Critter saves the flight from DFW to LA!: The great SCBWI, LA adventure

Our flight was early. Critter is coffee-mad. Can you imagine drinking a cup full of coffee that is 98% of your height? But critter did it. And it paid off. (Critter likes mocha) We had no idea what was about to challenge Critter's energy level.

Our connection in Dallas was delayed as a result of mechanical difficulties. Annoying and yet, I prefer delays over crashing. Crazy. I know. I'm weird that way.

Three hours, two cups of coffee, 8 1/4 cranky employees, two tram rides and three gate changes later . . . we were on our way to LA. Seriously . . . picture 150 people being herded through an airport, parting escalators Exodus-like, complaining that our time was being inconvenienced as opposed to risking our lives in a plane crash.

You might think people would be cranky during a circumstance such as that. No need to worry. Critter saved the day. He pulled his guitar out of his backpack and led the entire flight in rounds of campfire songs and bad 80's ballads and supervised line-dances.

Everyone agreed. It was the best flight they had ever taken. Some airline employees were ready to quit their jobs and join a circus. But Critter's enthusiasm reminded them of what was really important in life and dubbed it as the best work-day EVER!!!!

Yay, Critter saved the day!

Foam board is truly amazing. Isn't it?


Critter was pretty tuckered out after all of that rabble-rousing. He needed to kick back when we finally checked in. Here's a picture of Critter chillin' with his i-pod. (He likes Toby Mac)

This is Critter chillin' on our balcony.

You can become a fan of Critter on Facebook by clicking here

More Critter in LA stories to come . . . .

Doing the Happy Dance!

I will temporarily cease doing my happy, arm-waving, boo-tay-shaking dance (the kind that would embarrass my kids) so that I may share my exciting news.

For Mother's Day, My hubby told me that I was going to SCBWI LA summer conference. ~squee!~
I must confess, I hadn't asked to go. Quite honestly I never thought that I could justify the expense when I didn't have a published book yet.

But do you want to know what my darling man said to me? (this is more a gift than the conference expenses.)

He said that I am talented and as long as I'm persistent, I will be published. He said that I needed to live as if I were already published. Not just with consistent writing times, but by going to conferences and doing things that I would do if I were already published. I must add, that my hubby doesn't let go of family $$$$ easily unless it's justified. It took him 3 years to decide if it was worth the money to buy an ipod. True story. So, if he didn't really believe in me, he wouldn't so easily send me out to LA for 5 days.

I gotta say, it feels good to have someone believe in me that much.

Consequently, I also feel more motivated to keep going, because I don't want to disappoint. :0)

Give me a holla if you're going to be there. We'll have to meet up and have coffee and chat.

Now, if you will excuse me I have more bootie-shaking-happy-dancing to do. Oh, and I have more writing to do too. :0D

beach books and getting conference ready

I'm back from the beach.

I read the main chunk of The Forrest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan while sitting on a beach chair by the ocean. Which is super cool, because a major thru-line is this book is the main characters desire to see the ocean. It's a driving motivational force for Mary and it makes it extra cool to read about Mary's burning desire to see the ocean. It makes you feel like you're really waiting for her on the other side, pulling her along in her quest. Because of this I nominate this book as the #1 best beach read of the year.

The other book I read was Red Riders Hood by Neal Shusterman. Yes. Another Shusterman book. I'm determined to read all his books. He's a brilliant story teller. Red Riders Hood is a dark Urban twist on the Little Red Riding Hood tale. As usual, Shusterman is clever, creative and pulls off a story that not every author could. It's a fun read!

I've been home for a few days, but I haven't blogged because, in addition to house and family stuff, I've been getting my critiques prepared to send out for the SCBWI Carolina's Fall Conference in Sept. I'm sending out two critiques this year. The deadline to get them in is the 31st, so I had to finish them up and send them out today so I could meet the deadline.

