters I'd like to see all grown up:

Lyra, The Golden Compass

Who could resist taking another journey with Lyra? Who does she marry? Does she still pine for Will? Well, whatever she becomes I'm sure she remains clever, brave, and as loyal to her friends as ever.


Scout, To Kill a Mockingbird

Scout is frank, clever, and stubborn--I found her amusing and lovable all at once. We see her grow in this novel as her innocent world is disrupted by the prejudice and racism around her. I have faith that she'd be a pretty remarkable woman. I wonder if she still wears overalls?

I remember reading Are you there God? It's me, Margaret and thinking, wow, there's someone else out there whose hair is a constant frustration and who finds puberty as terrifying and wonderful as I did. I can see a great women's fiction book with Margaret on the dating scene. Blume wouldn't even have to change the title.


Lilly Moscovitz, The Princess Diaries

We all know that Mia must eventually move to Genovia and do her Princess duties--after marrying true love Michael, of course! But what happens to her best friend (and potential sister-in-law) Lilly Moscovitz? Lilly isn't the type to live life quietly. As a teenager she's staged a protest because of unfair treatment and had her own cable tv show where she told it like she saw it. What's next for this tenacious genius? I'm thinking investigative reporter or possibly a Presidential campaign manager.

Well, that's all that I have time for at the moment. Please feel free to share your picks, too!

My New Muse

2010-02-13T20:49:00.000-08:00

Today's Word Count: 2,157

I discovered a new group to add to my music collection: The Bravery. I've loved their song Believe for awhile now. I decided to buy the entire album. I find it funny that they have one song called The Ocean and another called A Fistful of Sand; they go perfectly with my new project Torrent.

The Writers' Well: The Recap of This Week's Best Writer Blogs

2010-02-12T07:03:00.000-08:00

It's Friday, so that must mean it's time to talk about some interesting writer posts.

The coolest thing I discovered this week in the writersphere is the video game on Ben Esch's website for his novel Sophomore Undercover. It's clever and amusing. You're Dixie Nguyen and you're trying to get to the bathroom, but first you have to pass the jocks. Get too close and they'll give you a wedgie. Then you have to make your way past the showers without getting wet. It's free, so you can play a few times, or twenty, if you're me.

Speaking of Ben Esch, he and Michael Reisman (author of The Gravity Keeper) held a workshop on how to write for guys recently. Tina Ferrero provided some notes on the event on her blog YA Fresh, as did D. M. Cunningham on Literary Asylum.

Erin Dealey has a really funny video called The Writer's Rap. Also check out the book trailer Tina Nichols Coury made for Ratfink by Marcia Thornton Jones.

Barry Lyga discovered that a psychiatrist reviewed his novel Boy Toy. Lucky for Lyga, the psychiatrist felt his research was sound (a lesson to all of us writers to get it right). Also, if you have some questions about Copyrights, check out Lyga's post on the issue.

Samantha Clarke continues to recap the Austin SCBWI conference with Advice from ALA Winners and Advice from Other Writers.

There's a fantastic interview with Children's Author-Scholar Leonard Marcus by Cynthia Leitich Smith on her blog Cynsations. Smith also interviewed debut author Deborah Lytton (Jane in Bloom).

Carrie Ryan's novel The Forest of Hands and Teeth has been nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for First Novel. She mentions it on her blog here. [This is a fantastic read, by the way. My YA book club at work spent countless hours talking about it and whining about the long wait for Dead Tossed Waves, which comes out next month. Yah!]

Writermorphosis and Day-by-Day Writer blogged on upcoming contests for writers of children's lit. Aprilynne Pike (author of Wings) is hosting a contest with the winner getting an ARC for her upcoming novel Spells. All you have to do is come up with two fictional characters from different novels who you think are a perfect match. Sound fun? But hurry, the entries have to be in by tomorrow.

If you know of a fantastic writer's post that isn't listed here, please add it to the comments. Have a wonderful weekend!

[Saturday's Edit]: Friday's Word Count: 811

Words Flying onto the Page

2010-02-11T20:12:00.000-08:00

Today's Word Count: 128

When I read Janelle's post on Writermorphosis about giving money to Room to Read to build a library per so many words I write, I thought to myself, "No problem!" Then, when Janelle suggested 10,000 words in two months I thought to myself, "No problem!" When I looked at my total word count merely ten days in to the challenge I thought to myself, "Oh boy."

