Musings of a Restless Mind

SCBWI Winter Conference 2012 According to Ishta

2012-01-25T06:00:00.002-05:00

It's two short days until the start of the SCBWI Winter Conference in New York City, and if you're in the same boat as me, you've already gotten down that suitcase and started planning your gala outfit. (Mine? Black slacks, black fitted top, and silver and black jacket. Oh, yeah.) You've read the how-to's and the Do's-and-Don'ts, and you're pretty much ready to go.

But what about the finer points, like potty breaks, where to eat, and how to get your tongue unstuck from the roof of your mouth come citique session time? Have a gander at my little list, where I'll walk you through some of the things I learned last time around.

Number One: For the restroom, look no further than your hotel room. The bathroom lines on the main conference levels are ca-RAY-zee in between sessions, so if you're staying at the venue, your own room is a much faster bet. Plus, the people who have no other option (because they're staying somewhere else) will thank you. And let's not forget the advantage of a guaranteed supply of toilet paper.

Number Two: Holy dog-doodles, if there are slower elevators than the ones at the Hyatt at conference time, then I don't know about them. Like, seriously, I think they must have a guy standing on each one hoisting them up by hand. They're great for getting up and down to your room (even at potty break time), but for the love of print, to get from Breakout Session A to Breakout Session B, use the stairs or escalators. MUCH faster. (Unless you HAVE to use the elevators, of course. Wheelchairs on the stairs are obviously not a good idea.)

Number Three: The person who told you you could switch breakout sessions with your roommate is a liar, liar, pants on fire. They've got a list at the door and they're keeping track, so don't even try. You'll just embarrass the gatekeeper, and piss off the people behind you who did their homework and signed up months ago to see that speaker and are now missing the first ten minutes while you argue with whomever is at the door. BUT...

Number Four: Sharing notes from breakout sessions with friends is totally, 100% kosher. Encouraged, even. Do it with everyone's blessing, and everybody wins.

Number Five: The surrounding streets are packed with amazing places to eat; you can literally follow your nose. But if you don't feel like braving the cold, the food court at Grand Central Station is an awesome place to chow down! The Spanish food place is super good. Just...

Number Six: Avoid the washrooms at Grand Central Station. Anyplace that has signs limiting teeth brushing to five minutes* isn't the place to be doing Mother Nature's business. See Tip Number One.

Number Seven: Another must-do at Grand Central is the whispering gallery in one of the hallways: you stand at one corner of the intersection, your writer-buddy stands at the other, and the domed ceiling carries your whispers to one another's ears. Pretty neat-o.

Number Eight: The critique sessions aren't just about you getting feedback. They're also about you offering your best, well-intentioned feedback to others. Those editors and agents aren't just interested in your pages: they're interested in you. So be generous, and give as you would like to receive.

Number Nine: Plan meeting places WAAAAY ahead of time. Like, now if you haven't done it already. And be specific. "The entrance to the Ballroom" won't cut it, because there are several of them; "The corner of the fountain in the lobby closest to the elevators" probably will.** Think 2,000 people, guys. It's busy in that there hotel.

Number Ten: Have business cards and a warm handshake at the ready, and be prepared to make friends. The people you will meet are all kinds of awesome - people who make books for kids are some of the nicest, most generous people in the world. Say hi to everybody, introduce yourself, and have a great time.

See you there!

*I have real photographic evidence of this.
**But you can't have that corner - that one's mine.

Is it Really the End of January Already?

2012-01-23T09:51:00.000-05:00

My first post of 2012, and we're already in the last full week of January. Where did it go?

Well, I'll tell you. It went into reinsulating my attic (myself), and lots and lots of revision, and some querying, and many many discussions that began with, "You know, we live pretty far from the kids' school, and our old house is a lot of work - maybe we should move," and ended with, "I love our house."

We had a lot of plans for this house when we bought it. Plans that involved an addition and at least one more washroom and drywall in the attic. Needless to say, we hadn't really costed out those things, and then life happened and five years later, here we are in the same house with all this potential - exactly the same potential it had when we bought it.

We could call it a day, but we still love the house. It has a solid foundation, a nice layout, and the rooms are in proportion to one another. It flows nicely, and feels balanced. But some of the rooms aren't used as well as they could be, and there's still only one washroom. So we did some rethinking, and some re-enivsioning. We revised our idea of what this house can be. And a year or two from now, it's going to be AMAZING. I can't wait.

If you have a manuscript lying around that hasn't really gone anywhere - maybe the plot is solid but there's a character missing who really needs to be part of the story, or maybe the setting needs more personality, or maybe there's something else that needs to be changed - try re-envisioning it. Try looking at it from a different angle, and maybe you'll see how to make it work.

Happy revising.

Happy Holidays!

2011-12-21T10:26:00.000-05:00

May your bookcases runneth over, and may your mailboxes be full (of publishing contracts!).

See you all in 2012!

Friday Favorites WORLD RECORDS!

2011-12-09T06:00:00.007-05:00

I once aspired to be in the Guinness Book of World Records. I was 9, and I saw a picture of a woman standing on a chair. Her hair went all the way down to the floor, came back up, was draped over her arm, and went down to the floor again. That was some L-O-N-G hair. I decided that I wanted to have even L-O-N-G-E-R hair.

Of course, genetics kind of got in the way of that one. Same for the tallest and shortest categories, and a lot of other categories.

But who am I kidding? I still want to be a world record holder. It's just a thing. Don't you feel the same way?

Enter Corey Henderson and Dan Rollman, yellow jacket wearers extraordinaire and founders of THE RECORDSETTER BOOK OF WORLD RECORDS, whose philosophy is that everyone can be the world's best at something: you just have to figure out what that something is.

With records like Longest Time Hula-Hooping While Standing on One Leg (12 minutes, 1.45 seconds), Most Balloons Used in a Costume (a whopping 154), and Most Bunnies Snuggled With in a Hammock (50, held by none other than Cameron Diaz), this website and accompanying book bring the fun back to record-setting, and prove that you don't have to be genetically blessed or favored by the Universe to be a World Record Holder - you just have to be creative, and have a healthy sense of fun.

Check out their website at www.recordsetter.com and their Facebook page at fb.com/recordsetter, and follow them on Twitter at twitter.com/recordsetter. And get their book, but be warned: you won't be able to resist trying to set your OWN record!