I miss the beach, but it's good to be back too. Now I have to go catch up on everyone elses blogs and see what ya'll have been up to.

I just finished reading Savvy by Ingrid Law. It's such a cute and clever book with a strong voice. It's a fun read!

The hubby and I have also been talking about being able to work into our budget either a trip to the SCBWI LA conference or a Chautauqua writing retreat. The problem is that I can't decide which one. Part of me thinks the retreat would be more beneficial for me at this stage in the game, but then again, there are so many potential contacts at the LA retreat, not to mention I'd be able to see so many of my blogging and writing friends face to face. So, what do you think? If you could only pick one, which do you think would be more beneficial for an author wanna-be?

Tales from the conference: I wanna know your take on it!

Not only is Alan Gratz a talented author, he also makes a spectacular table-topper! (as pictured above. (sorry Alan. I couldn't resist.)

In Lieu of Alan Gratz's new release, I thought this also might be a good time to bring up Alana's break out session at the SCBWI Carolina's conference this past September. His subject: What makes a book young adult VS. middle grade?

His answer was pretty simple:

1) Age of protagonist: MG is usually 8-12 an YA is 12 and up.

2) subject matter/ The nature of the conflict

After 2 mintues he was ready to dismiss. ;0)

Actually, he did have some great advice on what concerns MG have VS. YA, but here's one thing he brought up. Alyssa Eisner Henkin brought up the same thing. They both said that while we want to be original we should be familiar with what is on the New York Times Best seller list and what is on the shelves at Barnes and Nobles. These places will tell us what is selling. What's hot.

As a preface, I must say I completely agree. But here's the thing. The buzz question around the conferences was "WHY?" if you want to be original why care about what is fad?

I have my own theories, but I want to hear it from you. What good does it do to be up to date in current trends?

Personally, I think it's good to know what publisher are into what topics. Who is publishing what. In addition, I've been shocked at how few original idea's there are. There have been at leat 3 changes I've had to make in my current WIP because I've read a book and somebody already wrote something similar to it!!!!! Can you believe it! They stole my idea before I even wrote it!!!! So I had to change it so I could seem more original. So, being up -to-date not only lets me know what is hot, but also helps me realize that I'm not as clever as I would like to think. :0P

What's your take on it? Why does it help you to be up to date on current MG and YA trends? Inquiring minds want to know!

Tales from the Conference: More advice from Agent Alyssa Eisner Henkin

November is upon us: The month of NanoWrimo. For those not in the "Know" this is National Novel Writing Month where bunches of writers from all over the world commit to writing a novel (approx 50,000 words) in one month. This is a BIG undertaking, but I've decided to take the challenge with a new idea that's been bouncing around my head. The good thing about NanoWrimo is that you are just supposed to get the idea out. You aren't supposed to worry about the pesky editor in your head, grammar, punctuation. The only thing that matters is that you get your idea onto paper. Once December and the new year arrives. Then you can work on fixing what you've written.

Alyssa represents an author, Jessica Burkhart, who sold a story that was written during NanoWrimo. Alyssa's advice to those willing to take the challenge: to make October the National Month of Planning for NanoWrimo. Make an outline, do character sketches, whatever you can do to know your characters and have an idea where you are going. I'm going to call this PlannoWrimo! :)

So, that's what I've been doing. I've been outlining my project and trying to understand who my characters are and what makes them tick.

Anyone else up for the challenge?

Due to the challenge, my blogging will most likely take back seat. However, I love my connection to blogland and my blog friends. When I read posts and comments I feel like it's the equivalent of meeting my buddies in the cafeteria for some chat time. So, in honor of NanoWrimo, the upcoming Christmas season, and a shameless attempt to lure my blogging buddies over to my cafeteria table, I am going to do lots of book giveaways in November. A minimum of one a week. Some that I have on deck include: Secrets of Droon, SkinnyBones, an American Girl Mystery and more!!!!