I'm going to write way more than 10,000 words in the next two months.

It's okay, though. The money is going to a good cause, and I will limit myself to what I can actually afford to give. The funny thing is that I had no idea how many words I usually write in a day before this challenge. I've actually spent less time than usual writing the past ten days yet I've already past the 4,000 mark. I'm feeling pretty good about myself right now.

If you're curious about your word count the easiest way to check it is by doing a save as before every day you start writing. Then the next morning, open the last two documents. Look at the word counts of each document, then subtract the latest day from the previous day. Now you have the number of words you've typed in one day.

I've heard some writers say they type 1,000 words a day. I've always leaned towards checking the amount of time I'm writing rather than the word count. It will be interesting to see if a pattern emerges.

The Writer's Balancing Act

2010-02-10T20:43:00.000-08:00

Today's Word Count: 565

Today, Nathan Bransford blogged on Can Author's Balance Publicity and Privacy in the Internet Era?

There's a fine line between saying too much and being so closed off that you're not interesting. None of us want to alienate potential readers and editors, but if we don't have a web presence then we might lose sales. It's an interesting balance, one that I find myself thinking about as I draft a post. How would an editor perceive this? I wonder. If I think there's a chance it might tarnish my reputation then I cut it. Of course, I feel sharing a bit of my life and journey is part of the charm of the blog. To leave out personal information altogether would make my blog unreadable.

Cabot Interviews Robin Brande

2010-02-09T20:43:00.000-08:00

Meg Cabot interviewed Robin Brande, author of Fat Cat and Evolution, Me and Other Freaks of Nature, on her blog. When asked if Brande had ever faced rejection, she answered:

Rejection? Ha! Plenty of that. The first novel of mine that was published, EVOLUTION, ME & OTHER FREAKS OF NATURE, was actually the sixth one I’d written. But that’s okay, because none of those earlier novels was a waste of time. As I’m sure you’ve experienced, Meg, every time you write a novel you get better at writing novels. So it’s all cool, it’s all wonderful, and I have no complaints.

Let me repeat: Brande wrote six books before getting one published. Six. As in the number that comes after five. Instead of complaining, Brande calls it a learning experience.

This is why when writers get together for dinner there's usually a bottle of wine involved. The important thing of course is that she didn't allow the rejection to stop her. She kept writing and perfecting her craft until her work reached the level it needed to be to get published. I admire Brande for sharing her experiences with us.

Own It

2010-02-08T19:45:00.000-08:00

Today's Word Count: 927

I'm watching America's Best Dance Crew right now, and to be honest I know little about what these dancers are doing. I have to go by what appeals to me. The one thing I've noticed is how the dance crews come out confidently--even arrogantly. They own that stage. If you ask them who is the number one dance crew they will, without hesitation, mention their own group. They'll shout their group name to the rafters while strutting across the stage showing off their steps. If a judge (or America) doesn't choose them as the best dance crew that doesn't change how they see themselves: they are number one, it's the judge/America that's wrong.

I think writers can learn something from them.

Yesterday, I had brunch with a few writer friends. We're all going through similar issues. We're in the midst of trying to get our first book published. One thing about the publishing biz is that it can really make you feel low. There are so many different people telling you what is wrong with your work. Of course, revision is something everyone has to go through. But after awhile, you can lose your own vision for the work. When this happens, it becomes all too easy to start doubting yourself.

So here's what I ask myself: what would one of these dance crews do if put in the same situation? They'd brush off the doubt, make a new routine, and then go back out and dance. We'd never see them down on themselves. All we'd see is a confident group that owns that stage. They are the best crew. Period.

Here's what I've come to believe: no one will love your book as much as you do. You are always your best advocate. When someone criticizes your work, take the comments but throw away the self doubt. When you go out and talk to other people about your work, think like a dance crew. Be arrogant. You're a damn good writer and you know it.

Own it.