As for me, I think I might go for "Most Toy Cars Stacked and Balanced on a Forehead." Or maybe, since my hair is pretty big, "Largest Straw Wig." Or "Largest Toothpick Wig." Or maybe ALL THREE. Heh-heh-heh...

What record have you always wanted to set?

Wisdom on Wednesdays: When Networking was Always Social

2011-12-07T06:00:00.001-05:00

"Social Networking"

Let's admit it - it's a buzz word. Possibly THE buzz word. But why?

Because the gadgets DO allow us to lose touch while we think we're keeping in touch, so we need to remind ourselves that all that time we spend MyFaceSpace+TweetBlogging shouldn't just be about us and our product. We need to build in the time to connect with other people, ask them questions about their interests, talk about life and science and cupcakes, swap stories about our kids and share our favorite songs.

But that isn't the only way. Once upon a time, networking meant going to a place where there were others in your field, like a meeting or a conference or an awards ceremony and shaking hands with people and starting a conversation.

In the publishing industry, it still means that. We have SCBWI conferences (and CANSCAIPmeetings and conferences too if you live in Canada), and awards ceremonies, and book launches, and book clubs, and all kinds of fun writerly things going on.

As we spend December cramming in the pre-Christmas gift exchanges and charity dinners, let's think about how we can make a new start in January by either starting a local writerly event, or finding one to attend regularly. Some of my most treasured friendships and best person-to-person connections in the publishing world started with a handshake and a conversation. I hope it will be the same for you.

How do you plan to put the "social" back in "Social Networking" in 2012?

NaNo, No, No.

2011-12-05T06:00:00.001-05:00

So I didn't make the 50,000 words for NaNoWriMo. To be honest, I didn't even come close.

I did outline, and I did write a few scenes. I've made a great start on my novel. But I didn't finish.

It came down to this: my Physical Therapy team told me that in order to heal my shoulder, I would need to do about 40 minutes of exercises and stretches three times a day for several weeks.

40 minutes x 3 = 2 hours a day = my NaNo time.

I hated making that decision, but when it comes down to healing and taking care of my body versus spitting out 50,000 words of crap, taking care of myself wins every time.

SO.

I don't have a crappy novel that will need months and months of revision. I DO have a couple of well-crafted scenes that will probably change anyway, but are serving as a good foundation. I have a solid outline. I have a chapter book whose first half is beautiful and whose second half is about to go out to my crit group for feedback. And I have a bunch of many-times revised picture books that are nice and shiny and polished. (You'd be amazed how much work you can get done on a picture book when you only have slivers of time scattered here and there.)

All things considered, I did okay.

How was your November?

In Memoriam: RIP, Anne McCaffrey

2011-11-23T18:02:00.000-05:00

I received the sad news in my inbox today that Anne McCaffrey, author of the Dragonriders of Pern series, has passed away.

I was an avid reader and watcher of Sci-Fi as a kid - I lost myself in Star Trek episodes and devoured the Pern series. Anne McCaffrey was a big part of why I decided to write books: I wanted to give kids the same feeling of being transported that I felt while reading her books. She was one of the greatest sci-fi writers ever to have written, in my opinion, and the world is better for having had her in it.

You can read more HERE, in Galleycat's feed.

MMGM: THE TIFFIN, by Mahtab Narsimhan

2011-11-14T06:56:00.000-05:00

It's MMGM time! Marvelous Middle Grade Monday was started by the lovely Shannon Whitney Messenger, who thought Middle Grade deserved more internet attention, and I agree! So most Mondays I spotlight a great Middle Grade book that I've read and loved.

This week, I want to tell you about THE TIFFIN, by Mahtab Narsimhan. Here's the cover copy: Bombay is home to the dabbawallas, a group of deliverymen who bring boxed lunches -- called tiffins -- to workers all over the city. For every six million lunches that are sent, a tiffin goes missing only once.

This is a story about one of those times.

When a note placed in a tiffin is lost, young Kunal is separated from his birth mother and ends up living as a twelve-year-old slave under the thumb of his foster father, Seth.

Kunal turns to his friend, a kindly old dabbawalla named Vinayak, for help. Vinayak takes Kunal under his wing, showing him the world through the eyes of a tiffin carrier. Filled with new hope for a better life, Kunal hatches a plan that could reunite him with his mother.

Aren't you just dying to know what the plot is and whether it works? I know I was after reading that.

I loved the characters in this book: Kunal is a true picture of a twelve-year-old boy, complete with stubborn temperament, and I really wanted him to find his birth mother and have her love him. I can't tell you what happens, obviously, but I can tell you that there are lots of twists and turns, and that at one point I was on the edge of my seat almost shouting at Kunal. (You'll know that scene when you get to it!)

But the thing that I most loved about this book is the setting, and the way she makes it come alive on the page. From the very first line, the sights and sounds and smells of Bombay swirl around in your mind. The descriptions are so vivid that I actually feel as if I have been there, even though I never have. And the little bits of Hindi dropped throughout the dialogue and text are the perfect finishing touch.

The bottom line is that I really loved this book. Not only is it a great story, but it brings Bombay (now Mumbai) alive for young readers who may never have a chance to see it in person, and that alone is a pretty amazing gift. So check it out! And if you liked THE TIFFIN, you'll want to check out her other books, which you can do HERE.

And then go to Shannon's blog HERE, for links to more Marvelous Middle Grade!

Friday Favorites: Licensed Toys

2011-11-11T17:55:00.000-05:00

It's Friday! The sun was shining, there was a light dusting of snow floating down through the air, and I finally started some strengthening exercises for my shoulder.What an awesome way to end the week.

And to top it all off, I opened my son's Scholastic leaflets this morning and saw that fellow writer, all-around wonderful person, and friend Helaine Becker has some AWESOME news: the porcupine in her Christmas book, A PORCUPINE IN A PINE TREE, has been turned into an adorable little plushie! I don't want to accidentally breach copyright by posting a picture of it, so I'll link to the Scholastic page, which is HERE, so you can go over there and admire it.

I'll wait.

ISN'T IT CUTE?!? I'm so thrilled for Helaine and Werner (who illustrated the book), I can't tell you. Except, I just did. Um... (Hey, it's Friday. Don't judge.)