Go NanoWrimo! Anyone else crazy enough to try it?

Tales from the Conference: Agent Alyssa Eisner Henkin on pacing

What moves your story forward?

My mind must've been in Lala land this conference, because in addition to thinking about paper dolls being brought to life by us Good Fairies, I couldn't help but think of Slip~n~Slides when, Agent, Alyssa Eisner Henkin spoke on the subject of pacing.

Alyssa suggested that a motif" can be like a roadmap to your story. A Character trait or some other motif can help move your story forward.

So, there I sat, thinking that the plot is like the slip~n~slide, the characters are the squirts of water from the hose and the motif is inflatable raft that takes the reader from the beginning to the end.

Once example she used was in "The Secret Garden" where the tantrums of the protagonist were a motif used to show us the progression of the the characters growth.

Well . . . I think the sovereign Lord of the universe is also sovereign over Blogland, because it just so happens that I picked up a copy of THE TOP TEN USES FOR AN UNWORN PROM DRESS by Tina Ferraro (hi Tina!) and I just finished reading it. Not only is it a fun read, but it is also a PERFECT example of using a motif to move the story forward. The motif is so strong, that it is even used in the title!

When Nicolette is dumped shortly before the Prom, she is left with a gorgeous dress that she does NOT want to return. So she makes a list of things that can be done with her unworn promdress. Nicotlette's mother encourages her to keep this humorous list as a good-natured way to deal with the disappointment.

The book isn't actually about the uses for the unworn prom dress. Instead, the list that she makes reflects what is going on in her life as she deals with boys, her relationship with her absentee father, her mothers inability to make mortgage payments, the strange behavior of her best friend, and all the other things going wrong in her life.

See, whaddidItellya! Perfect! So, study this book if you'd like to learn more about how to use a motif to move your story forward.

As always, I welcome any other "motif" suggestions or insights in the comment section!

Happy slip~sliding!

Tension in the Break out sessions ~GASP!~

ImageChef.com Poetry Blender

So, did my title for today's blog catch your attention? Did it make you wonder what the topic was about? I hope so, because I'm trying to apply what I learned about tension from my second breakout session with Author Mark Johnson. (Yes, we're now back to notes from my SCBWI Carolina's conference)

We were given a list of 10 rules for creating tension. I'm just going to focus on the first one. Maybe I'll touch on the other points on another day.

Rule #1 Start the tension ASAP!

So, I decided to look at the first paragraphs of two current books that many people are calling "page-turners" "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins and "The Adoration of Jenna Fox" by Mary E. Pearson. I wanted to learn how they create tension right away. Here's what I learned from their opening lines:

THE HUNGER GAMES:
"When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold. My fingers stretch out, seeking Prim's warmth but finding only the rough canvas cover of the mattress. She must have had bad dreams and climbed in with our mother. Of course, she did. This is the day of reaping."

WHAT THIS TAUGHT ME ABOUT TENSION:
Create Tension by leaving hints. Make the reader wonder . . .: We don't know what the day of reaping is, but we know it's bad enough to cause bad dreams. We also know by the set up that there is a tenderness in the relationship between the protagonist and Prim. The reader is left to wonder about Prim and what may happen to this character later in the book.

THE ADORATION OF JENNA FOX:
"I used to be someone.
someone named Jenna Fox.
That's what they tell me. But I am more than a name. More than they tell me. More than the facts and statistics they fill me with. More than the video clips they make me watch.
More. But I'm not sure what.
"Jenna, come sit over here. You don't want to miss this." The woman I'm supposed to call Mother pats the cushion next to her.

WHAT THIS OPENING LINE TAUGHT ME ABOUT TENSION:
These simple lines burst with relational tension and leave us wondering and wanting to know more.
Who is Jenna Fox? Why doesn't she know who she is? What happened? What more is there?
We immediately see inner conflict in the protagonist as well as conflict with her mother. These end up being key issues throughout the book.