Macmillan Buy Buttons Return to Amazon

2010-02-06T11:02:00.000-08:00

At 6pm yesterday, Amazon started to restore the buy buttons on Macmillan titles. It isn't clear what concessions the publisher gave in order to get Amazon to back down. I noticed that popular teen series The Immortals by Alyson Noel and The House of Night by P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast are available in various formats including the Kindle ebook.

If you are a Macmillan author, and you want to check to see if your titles are back on Amazon the Author's Guild has created a special tool just for you.

The Writers' Well: This Week's Not to be Missed Writer Posts

2010-02-05T19:52:00.000-08:00

Here are a few writer posts this week that are excellent:

I mentioned this one yesterday, but it's so important I'm going to mention it again. John Scalzi, author of the Tor books published by Macmillan, asks consumers to support Macmillan writers during the Amazon crisis by buying their books wherever they're currently sold.

Carrie Ryan, author of The Forest of Hands and Teeth, discussed ridding yourself of Guilt when you choose to not write.

This week on Day By Day Writer, Samantha Clark posted notes from the Austin SCBWI Conference. Monday was Mark McVeigh on Publishing, Tuesday was Andrea Cascardi on Getting an Agent, Wednesday was Cheryl Klein on Writing a Great Book, and Thursday was Nathan Bransford on Finding the Agent who is Right for You. Today's post was on Lisa Graff on Writing and Revising.

Margaret Ann Abrahams has a Spencer Quinn interview (Part 1 and Part 2) on her blog On Beyond Words & Pictures.

There were also a couple of announcements about new Teen books on the horizon. Barry Lyga, author of The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl, has a killer two-book deal described as a cross between Dexter and Silence of the Lambs. P. C. Cast announced on her blog this week that Burned, the next book in the House of Night Series written by herself and daughter Kristin Cast, will be released April 27th.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Macmillan Writer Calls for Author Support

2010-02-04T19:45:00.000-08:00

Today's Word Count: 935

Here's a brief update on the Amazon v Macmillan spat. John Sargent of Macmillan took out another ad in Publisher's Lunch to give an update on the status of the negotiations. He sounds positive and up beat, and implies that the "buy" buttons should be restored fairly soon (though he has no control over the timing).

What I think is most interesting to writers is what Sargent said about royalties:

"Three or four weeks ago, we began discussions with the Author's Guild on their concerns about our new royalty terms. We indicated then that we would be flexible and that we were prepared to move to a higher rate for digital books. In ongoing discussions with our major agents at the beginning of this week, we began informing them of our new terms. The change to an agency model will bring about yet another round of discussion on royalties, and we look forward to solving this next step in the puzzle with you."

In the meantime, though, Macmillan authors are being hurt by the lack of Amazon sales. John Scalzi, an author published by Macmillan, has made a Call for Author Support. The best thing we can do to help the situation is to buy Macmillan books wherever they're currently sold. That way when the authors sales statements come in they aren't suffering because of this dispute.

So let's get going and buy some books!

Write Your @ss Off Day

2010-02-03T21:03:00.000-08:00

Today's Word Count: 751

Moon Rat of the blog Editorial Ass has selected this weekend to be Write Your @ss Off Day. Basically, writers choose one day between Friday and Monday to write, write, write! There's an interactive map where you can add your location and see where other participants are located.

I'm thinking of making Saturday my day to Write My @ss Off. How about you?

Groundhog Day

2010-02-02T21:02:00.000-08:00

Today's Word Count: 505

"Do you think it'll be an early Spring?" asked Man in Hallway.
"I'm predicting March 21st," said Phil.
From the movie Groundhog Day

Whenever Groundhog Day comes around I think of my grandparents (dad's side). It was their wedding anniversary. My grandfather died the day before their fiftieth anniversary. As a writer, this reminds me that every person has experiences that change the way they see the world. On Groundhog Day I feel a pang of loss for my grandfather. Someone else on Groundhog Day may think of Bill Murray.

And for those you think of Punxsutawney, watch the video of their Groundhog Day celebration.

Amazon v Macmillan

2010-02-01T20:55:00.000-08:00

Today's Word Count: 331

Authors of books published by Macmillan are waiting to see what will happen between Amazon and Macmillan. As of the time that I'm writing this, Macmillan books are unavailable to purchase (except from 3rd parties) on the Amazon site and the Kindle. Since Macmillan is a fairly large publisher, this is pretty big news.