So, this got me thinking about a good theme for this week's Favorite: licensed stuff! You know, those character-based dolls, bookmarks, stationery sets and the like. Some people hate those things, but I'm a total sucker for having physical evidence of my obsessions.

When I was a kid, I loved the Hello Kitty erasers and stationery sets.

Now, I'm into plushies. I'm particularly fond of the Zoobies. They're large plush toys that have soft fleecy blankets inside. They start out looking like this:

Ant then you open up a couple of velcros and do a bit of unrolling and they end up like this:

PERFECT for snuggling up under with your favorite book, or for keeping your legs warm during a four-hour typing marathon.

I've got the Olivia one in my office, but there's also a Very Hungry Catterpillar one that I'm really hankering for.

So how about you? Is there a character-inspired toy/stationery set/thing-a-ma-bob that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside? What's your favorite?

NaNo Nutso

2011-11-09T14:22:00.000-05:00

LORDYCAKES, I have dropped the blogging ball this month. Sorry guys. NaNo + PiBo + houseguest = crazy Ishta. I'll try to do better from here on in.

FIRST, my next MMGM will go up NEXT MONDAY, when I will be spotlighting one of my favorite books to come out this year by one of my favorite people, so make sure to come back for that.

And now for the nutso part...

I changed my NaNo project at the last minute. I was originally going to write a YA dystopian that I've been thinking about for a few months now, but the characters just weren't coming together. And then I met Sandra Bogart Johnston last month at a conference, and hearing about some of the books she's been working on got me thinking about my family and their role in WWII, and THAT got me thinking... there's a book in here somewhere. And I really want to write it.

So I'm outlining and taking notes for a YA historical about the guerilla movement in the Philippines during the Second World War. And I love it. That stuff about writing the book you're burning to write is totally true - I've never had the words fly out so fast before.

What have you been writing about? How is NaNoLand treating you?

NaNo News

2011-11-01T23:19:00.000-04:00

It's November! And you know what that means...

National Novel Writing Month!

and...

Picture Book Idea Month!

And because I'm CRAZY, I'm doing both again! WOO-HOO! Let's hear it for the crazy people!

So, the thing to know is that this month, posting will be erratic. There will be one MMGM post next Monday, and NaNo posts on Wednesdays, and maybe the odd random Friday letting-off-steam post about nothing in particular, but for the most part, I'm not going to be here. Because I'm going to be HERE, in NaNoLand.

Are you NaNo-ing this year? If you are, come find me - my user name is Ishta - and let's be buddies!

And in the meantime, I've spent the last few days wondering how to start my NaNo novel. Last year, I started on page one. But there's more than one way to steamroll your way through 50,000 words, and this year, I'm trying something different.

I'm just going to start. I've got the beginning of a scene in my head, and I'm just going to start there and work my way over, around and through this thing.

So if you're like me, sitting there with this kernel of an idea and wondering what to do with it, maybe try that. Just start with the scene that is your idea, and go from there. See where it takes you.

Happy NaNoWriMo-ing!

Friday Shout-Outs - SCBWI Canada East edition!

2011-10-28T06:00:00.001-04:00

Every time I go to an SCBWI Canada East conference, I'm struck by what a supportive group of people writers are. We back each other up, cheer each other on, and urge each other forward at every opportunity, and I am so grateful for each and every one of my writing friends.

Some people you need to meet are:

Catherine Austen, critique partner extraordinaire, who writes picture books about cats, Middle Grade novels about surviving incredible losses, and YA dystopian. Can you say "versatile"? Am I thrilled and honoured to have her eyes on my PB manuscripts every month? Hell, yes. Is she super-nice and encouraging? Totally. Do I love her to pieces? Yes, I do.
Rachna Gilmore, another incredibly versatile writer whose work runs the gamut from hilarious to touching and back again. I heard her read an excerpt from her novel THAT BOY RED and it was absolutely captivating. And her blog is smart, and full of helpful things for writers to think about and implement in their own work. Read it.
Ben Hodson, illustrator extraordinaire who has lived the kind of life that you think you can only read about in books. I'm serious. If you don't believe me, find him at a conference and ask him to tell you about his illustrating journey. And in the meantime, follow his blog.

There are more, but you'll have to come back next week to meet them. And in the meantime, have a great weekend!

Revision With RJ Anderson

2011-10-26T06:00:00.000-04:00

Earlier this month, I had the enormous pleasure of attending SCBWI Canada East's fall conference in Ottawa, where I met literary agent Susan Hawk (who was super helpful in her talk about queries and what makes them work), Scholastic Canada editor Sandra Bogart Johnston (whom I had met previously at the TD Awards, but I didn't have my glasses on that night because I'm a dork (yes, it's true), so I only sort-of recognized her, but she was VERY gracious about it!), illustrator Ben Hodson (who I think is the most versatile illustrator I have ever met), and a whole whack of other people.

And I had my arm in a sling the whole time!* So I couldn't even come on here to blog about it until just now! But believe me, you wish you were there.

On Saturday, RJ Anderson, author of SPELL HUNTER and two more books in that series and of ULTRAVIOLET, out just now, as well as another upcoming series, talked about revision. More specifically, she talked about the difference between true revision and tweaking, which is what most of us do when we think we're revising.

I can't go into the details of what RJ said - for that, you just need to go hear her talk about it. But the one thing she said that resonated with me the most was that revision is exactly that: it's a re-VISION. I's seeing your MS in a new way.

So, onward, faithful blog-readers. Listen to that voice in your head that is telling you that something isn't quite there. Have the courage to truly revise your work. And if you ever get a chance to hear RJ Anderson talk in person, do it.

*See the asterisk at the bottom of Monday's post.

MMGM: Justin Case: School, Drool, and Other Daily Disasters, by Rachel Vail

2011-10-24T06:00:00.002-04:00

I'm back with another Marvelous Middle Grade read! Marvelous Middle Grade Monday is the brainchild of Shannon Whitney Messenger, who thinks Middle Grade deserves more online attention that it's been getting, and I agree! So check back every Monday for my take on great Middle Grade reads.*

This week I wanted to highlight JUSTIN CASE: SCHOOL, DROOL, AND OTHER DAILY DISASTERS, by Rachel Vail. Here's the blurb from Goodreads: It’s the start of the school year, and nothing feels right to Justin. He didn’t get the teacher he wanted, he’s not in the same class as his best friend, and his little sister, Elizabeth, is starting kindergarten at his school. Elizabeth doesn’t seem nervous at all. Justin is very nervous about third grade. And to top it off, he’s lost his favorite stuffed animal, but he can’t tell anyone, because technically he’s too old to still have stuffed animals. Right? Here is third grade in all its complicated glory—the friendships, the fears, and the advanced math. Acclaimed author Rachel Vail captures third grade with a perfect pitch, and Matthew Cordell’s line art is both humorous and touching. As Justin bravely tries to step out of his shell, he will step into readers’ hearts.