WHAT THESE OPENING LINES HAVE IN COMMON:
1) Neither hit us over the head with facts nor melodrama. They reel us in nice and slow.
2) Both "hint" at the conflicts that drive the action forward through the entire book.
3) They start out making the reader wonder what's going on and makes us ask "questions"

Are there any other insights you can gain from these opening lines? I'd love to hear your insights!

Tales from the Conference: Writers are really Good Fairies! Good Fairy 101.

Remember in the movie Pinocchio when the Good Fairy floats through the window in her sparkly blue gown with her handy-dandy magic wand in tow? And POOF! She turns Pinocchio into a real boy.

Guess what!? That's us! Writers have a magical power. The power to breathe life into our characters.

My first break-out session at last weeks SCBWI Carolina's conference was with author, Stephanie Green. Her session was titled CPR FOR WRITERS.

I couldn't help but imagine my characters running around as little paper dolls looking up at the first bright light of evening (aka my computer screen) crying out "I want to be a real _______ (girl, boy, bad guy, etc.)" And with my trusty pen I point, aim and POOF! My paper dolls inflate like a balloon, their flesh fill out and voila! The Characters are no longer flat. They have been given life!

So, here's Good Fairy 101. Giving shape and life to your paper dolls:

Stephanie's major point was "motivation with emotion." Motivation is everything and it has to be strong and sincere.

ie: if your character wants to be popular. . . Why does she want to be popular? What is her motivation and the emotion behind the motivation. She has to have a good reason in order to be believable.

Stephanie gave a great writing exercise to help us conjure up emotions from our own childhood so we can use them in our writing. She suggested that we take 20 minutes (or whatever allotted time we choose) and write down memories from our childhood. Dig deep, try to find things forgotten and associate the emotions that go with those memories. Even things that may have seemed insignificant. You might be surprised at the results.

I was surprised to remember Christmas time, my cousin always brought a gift, year after year, with a tag labeled "To: Aunt Cecil"

I never met aunt Cecil. Aunt Cecil never can to our family gathering, yet my cousin always brought a gift. This Aunt Cecil was always a quiet mystery to me. Who was she? Why didn't she come? This wasn't an major part of my life, but it still stirred a great deal of curiosity within me. An air of mystery at Christmas time.

So, if you're ever having writers block, or are just in the mood for a writing exercise, this is a lot of fun!

hmmm. . . I think I need to go shopping for a tiara and a pen that looks like a magic wand. After all, a Good fairy isn't complete w/o such accessories! :0)

I can hear our paper dolls crying out to us now!

Happy Good Fairying!

Tales From the Conference: The Stories behind the Stories. What I learned from Anita Silvey

Saturday morning started off with author, Anita Silvey giving us a little talk about Our Greatest Children's Books and the Stories Behind Them. First I was thinking "OK, how interesting can this be?"

Answer: VERY!

First of all, Anita if funny with a capitol PH! She could talk about how paint dries and she could make it funny or phunny. But this lady did her homework. The content, along with her speaking ability was pure delight. Here's some mini snippets from some of the things that she shared.

**** The following words are not verbatim. These are from my notes. Hopefully I wrote down the info correctly. If it's not, the error is in my note-taking, not in Anita's presentation.

1) Anne of Green Gables started out as a Sunday School story. Big publishers turned her down. When she went to a smaller publisher, they said they would publish the story, but they didn't think the story woudl sell well, so they offered to pay her a $500 flat fee. Luckily for her (and her estate), she turned them down.

2) The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahm = His editor HATED the book.

3) The Secret Garden = was considered an insignificant book in its time.

4) The Story of Ferdinand was meant to be a silly book, but because it was released during the war in Spain, it was taken to be political and it was analyzed as such.