On Saturday, the New York Times reported that Amazon had removed their "buy" buttons from the paper-book sales (Amazon.com) as well as the e-book sales on the Kindle. This was in response to Macmillan's statement that they wanted to change to the Agency model that the Apple ibook store will be using. Furthermore, Macmillan wants to raise prices for new releases (hardback) from ten bucks to as much as fifteen.

John Sargent of Macmillan responded to the situation by taking out an ad in Publisher's Lunch on Saturday with an open letter to all Macmillan authors/illustrators and the literary agent community.

On Sunday, Amazon posted a letter in their Kindle Forum on amazon.com saying, " . . . we will have to capitulate and accept Macmillan's terms because Macmillan has a monopoly over their own titles, and we will want to offer them to you even at prices we believe are needlessly high for e-books." Interestingly, they did not bring back the "buy" button even though they seem to be saying they agree to Macmillan's demands.

Several bloggers have written in depth on the subject including Nathan Bransford, Richard Curtis, and Pimp My Novel.

While the situation may be complex, there's one thing for sure: we live in interesting times.

Help Build a Library

2010-01-31T13:18:00.000-08:00

There are no carpentry skills required here, just a willingness to give some cash to the organization Room to Read.

On the Writermorphosis blog, Janelle has started an interesting project. For every two words she writes between February and April she will donate one cent to Room to Read. It takes $2500 to build a library, so if 50 writers join her and all write at least 10,000 words in that time, then they can build one library. Please read her post to get all of the information.

Janelle also mentions getting sponsors to pledge to give depending on how many words you write. Kind of like runners do for charity 5K races.

It's also an excellent way to push ourselves into writing more words between February and April. So let's get those pens out and start building!

The Blank Page

2010-01-30T13:14:00.000-08:00

It's true that the scariest thing for a writer is a blank page. I'm working on a new novel that's a reimagining of The Little Mermaid story in reverse: instead of a mermaid becoming human, a teenage girl becomes a mermaid. I needed to begin with Ally (the protagonist) as a human and show why she would decide to become a mermaid. Everything from her meeting a merman on was clear to me, but that first chapter completely stumped me. I tried various beginnings and none of them felt right. Then, just a couple of days ago inspiration struck.

My writing output has increased a lot since then. I usually begin writing by rereading a page or two. This gets me back into the groove of the novel. I think that's probably why the first page is the hardest page to write. There's nothing before it to latch on to.

New writing is harder than revision, but it's more fulfilling too. There's something a bit magical about a story unfolding page-by-page.

Changes

2010-01-29T17:52:00.000-08:00

Life is about change. A few years ago, I started a blog based on the novel I was writing (then titled) Prana Island of Witches. Since then I've started new projects, and there's much more I want to talk about than just Prana. You'll find all of the old blog entries here, at www.bevenflorez.com. Soon I'll be adding other features as well. If you've bookmarked the pranaislandofwitches.blogspot.com you'll simply be forwarded to the new site.

Enjoy!

Lurking in the Children's Book Section

2009-11-21T22:17:00.000-08:00

A couple of my coworkers and I have formed an informal book club. It started innocently with me talking about Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. One of my coworkers asked if she could borrow it, and so I lent it to her. Soon she was talking enthusiastically to it with another one of our coworkers. When that coworker finished it, she turned to me and asked me for recommendations for other Young Adult (YA) books. Not any novels, she stressed to me, YA novels.

The three of us are definitely not in the target age group for YA novels. Two of us are in our thirties, and the other coworker is in her mid-twenties. We're not alone if the packed New Moon theater full of raving forty and fifty-something women is any indication. This made me think about why so many adults are reading YA novels. Well, aside from the fact that there are a lot of fantastic novels in the field. There are a lot of great books with adult characters to choose from so there must be something more.

YA novels are usually coming-of-age stories. All children's literature, in fact, are usually about a series of firsts: a first fight, a first slumber party, a first kiss. One of the reasons why I think having literature written for children is so important is because it's such a scary time for them. Everything is so new, time moves so slowly, and every event is the beginning and in a strange way also the end. As adults, our view is different. We know that no matter how bad a fight is, we will move on from it. We know that the humiliation we received at a slumber party will fade until it's practically forgotten. We know that there will be other kisses, with other people, and no matter how much we are certain we will never get over our first heart break, we will.