And I have to say that this book does not disappoint. The voice is pitch perfect - I can hear my son, who is quite the third-grade worrywart himself, on every page. And I was struck by the skill with which Vail captures the diary voice, while at the same time managing to make every plot point and turn of events relevant to the story and to the development of the character. This was a great read, and it was one that both my son and I enjoyed. Check it out!

And be sure to check out Shanon's blog HERE for more MMGM!

*Except for the past couple of weeks. I dislocated my shoulder - pantyhose + wooden stairs = bad, people. Don't do it. And typing with one arm in a sling? Slower than frozen molasses. So I haven't posted in a while - but I'm back! My shoulder is stiff, but at least I can move it enough to type!

Pay it Forward Blogfest Blog-hop

2011-10-14T06:00:00.002-04:00

It's finally here! The Paying it Forward Blogfest!

For those of you who don't know, this blogfest is the brainchild of super-bloggers Matthew MacNish and Alex Cavanaugh, and the whole point is for participants share with you three blogs that we know and love so everyone can discover new blogs to read and love. And there were 171 people participating last time I checked that linky list at the bottom of this post, so I'm going to make this short so you guys can get on with the finding and following!

Blog numero uno is one that I love because it gives me some insight into what teens and young people are reading and loving, and why. Featuring book reviews, buzz, and giveaways, it not to be missed. It's called Reading Teen, and you can find it HERE.

Next up: Reading in Colour, by the wonderful, generous, wise-beyond-her-years MissA. This blog was started to bring attention to books about people of colour, which could use some more attention, if you ask me. With honest reviews, giveaways, and spotlights on issues like whitewashing of covers, this blog is one to pay attention to. Read it HERE.

Finally, a blog for the science nerd in all of us: Sci/Why. Featuring some of my favorite writer-peeps (like Lindsey Carmichael, critter and ledge-talker-downer extraordinaire, and Helaine Becker, a networking powerhouse who can research and write about anything and who is a wonderfully nice person to boot), this blog tackles questions covering everything from what eyebrows are for to just how dirty fuel from those oil sands really is. Find it HERE.

Yeah, I snuck in a couple extra ones there. I couldn't resist. I can never just choose a few; there are so many great blogs to choose from.

Now visit the other peeps on this linky list, and happy blog-hopping!

Your turn. What's one of your favorite, not-very-well-known blogs?

Shout-Outs, TD Award Edition

2011-10-12T23:30:00.000-04:00

I'm participating in my blogging friend Matthew MacNish's Pay It Forward Blogfest this Friday, so we're mixing it up a little today. But this is important, so it's worth breaking from the routine.

I had the great pleasure last week of attending the amazing, literary star-studded TD Canadian Children's Literature Award presentation and gala - and wow, what a party!

The food was great. The people were fabulous.(OF COURSE! I mean, a room full of book people, guys!) The presentation of awards was exciting and wonderful. And then, more food! I made off at the end (to heckling from the waitstaff) with three mini cupcakes. Yum!

But the reason we were all there was to honor the best in our craft. I know a lot of my readers are in the US and may not know a lot about Canadian kidlit, so I want to take a minute to list here the winners of the various awards presented Tuesday night, so you can go check them out.

And here they are, in the order in which they were awarded on the night:

The winner of the Geoffrey Bilson Award for Historical Fiction for Young People:

THE GLORY WIND, written by Valerie Sherrard, published by Fitzhenry & Whiteside

The Winner of the John Spray Mystery Award:

A SPY IN THE HOUSE, written by Y. S. Lee, published by Candlewick Press

The Winner of the Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children's Non-Fiction:

CASE CLOSED? NINE MYSTERIES UNLOCKED BY MODERN SCIENCE, written by Susan Hughes, illustrated by Michael Wandelmaier, published by Kids Can Press

Winner of the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award:

I KNOW HERE, written by Laurel Croza, illustrated by Matt James, published by Groundwood Books

Winner of the TD Canadian Children's Literature Award:

PLAIN KATE, written by Erin Bow, published by Scholastic Canada

(And Erin won all of our hearts with her teary-eyed speech when accepting the award - she complimented every one of the other books nominated. A class act all the way.)

So, go check out these amazing books by Canada's best. Happy reading!

Wisdom on Wednesday: From the Mouths of Babes

2011-10-05T20:27:00.001-04:00

My kids made this the other day, and my 8 year-old son said about it:

"If you wear these then whenever you fall down, you'll always land on your feet."

The writing business and the acting business have a lot in common:

They're both about storytelling.
They're both about finding the emotional truth of each moment.
They both involve a lot of rejection.

And you'll be a lot better off if you can always land on your feet.

How my kids picked up on that is anybody's guess. But I'm so glad they did. Theirs are words to live by.

What have you learned from the kids in your life lately?

The Art of Revision

2011-10-04T10:33:00.000-04:00

First, this post is one day late. Sorry about that. This has been a crazy start to October.

And part of the crazy is that I've been rewriting a lot. In particular, I had this one manuscript - my CPs will know which one I'm talking about, but I won't say here - that was pretty darn good, if I do say so myself. Most everyone who looked at it thought it was either ready, or very very close.

Except for one person, who thought it was too quiet to be marketable. That person was an agent.

So, I wrote a new version. A much more character-driven version. And I think it's a lot more marketable, but I don't know yet if it's better.

Does that matter? What good is a great manuscript if I can't sell it? Should I go ahead and try to market my masterpiece, and to heck with selling lots of copies? Should I drawer the old one and go with this newer, more marketable, maybe not amazing but still pretty good version?

These are the questions running circles in my mind this morning.

Do you ever sacrifice a small amount of quality for marketability?