5) Curious George was written by a Jewish German living in Paris. He and his wife had to wrap up his manuscripts, and ride their bikes out of the Country with the Nazi's 36 hours behind them all the way. When they arrived at the border, a German Guard stopped them for questioning. He asked what he did for a living. He replied "I'm a children's book writer." The guard asked to see his work, looked over the Curious George Manuscript, smiled and said "my son would love this book. You may pass through." So, Curious George literally saved the lives of his creators from the Nazi's.

6) The PB "The Carrot Seed" started out at over 10,000. No, that is not a typo with too many zero's. It really did start out at over 10,000 words. Now that's cutting down!

7) For Dr. Suess, No one would publish "To Think I Saw it on Mulberry Street" They all said his style was too different from the mainstream. He was about to burn his manuscript and give up writing when a chance meeting on the street brought him to the man who would go on to publish his book. He was known to say that if he had been walking on the other side of the street that day, he would have never been published and would have probably given up writing.

8) Gary Paulsen, the author of "Hatchet" didnt' put anything in his fiction that he hadn't tried himself.

9) Lois Lowry was encouraged not to write The Giver. They thought it would ruin her career.

10) Kate DiCamillo (author of "Because of Winn Dixie") was rejected over 4,000 times. Again, this isn't a typo. I'll type it again. 4,000 rejections. WOW! As a writer I don't know if I should be encouraged or discouraged!

I believe these stories (in more detail) along with many more are in Anita's book "100 Best Books for Children"


There was a lot more, but these are the ones that caught my attention the most. Anyone who was there, and would like to share anything else, please add it in the comments!

Tales from the Conference: My critique and Place your vote!

My SCBWI Carolina's conference experience started off with a 10 page critique with editor Martha Mahalick, editor at Greenwillow.

Martha gave me great insight and encouragement. On my current work in progress.

The encouragement: She said that what she read intrigued her and that she could tell that I had created a fully-realized world with interesting characters. My writing is smooth and dialogue flows naturally.
~squeal!~ That makes me happy.

But. . . . there's still work to be done.
1) my villian is too villiany, aka, too flat.
2) and she felt that some of the dialogue that included back story had too much info. There was a feeling that those sections of dialogue had a feeling of "too much info" for the readers benefit, instead of how people would really talk.

3) She thought I could give more thought to the Title. My original title was "The Search for the Charm Keepers" but she said that sounded more MG than YA. And though she wouldn't reject a piece based on a title, she said that there have been things that have come across her desk and the title alone made her want to pick it up and read it. So, if a better title can get an editors attention, you better bet your bippy that I'll work on it! :0)

So, what am I going to do to fix it?

1) I'm going to take my villian out for coffee and ask him about his childhood and what makes him tick. Why does he do what he does? How does he justify his actions, because surely he doesn't see himself as villian. How does he see himself? hmmmm. . . maybe I can get him a spot on Oprah, I'm sure she can get him to spill his gutts.

2) I'm not quite sure how to fix dialogue. The first step is to go through it again, find the places that need to be fixed and have my critique group do that too, and then go from there. If anyone has any advice on how to fix dialogue, please leave it in the comments. Any in put is appreciated.

and last #3) The title. I think I've decided on a new title "Unseen Enemy"
Do you like it? Cast your vote now!










Not onlly does Martha have great advice, but she has an awesome collection of shoes as well! and she says, I quote, "I think cute shoes are the secret to world domination."

SCBWI Carolina's 16th Annual Conference Day is Here!

Conference Day is Here! The count down clock is set to mark my first scheduled activity, which is a 10 page critique with Martha Mihalick, editor at Greenwillow. I'll be sure to take lots of notes, and pictures and I'll take time to blog about all the things I learn!!!! I'm so excited. I love conference time! :0)

What's pitching got to do with writing?

Lets play pretend. Look at each scenario. What would REALLY happen?

1. You are at the bookstore. You have no idea what book you want, but you want a book that will draw you in and captivate you. To make your decision you . . .