I think there is something comforting about reading a children's book as an adult. We can empathize with the characters because we can remember what it was like to be in their situation. But we also know that the misery they face has an end. And maybe we can even see things in our past that we missed the first time around. Many of us were so busy thinking about how much we wanted to get older, we failed to see how good we sometimes had at it. Reading about it helps us revisit the past and feel all of the pain and agony of adolescence, but with the added knowledge that as difficult as the time might be it ends sometime.

I still feel sometimes like an intruder when I walk into the Children's area in the bookstore, and this is how it should be. I think it's good to lurk, though, so we don't forget too much of what it's like to be a kid. I'm sure they don't mind.

PW Article: Children's Publishing in the Digital Age

2009-09-17T19:30:00.000-07:00

There was an excellent article in the PW Children's Bookshelf e-newsletter today called "Children's Publishing in the Digital Age." There has been quite a bit of discussion in blog land lately about the changes caused by electronic books, but this article specifically addresses the children's book industry.

I would also suggest signing up for the free newsletter (if you haven't already). It arrives in your email once a week with articles, news, and book reviews. You can sign up for the PW Children's Bookshelf here.

Edith Cohn interviews YA author Jo Knowles

2009-09-16T08:38:00.000-07:00

I often read Edith Cohn's blog for it's quirky humor and news about the children's writing biz. Today she has an interview with Young Adult author Jo Knowles (Lessons from a Dead Girl, Jumping Off Swings). Check it out!

Rampant by Diana Peterfreund

2009-09-12T12:39:00.000-07:00

I was at Barnes and Noble today perusing the huge YA section (yes, it's definitely grown over the years--yah!), and I picked up Rampant thinking it would be about a female knight or something. Then I read the book jacket and realized it's about KILLER UNICORNS. Yes, you read correctly! There are no cute purple sparkly unicorns in this book--only blood-thirsty monsters.

I had to buy a copy. I mean, it has killer unicorns. Enough said.

Idea Chasing

2009-09-09T07:35:00.000-07:00

The past couple of weeks I've been working on a new project as I take a small break from Prana. The funny thing is that I seem bombarded with fantastic novel ideas. This sounds like a great thing, except it's very distracting. When I was in college and decided I wanted to be an author, I used to chase one idea after another, believing if I only found that perfect idea I could write the next Great American Novel. But what ended up happening was . . . well, nothing. None of the manuscripts were completed. In the end, it doesn't matter how great an idea is; all that matters is the execution of an idea.

I've come up a system for dealing with pesky ideas. I create a new folder for it and start a word document. When new thoughts about the project come to me, I'll add it to the word document. This allows me to keep working on the current project without worrying I'll lose the new ideas.

I think the difference between writers and readers is that readers believe ideas are everything. People come to me all the time with a great idea, and they hold it out to me like it's a gift. They don't understand that ideas are the easiest part of writing. Let's take some of the most popular books and see how original the ideas were:

1. An orphan boy discovers he's a wizard and gets invited to a school for witches.
2. A teenage girl moves to a new school where she falls in love with a mysterious guy who turns out to be a vampire.

Okay, so how many wizard school books have there been? Um...a lot. I could hand that idea to a hundred different writers and none of them would have written Harry Potter. Only J. K. Rowling could have written it, because only she had the vision for the characters, the setting, and the plot that made Harry Potter so well loved.

I think there have been even more vampire-love stories than there have been schools for witches. So why then did Twilight sell so many more copies than other vampire-love stories? It isn't the idea, it's in the way it's written.

Another reason people chase ideas is that they're perfect. You don't see the flaws in them yet, you're not staring at a blank page trying to translate what's in your head down on paper. But there's an even bigger thrill when you finish the manuscript and you can share it with someone else. And that can only happen if you stick to the project and give it your all.

A New Way to Query (laughter begins)

2009-09-01T07:56:00.000-07:00

When I read The Intern's latest blog I almost spit out my coffee from laughing. Apparently, some aspiring writers are querying on Craigslist. I won't spoil the fun by saying anything more.