Friday Shout-Outs - Rejection Letters of Awesome

2011-09-30T14:30:00.000-04:00

My amazing CP Kristen Hilty, whose blogs over HERE at The Monkey Patch, is running a "Rejection Letter Tally" contest over at her blog. It got me thinking:

Rejection letters really aren't that bad.

Sure, they represent another name to cross off your list, another place where your book won't find a home - at least, not this draft of it.

But they also represent a growing network of people who understand who you are and what you do. They mean that you're getting your name, and your work, out there. They represent names to add to the growing list of people who you can send your work to in the future, when you are a stronger writer and your manuscripts are even better than they are now.

So, here's to sending out your work. Here's to opening yourself to the possibility of another rejection letter: because you're also opening yourself to the possibility that some day down the line, something wonderful is going to happen.

Read a Banned Book Today

2011-09-28T06:00:00.009-04:00

So I read on Lisa Asanuma's blog yesterday that the last week of September is Banned Books Week. If you're like me, then the first thing that comes to mind when you read that is the recent censorship of Mark Twain's HUCKLEBERRY FINN, in which the "N-word" was replaced with the word "slaves" in a misgiuded attempt to protect the innocent eyes and minds of the current generation from the horrors of racism. Because, you know, that's waaaay better than talking to them about racism and educating them about healthy attitudes towards our fellow human beings and what lessons we can learn from the past, especially since we're sooo far beyond that now. It's not like anybody ever talks openly about hating Muslims or anything. *ahem* (In case you weren't sure, that was some pretty heavy sarcasm there.)

But to get back to the point, I expected to find HUCKLEBERRY FINN in the list.

HOWEVER, there were, for me anyway, some real shockers on the list of banned books. Like Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography, banned because of its accounts of his having a child out of wedlock and making advances towards younger women. Neither of which I knew about before now, but that doesn't change the fact that he contributed enormously to America. I can't believe his autobiography was actually banned at one point.

Or LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE, by Laura Ingalls Wilder, banned at one time for its racist attitude towards Native Americans. (See my comments about HUCKLEBERRY FINN above.)

But most shocking to me is the news that the HARRY POTTER series has been banned from some schools in the US for advocating wizardry and witchcraft.

Umm... Yeah. I think you know where I'm going with this one.

Suffice to say that while I respect every parent's right to guide their children's reading choices, I do not in any way, shape, or form support the idea that a book should be banned wholesale from any school, library, bookstore, city, country, hillock, or any other place. I believe in the free and peaceful exchange of ideas through conversation and printed matter. In other words, banning books = seriously bad.

So in honor of Banned Books Week, I'm reading a few banned books. On my TBR pile for this week are Lois Lowry's THE GIVER, John Steinbeck's THE GRAPES OF WRATH, and if I have time, George Orwell's 1984 (which I've already read, but it's a book that bears re-reading). I'm already reading HARRY POTTER, so let's throw that one on the pile, too. (I know. I'm a little behind. But I was waiting until they were all out to save myself from the anguish of having to wait a year between books to find out what would happen next. That's my line, and I'm sticking to it.)

Check out the list on Lisa's blog HERE (because I don't want to steal for my blog a list that she clearly worked hard to find or compile), and tell me:

Are there any surprises on this list? More importantly, what banned book will you be reading?

MMGM: THE CITY OF EMBER

2011-09-26T06:00:00.001-04:00

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday was started by Shannon Whitney Messenger, because she wants to give Middle Grade fiction the attention it deserves out here in the blogosphere. And I agree!

So this week, I'm spotlighting a real favorite of mine: THE CITY OF EMBER, by Jeanne DuPrau.

Here's the back copy: Citizens of Ember shall be assigned work at twelve years of age...

Lina Mayfleet desperately wants to be a messenger. Instead, she draws the dreaded job of Pipeworks laborer, which means she'll be working in damp tunnels deep underground.

Doom Harrow draws messenger - and asks Lina to trade! Doon wants to be underground. That's where the generator is, and Doon has ideas about how to fix it. For as long as anyone can remember, the great lights of Ember have kept the endless darkness at bay. But now the lights are beginning to flicker...

I loved so much about this book. I love the way the characters come to life. Lina and Doon are both so well thought out and fleshed out and consistent that I was rooting for them the whole way.

Additionally, there's a mystery element to this, and it's pitched just right: not so easy that my son felt insulted when he was reading it, and not so hard that my he couldn't figure it out. It was just enough for him to think about and he was able to make the discoveries either with Lina and Doon, or just barely ahead of them enough to root for them. Finding a book that does this well for this age group is tough, so I really appreciate it when I do.

Even more, this is a book that stays with you for a while. It raises questions about what it is to be a good citizen, what it is to be a good person, and what it means to wield power over others. It explores how even the best of intentions can, over time, go horribly wrong, and how individuals can make it into something positive again. It gets young minds asking some really good questions.

Finally, I loved the ending. I thought it was perfect. It wrapped up just enough to satisfy the reader, but not so much that anyone's intelligence was going to be insulted. It left things on just the right note, and I love it when I find a book that does that.

In short, this book is awesome. My son and I couldn't read it fast enough.

And for even more MMGM, check out the faboo list-o-links at the bottom of Shannon Whitney Messenger's post HERE.

Also: my amazing PB CP Kristen Hilty is doing a contest and giveaway over at her blog The Monkey Patch. Go HERE to check it out!

Wisdom on Wednesdays: Critique Isn't Just for Writers

2011-09-21T06:00:00.001-04:00

I had an experience this week wherein I had to give some really negative feedback to a person. It wasn't a writer-person - it was in another arena of my life - and I realized as I prepared for this meeting that if I had had to give this feedback three years ago, I would have done it differently.

More harshly.

There might even have been tears.

But this time, without even thinking about it, I planned what I had to say so that I sandwiched the negative stuff (which was HUGE) between some pretty positive stuff.

It was a really good, really productive meeting. We parted ways with an action plan, and a plan to meet again to follow up.

I have benefited so much from my writing life.

How has what you have learned as a writer bled into your life?

Reposting for MMGM: BURN by Alma Fullerton

2011-09-19T06:00:00.000-04:00

This is a repost. I originally did this review on a Friday as a Shout-Out, because I know Alma and she is kick-ass awesome But this book really deserves some MMGM attention.

I read a book last night that pretty much took my breath away. It almost made me cry, and books do not make me cry.