A. Take every book off the shelf, read the first chapter, maybe two, of every book. I mean hey! There's only thirty books in your pile and you've got all day. Right?

B. Place each book next to your ear to see if one "speaks" to you

C. Read that jacketflap, maybe the first page too.

2. Now imagine that you are an editor or an agent. You can't see the top of your desk for all of the manuscripts that need to be read. Not to mention you have deadlines, phone calls, meetings and paper work to fill out and at noon you have to be at the airport to take off for a speaking engagement. Oh crap! You have to prepare your speech too! Now, to get through that stack of manuscripts . . . . . . .

A. you slowly peruse each manuscript, drinking in every word, while fork lifts bring in more manilla envelopes to add to your pile, your phone continues to ring, and somebody pops their head in your office every two seconds to tell you or remind you of somthing that you've got to do. . .

B. Put each envelope next to your ear to see if one "speaks" to you.

C. skim through the manuscripts. If they can't catch your eye in a few seconds, you know the manuscript will never catch the eye of the people who answered "C" to question number 1.


3. A family member asks you about your writing. "What is the book about?" they ask. You . . . .

A. say "You see, ummm. . there's this kid who, ummmm, goes out into the . . . " and soon the person you are talking gets zombie eyes, starts backing towards the door and just says "oh"

B. pause, because how do you explain your book? It's so long, you've worked on it for so many months. Where do you begin to tell your tale to this person who will, no doubt, want to hear ever detail?!

C. Repeat in a minute or less a short "hook" that you've prepared. The family member is impressed and intrigued and very grateful that you didn't go on and on and on and on . . .


What does a "pitch" have to do with writing? If you're just writing for yourself, nothing. If you're writing for publication . . . everything. So you've written something wonderful. Great! Now how do you get editors, agents and the general public to read it? You have to create an interest, and in this day and age, you don't have much time to hook'em and reel'em in. A pitch is how you get someone else interested in your story; how you get an editor to read more . . . how you get a customer to buy your book over thousands of others.

So, now you wonder, how do I prepare a pitch? What do I include? How long should it be?

I'm glad you aked. My, but aren't you sharp and studious! Here are some links and info for you.

#1
It just so happens that Helene Boudreau just posted a great blog about pitching over at her little piece of blogland. She uses Fancy Nancy and Walter the Farting Dog as examples. In short, she says a good pitch should include who the character is, what their conflict is and give a hint at the outcome of the story. (she even color coded her examples! this is a gal I'd like to hang with! I love color coding!) You've got to check out her post. Click here to read more. It's a great example!

#2
Here's a link to my notes from Sarah Shumway, editor at Dutton. She gave a great talk on the importance of pitches at our annual Chapel Hill retreat this past April. Click here for my notes and some pictures too! bonus!

#3
The SCBWI Carolina's Annual conference is going to give their participants a chance to share their pitches with one another speed-dating style. Just the thought of it makes my palms swaeat. But it needs to be done. If you can't do it in a relaxed setting among your peers, how can you do it anywhere else? To help us prepare, they provided a Pitch Practice Form for us to use. You can look it up by clicking here.


In short, a pitch should be 1-3 brief sentences. In choosing what to include, use info that makes your story unique. Use sharp adjectives. Don't just say "a girl" tell us what kind of girl she is. etec.

Another place you may want to check out is a blog where there was a pitching contest a few months ago. consequently, I, ahem, won the contest. Hey! Did anyone just hear that? Sounded like a horn. Oh wait, that's just me. Anyway, the great thing about this contest is that the judges left comments for each participant, telling them what made the pitch good, and what could make the pitch stronger. There's nothing like hearing it from people who have been there done that. Click here to read the entries and the judges coments.


I hope this post is helpful.

The pitcher is standing on the mound . . . her eyes are focused, the pitcher looks fierce today folks! This could be an exciting game! And the pitch . . . . . . . (The crowd goes wild!)