How to get kids to read...and how not to

2009-08-30T20:51:00.000-07:00

I've been spending my Sunday evening perusing blogs, and I really enjoyed Meg Cabot's How to Foster a Hatred of Reading. She describes how she hated certain classics (and still does) because they were forced on her in school. It's quite a funny blog, and yet serious, too. We readers are always looking for ways to get other people to love reading, too.

I can't disagree with Cabot, either. I remember staying up all night reading a novel, and showing up bleary eyed the next morning to school. Then when a teacher assigned a novel to read like Catcher in the Rye I would groan with the rest of the class. It felt horrible to be told, "You have to read this."

I will admit that there are some wonderful books I read and loved because they were assigned to me. Pride and Prejudice was on a reading list in high school, and I devoured the rest of Jane Austen's novels soon afterwards. So how do we encourage kids to read without taking away their freedom of choice? I don't have all the answers, though I think it's somewhere in the sphere of guiding children to libraries and letting them explore. Kind of like giving them a map and letting them discover the treasures on their own.

Pacific Coast Children's Writers Workshop (PCCWW)

2009-08-25T20:51:00.001-07:00

Last weekend I attended the Pacific Coast Children's Writers Workshop (PCCWW) with friends Cara King and Sheryl Scarborough. I had been looking forward to getting away from the city, and living in a condo on the beach for a few days. It was just as beautiful as I imagined--well, maybe even more. There wasn't much downtime, but I did manage to take a few photographs (see separate blog).

The theme for the writing workshop was Voice. This was quite interesting since it's the one thing that every editor and agent seems to ask for, and yet it is so difficult to define. Faculty members Erin Clarke (Senior Editor at Knopf/Random House), Stephen Fraser (Agent at Jennifer DeChiara Literary Agency), and Marion Dane Bauer (award-winning children’s Author) gave excellent advice on how to uncover that elusive skill.

Erin Clarke explained that voice is a combination of everything: Plot, Setting, Dialogue, and Narration. She suggests practicing--by reading and by writing. Sometimes it's necessary to experiment. Markus Zusak wrote 150-200 versions of the beginning of The Book Thief before he perfected the voice. Read your work aloud. Does the voice work? Do your characters sound distinctive and authentic? Be passionate about your work, and your work will sing. Don't try to be someone you're not. Relax, and let it flow. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Think about your audience--don't mimic exact speech. Finally, make it timeless. Remember the publishing business is slow--use language that has been tested by time.

Stephen Fraser says to be your authentic self. Authenticity, focus, clarity, freshness--this is what makes up Voice. He believes voice can be developed. Pretend to be your character. Talk like him or her--feel like him or her. Reach out with your senses and feel what it's like to be your protagonist. He encouraged us to write an elevator pitch. Compare your novel to a classic book. What makes it unique? Think about how the sales department will position your book.

Marion Dane Bauer believes every story has a three point trajectory. First, every story begins with desire. It must have an emotional core. Write the story only you can write. What is your vision? Choose stories that resonate with you (not necessarily autobiographical). Answers you are seeking in your own life. Second, the story builds to where your protagonist's entire world falls apart. Third, Emotional Resolution. The meaning is important. It needs to be felt, not necessarily articulated (naming a theme is unnecessary). Voice is you passing through a character: honest and authentic. Voice is the emotion moving through the character. She also offered this advice for people wondering about breaking rules: The one rule of writing is you have to make it work. Another piece of wisdom she shared is "Show don't tell always means show the character, don't tell us about the character."

PCCWW is unique in that attendees are required to read most of the submissions before the workshop begins. Also, group one candidates are critiqued in front of an audience by all three faculty members. It was interesting to listen to the faculty, and compare their reactions to my own.

Though the conference schedule was tight, the faculty were quite willing to spend time with the attendees, answering questions or simply chatting. There were several opportunities to mingle at lunch and dinner. The other attendees were also friendly, supportive people and I hope I can stay in contact with them.

Photos from PCCWW

2009-08-25T20:31:00.001-07:00

Cara King and I are enjoying the beautiful setting from our condo balcony.

Sheryl Scarborough and Cara King enjoying the ocean view from our condo.