BURN, by Alma Fullerton

I have known Alma for a couple of years now. She's the Assistant Regional Advisor for SCBWI Canada East, and she was one of the first people to encourage me to keep writing. As a moderator of one of my critique groups, she continues to encourage me, as well as many, many others. And she's a damn fine writer.

Things I loved about this book:

- It includes a, honest portrayal of an autistic sibling, and the relationship between her and the MC (who is the older sister) is bang-on.

- It addresses how having a child with special needs can affect each family member in different ways, both good and bad. In other words, it tells the truth about families like this.

- The decision that the mother makes early on in the book, and the decisions that the father makes throughout the book, are all things that I can identify with and that I have wrestled with in my journey as a mother who made the choice to stay at home.

- It gives hope to children who, for whatever reason, are having to grow up too fast. It lets them know that they are not alone.

It it rare to find a book that resonates simultaneously with both middle-grade readers and their parents, but this one does it.

Go read BURN. And then, go here to visit Alma's website and find out about all her other great books! And then visit Shannon Whitney Messenger's blog for links to more MMGM love!

Friday Fun: Happy Days are Here Again

2011-09-16T06:00:00.004-04:00

Well, if you like network TV, they are. *grin*

Next week marks the return of all my Must-See-unplug-the-phone-put-the-kids-to-bed-early shows: The Mentalist (Thursday nights at 10 on CBS), Grey's Anatomy (Thursday nights at 9 on ABC), Castle (Monday nights at 10, also on ABC), and Glee (Tuesday nights at 8 on FOX). (Okay, not so much Glee anymore, but it's still pretty good. If they can get back the quirky humor and get out of the formulaic rut they've fallen into, they'll be back on top. It would also be good to improve the dubbing of all the singing parts. But I digress.)

How about you guys? Do you watch network TV? What are you excited to see the return of?

Why Writing is Like Exercise

2011-09-14T06:00:00.001-04:00

I spent the first couple of years of my writing life just writing whenever I felt like it or had a few hours in the evenings. I'd go for days at a time when I didn't write anything, then go for days at a time when I wrote tons.

But writing is like exercise: if you only do it once in a while, you're not really going to get the same results as if you do it every day. Writing when I felt like it led to a lot of rough or half-written and partially-polished manuscripts.

Recently, I've committed to writing something every day. Not always a lot of something - sometimes just a line or two on an envelope, then crossed out and revised over and over on that same envelope until it's perfect - but every day, I write something, or I revise something, or I do both.

Even when I've got a mountain of dishes to wash.

Even when I don't feel inspired.

Even when I'm so exhausted that one blink lasts for five minutes.

I turn on the computer, or I get some paper, and I write.

And after a few minutes of this, I find that I am no longer tired, or distracted, or uninspired.

I see now why so many authors tell us unpublished writers to treat writing like a job. Because exercising that writing muscle of sitting down every day and focusing your mind on one thing - your story - develops the muscle, until getting into the flow becomes easy and natural. Just like lifting a 5-lb weight for 40 reps every day will develop that muscle until lifting the weight becomes an easy job, writing every day has, for me, made it easier to write.

But I know there are published authors out there who will disagree, so I want to know what you guys are doing, and if it's working.

Do you write every day, or only when you're inspired? What works for you?

Winner, Winner, Bookish Dinner

2011-09-12T23:35:00.000-04:00

It's winner announcement time, folks! And I don't have a lot of time, so here it is:

The winner of one signed copy of FOREVER by Maggie Stiefvater is:

ANNA!

YAY!

*throws virtual confetti*

And the winner of one copy of JACOB WONDERBAR AND THE COSMIC SPACE KAPOW by Nathan Bransford is:

PAM TORRES!

WOO-HOO!

*sets off virtual fireworks*

Email me with your addresses ASAP ladies, so I can get your prizes into the mail to you. If I haven't heard from you in TWO WEEKS, I'll have to re-draw, because I just don't have room for this stuff in my house anymore. It's too much amazingness for one office to hold.

See you all tomorrow!

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

2011-09-12T09:56:00.000-04:00

SO. The new school year is in full swing, which means a new schedule for me. It means I have to work in a lot of "more" into my day: more travel time, more time planning and making lunches and snacks, more time ironing school uniforms, more time volunteering in my kids' classrooms.

More, more, more.

Unfortunately, there aren't MORE hours in the day, which means there has to be less of something. And that something is Internet Time. Basically, in order to make sure I get my book done (because that's what this whole thing is about, right?), I need to devote my evenings to writing and critiquing and submitting and pre-submission research. I just have to get a lot more disciplined about that. It's what needs to be done.

So, I will be BlogPlusGoodreadsTweeting only in the few mornings that I am not helping out at my kids' school. You'll still find my regular Monday-Wednesday-Friday posts, but I won't be able to get around to as many of your blogs as I have in the past. I'm sorry to have to limit my time like this, but it's just what I have to do.

However, I promise you this: I will comment on every single blog of all the people who comment here. I've regretted not being so good about that in the past, so I am committing to being better about it in the future. You come visit me, and I'll visit you. And whomever else I can squeeze in.

In the meantime, if any of you invent a way to live without sleep that doesn't require an equal number of hours of mediation or the ingestion of substances with harmful side-effects, let me know ASAP, okay? 'Cause I could really use something like that.

Also: I know I owe you winner announcements for FOREVER and JACOB WONDERBAR, and I'm sorry I've been slow about that. Look for a special post TOMORROW. Woo-hoo!

And I'll leave you with this, since we all need a little David Bowie in the morning:

What changes have you had to make recently?

Friday R.A.P.-up!

2011-09-09T00:02:00.001-04:00

It's Random Act of Publicity week*, so I'm joining in with some love for a Chapter Book series that I've recently read and loved: IVY + BEAN, by Annie Barrows, illustrated by Sophie Blackall. (Sorry for the lack of pictures and links; my right-click popup menu, which I use to do things like copy URLs, isn't working for some reason right now. I'm hoping this computer breaks for good soon so I can justify the expense of buying a Mac.)

Things I Love: Ivy and Bean aren't girly girls, and their adventures will appeal to boys as much as to girls. Speaking as the mother of two boys, this is a major plus. Also, I could see the punch line coming, but it was in a delicious anticipation kind of way, not a oh-no-this-is-supposed-to-be-a-surprise-and-the-author-didn't-hide-it-well kind of way. I actually giggled while I was reading this. Out loud. In front of other people! I love books like this, and there just aren't enough of them around.

This is not your run-of-the-mill, book-packaged chapter book. It demonstrates attention to detail, dedication to the emotional truth of the seven-year-old mind and heart, and excellent writing. You need to read this book, and then you need to give it to a kid you know.

Find it in your local independent bookstore, or online at chapters.indigo.ca in Canada or amazon.com in the US.

What book have you read lately and loved?

*You thought I was going to post a vlog of myself rapping, didn't you? Bide your time, my pretties. We'll get to that eventually.

EDITED TO ADD: This is the last day for my US readers to enter to win a copy of Jacob Wonderbar and the Cosmic Space Kapow by Nathan Bransford! I can't paste a link because my computer is having issues, but if you look in my archives in the sidebar, you should find it in the list of August entries. Happy entering, and good luck!

Deconstructing the Deterioration of the USPS

2011-09-07T06:00:00.011-04:00

If any of you follow me on Twitter or Google+, you might know that the United States Postal Service is on the verge of default. You can read the details here, but the bottom line is that they've been spending more than they've been earning (mostly on payroll and benefits and keeping tiny, not-often-used offices open) for years and it's built up, so now they need to come up with a cool $5.5 billion. (BILLION! THIS MONTH! I know!) So, they're asking Congress to "take drastic action to stabilize its (the USPS') finances."

In other words, they're asking for a bailout.

(Let's just say, for the record, that I'm not a fan of bailouts. It feels like enabling, in the way than the wife of an alcoholic enables his drinking by buying him more booze.)

How is this possible? I'm not exactly a globe trotter, but I've lived in a few different places, and I've never lived in a place without some sort of national postal service. It's almost synonymous with having a government that can function on its own, in my mind. It's like graduating: you're a grown-up country now, time for your own national postal service. It seems like such a basic thing, like buying your own toothpaste. Why can't America make theirs work anymore?

Of course, this brings up questions of how things got this way, and how it can be fixed. There's the fact that people just don't send good old-fashioned letters anymore. (Well, except for editors at publishing houses. The paper rejection letter is alive and well, and may be the only business the USPS gets these days. Also, children's magazines.) There's the fact that UPS and FedEx compete with the USPS for business. There are all the tiny offices that are visited once a week by Granny Maple and her six cats, but still cost money to keep open and staffed. And of course, there's the "No-Layoffs" clause that was signed recently to placate the Postal Workers' Union, which I think was a mistake. If your employer just doesn't have enough business to employ you, then I don't think you really have any business insisting that you have a right to continue to be employed by them. A good recommendation letter and decent severance package would be more reasonable.

Will the USPS ditch the "No-Layoffs" clause, end Saturday delivery service, close under-used offices, and open counters in Wal-Mart, akin to Canada Post's counters in the 7-Eleven and PharmaPlus? Maybe. All these things are things they implement in Canada, among other places.

But here's the real question: will that even make a difference? Or is this just a sign of things to come in another 5-10 years' time for the rest of the world? Are we witnessing the beginning of the end of the concept of the National Post Office? Will this be the thing that finally drives publishing house editors to accept emailed queries? What will happen to my kid's Highlights subscription?

What do you think?

Happy Labor/Labour Day!

2011-09-05T10:20:00.000-04:00

Ah, summer. Glorious, sunny, thunderstormy, carefree, fresh-aired, long days that fill my hours with butterflies and the sound of running feet pounding the grassy plain of my backyard. I love summer. It always makes me sad to see it go, and I like to send it off with a bang.

Tomorrow my kids go back to school, so we've got a day of fun activities planned. Hubbles and I are taking them to the annual Toronto Air Show, and we're going to spend some time with relatives and generally have a good time.

Don't forget that this is the last day to win a signed copy of FOREVER by Maggie Stiefvater - if you spread the word, I'll love you forever. (See what I did thar?) And next week, I'll have another MMGM post!

Happy Labor Day!

Friday Shout-Outs!

2011-09-02T00:56:00.001-04:00

So, my extraordinary crit buddy Lindsey Carmichael, who blogs at Ten Stories Up, has a short story in the anthology Canadian Tales of the Fantastic, which you can find HERE.

And make sure you go check it out, because the stories will be full of magic and mystery and wonderfulness. If the rest of them are even almost as good as Lindsey's, this anthology will be wicked-good. Plus, the cover rocks, in a wonderfully fantastically twisted (literally) way.

GO, Lindsey! And make sure to go to her blog and congratulate her, guys!

Happy Friday!

Edited to add: Due to migraine complications, I'm not up to promoting my contests in the interwebz today, so I've EXTENDED THE DEADLINE to win a SIGNED copy of Maggie Stiefvater's FOREVER, the brilliantly satisfying conclusion to the SHIVER trilogy, over HERE, until 11:59pm PST on MONDAY, SEPT.5th. So keep spreading the word!

Writing on Wednesdays: Switching Up the POV

2011-08-31T01:49:00.000-04:00

So, I've been working on this Chapter Book. I love it. It's fun, and the heroine is quirky and a bit sassy and super-smart, and I'm really enjoying spending time in her head.

Even better is that my crit partners like it. They like her, they like the premise, and they've been giving me awesome feedback that's helping me make it even stronger. The best feedback wasn't really feedback at all. It was a question.

If you are a CP for someone, I hope you aren't just telling them how to rewrite sections. I hope you're asking them questions about their manuscript. Because the biggest question that my CPs asked me - why does the MC want what she wants - led to the biggest change. I'm rewriting my entire manuscript in third person, instead of in first person the way it started.

Making this shift in mindset actually taught me a lot about my character: it taught me how her mind works, what her fears are, how she operates. And it also taught me a lot about her family and friends, and how they operate. I've thrown out the entire first half of my book and replaced it with something different, something closer to my vision of what I want this book to be. I think it's a stronger book now, and even if I go back and rewrite it again in first person, I'll still have this new knowledge and these new scenes.

So, when in doubt, try switching up your POV a little. You never know where it might lead you.

Also: go HERE and HERE for a chance to win free books, from me to you.

MMGM: JACOB WONDERBAR, and a GIVEAWAY!