Linda Viera and Kathi Acker at Zuniga's Mexican Restaurant on Saturday.

Linda Viera, Kathi Acker, and Glori Mulligan

Lisa Lorenzetti and I at Zuniga's Mexican Restaurant

The group to my left: Stefanie Lyon, Gina DeCiani, Stephanie Howard, Stefanie Lyons, and Cara King at Zuniga's Mexican Restaurant.

Eric Arnall, Mandy Robbins Taylor, and Sheryl Scarborough at Zuniga's.

7 Ways to Ensure Your One-on-One Meeting is a Success

2009-08-12T20:52:00.000-07:00

By the end of the month I will have attended two conferences (the SCBWI Summer Conference and the Pacific Coast Children's Writers Workshop). I've attended many in the past, and I'm sure I'll attend more in the future. I think one of the most important opportunities at these workshops is also the most nerve wracking--the one-on-one critiques with an editor, agent, or author. Over the years, I've learned some things that have helped me cope. If you have some additional advice please feel free to add it in the comments section.

1. Be prepared to listen. This sounds easy--it isn't. Allow the professionals to give their comments without interruption from you. Even if you feel they've misunderstood something, if you bring it to their attention you're only going to sound defensive and whiny. If you have a question scribble a note to yourself so you won't forget to ask them at the end. You've paid good money for their critique. It would be a shame if you didn't learn anything from it.

2. Even if you think their suggestion is lousy, say, "I'll think about it." The primary reason is you'll sound ungrateful and difficult if you reject their comment without at least considering it. The secondary reason is you might actually realize later they were right.

3. Do some prep work before the meeting. Synthesize your novel into a short pitch (a few sentences at the most), and practice saying it with enthusiasm. If you don't love your story then no one else will either. Think of questions you have about the sample you sent in, and write them down. Nervousness can cause you to forget things, so make sure to bring a notebook with you to the meeting.

4. Have alternative projects ready to pitch. If the meeting goes well, often a professional will ask, "So what else are you working on?" Even if you haven't written the books yet, having ideas to pitch will demonstrate that you're serious about your career as a writer.

5. If you're fortunate enough to have been told who you will be meeting with prior, be sure to read some of the books they represent. Also, do some internet searching and see if they write blogs or if they have been interviewed. You can use some of the information you learn as conversation starters.

6. Take seven breaths. The person on the other side of the desk is as human as you are. And your career is NOT riding on the outcome of this meeting. This is just one avenue to help you get closer to publication. If you take away at least one thing that strengthens your manuscript the meeting was worth it. Don't feel like a failure if the professional isn't enthusiastic over your work. The next person you meet might fall in love with it.

7. If the editor or agent wants to read more of your work be sure to ask about how they want it to be submitted and where it should be sent. Many times, they will tell you something different than what's on their posted submission guidelines. Then when you go home, be sure to follow whatever suggestions they have before sending your manuscript to them.

The Teen Perspective

2009-08-11T22:57:00.000-07:00

I spent Saturday listening to adults talk about children's books (and this was quite interesting and productive), so I was intrigued when I saw a blog about an interview with two teens talking about what books they enjoy and why they choose them.

Trust me, you'll be surprised by some of their answers.

Read the interview on Peggy Abraham's blog "On Beyond Words & Pictures."

Sacred Scars and Strange Brew

2009-08-11T21:28:00.000-07:00

First of all, Edith Cohn has posted a blog about her experience at the SCBWI Summer Conference--and it includes a fantastic video of her talking about Kathleen Duey's session. I wish I had been there!

Sacred Scars, the middle book in the Resurrection of Magic Series by Kathleen Duey, is definitely on my to-be-read-soon list. The bookstore I went to last Saturday was out of copies! I won't let that stop me, however. It's just an excuse to visit another bookstore soon. On Kathleen Duey's blog she highlights some glowing reviews of her newest book.

I was able to find and purchase Strange Brew, a collection of short stories edited by P. N. Elrod. Now, how could I resist a book that featured witch stories written by some of my favorite authors? I've read a few of the stories so far and they are very entertaining. Patricia Briggs, who started a series based on a short story in another anthology, has a potential new series here as well. At least, I'd love for it to become one (hint, hint).

Ah, so many books so little shelf space!