2011-08-29T00:05:00.001-04:00

FIRST: Have you entered to win a signed copy of FOREVER by Maggie Stiefvater? Go HERE to do that.

So, for those of you who don't know, Marvelous Middle Grade Monday ( aka MMGM) was started by Shannon Whitney Messenger, writer and blogger and WriteOnCon organizer extraordinaire, because she thought that middle grade books deserved a little more attention on the interwebz. And I agree!

So this week, I'm spotlighting a book that I really liked, and that my 8-year-old son (who reads up, so don't go thinking that this is a chapter book) LOVED.

JACOB WONDERBAR AND THE COSMIC SPACE KAPOW, by Nathan Bransford, is a tale of three kids who trade a corn dog for a spaceship and accidentally break the universe. Here's the jacket copy: "Jacob Wonderbar has had a weird day. First there was that incident with the substitute teacher and the sprinklers. (Okay, maybe that wasn't so unusual for Jacob.) Then he and his best friends, Sarah and Dexter, discovered a silver man and a spaceship in the woods near their houses. Weirdest of all? The man offered to trade his ship for a corn dog! It sounded like a pretty good deal to Jacob, until he and his friends took their new ship for a test ride...and accidentally broke the universe. Now they must fend off space pirates, escape a planet that smells like burp breath - and find a way back home, before it's too late for them and their friendship.

The first book in debut author Nathan Bransford's hilarious planet-hopping series proves that all good adventures really do start with a corn dog."

I really liked this book. The action moves along at a good pace and the characters are well-done. I loved that Sarah Daisy's desire to appear as strong as the guys is actually as much of a flaw as a strength, and Jacob and Dexter both proved to be less caricature and more character, which was a real plus. The adventures they found themselves on were hilarious, as were many of the side characters, including but not limited to the villainous mischief-maker Mick Cracken. Additionally, this book shows that Bransford has honed an almost impeccable sense of comedic timing, which pops up throughout the book to great effect (as my son's giggling and guffawing proved). Finally, I really, really liked the way Bransford handled the best-friend-crush issues between two of the characters. Twelve years old is a time when kids start to feel extra-fond of their BFF but don't really know why, and I think Bransford navigated that murky territory extremely well here. He didn't ignore it, but he didn't make a huge deal out of it either, and I think he did a great job with that aspect of the storytelling.

Basically, if you have a kid between the ages of 8 and 12, this book is a really good bet.

And I'm giving away a copy to one lucky follower in the US or Canada!

To win, here's what you have to do:

Follow this blog. (Old followers +2, New followers +1)
Comment on this post. (+1)
OPTIONAL FOR EXTRA ENTRIES: MyFacePlusSpace, with links in the comments, for +3 per link; Tweet it, with links in the comments, for +1 per tweet (up to +5); dedicate a blog post to it, with link in the comments, for +3; Put it in your blog sidebar, with link in the comments, for +5

That's it! Contest will close on FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, AT 11:59pm PST (that's 2:59AM on Saturday for East-Coasters).

This book rocks, guys, so spread the word!

And for more Marvelous Middle Grade, check out Shannon's blog HERE for her post and links to other MMGM bloggers!

FOREVER by Maggie Stiefvater - AND A GIVEAWAY!

2011-08-25T10:56:00.003-04:00

I promised you on Monday that I'd do this post on Wednesday.

Then my dad arrived from out of town.

And I forgot.

*FAIL*

Sorry guys! In an attempt to sort-of honor my promise, I'll include the 5 people who commented on yesterday's post in the list of entries for this prize. Which is awesome, by the way!

So, I went to Indigo Yorkdale (that's in Toronto) to meet Maggie Stiefvater, and it was amazing. I made new friends, I got to chat with some pretty cool people, and we all gazed with wonder at the sharpied guitar, which was covered with Maggie's incredible artwork.

The Sharpied Guitar

And then, of course, there was Maggie. She was incredibly nice and very funny. And she had some awesome wolf stories!

Maggie = Awesome

And then, of course, there was Tessa Gratton, Maggie's best friend and partner in critiquing amazingness, who I had a lovely chat with about her own book and who told me that I have princess hair, which made me feel all happy inside.

Tessa and Me. With Princess Hair.

And, of course, there was the signing. DID I MENTION THE SIGNING? By Maggie? Of books?

I HAVE ONE SIGNED COPY OF FOREVER TO GIVE AWAY TO ONE LUCKY WINNER.

I also have swag for one lucky runner-up. (bookmarks, keyring, etc.)

In case you don't know anything about FOREVER, here's the blurbie from Amazon: "In Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. In Linger, they fought to be together. Now, in Forever, the stakes are even higher than before. Wolves are being hunted. Lives are being threatened. And love is harder and harder to hold on to as death comes closing in.

The thrilling conclusion to #1 bestselling Shiver trilogy from Maggie Stievater."

I really loved this book. I love Maggie's lyrical storytelling style, and I found the characterization to be even stronger than in the previous two novels. Each character felt very real to me, and I am so impressed when an author manages to do that across the board with all of her characters.

I also loved the ending - which i can't tell you about, except to say that it wraps things up while still leaving the story open at the same time. It feels like a very satisfactory ending, but it's also clear that life for these people is going to continue, and not everything is certain, and that is okay. These are my favorite types of endings - this part of the story is over, but there will be more to come, and we will never know about it, and this is okay! Because this is the way life really is. Awesomeness.

It's an amazing book. I still want to move into it; just pack up my clothes and go live in the bookstore in Mercy Falls with Sam and Grace and everyone else. I loved it.

SO, you want to win this, right?

Here's what you have to do:

Follow THIS BLOG. (+2 for old followers, +1 for new)
Leave a comment on THIS HERE POST RIGHT HERE. (+1)
FOR EXTRA ENTRIES: MyFaceSpacePlusThingamy this post for +3 points, if you leave a link in the comments; Tweet it for +1 per tweet, up to 5 tweets, if you leave me the links in the comments; Put it in your blog sidebar for +5, if you leave me a link to your blog in the comments.

THIS CONTEST WILL SELF-DESTRUCT ON FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2ND, AT MIDNIGHT PST (THAT'S 3AM SATURDAY MORNING).

Happy entering, guys, and good luck to everyone!

*Edited to add PICTURES!!! Thanks to my friend Michele for sending them to me! You rock, Michele!

To Jot, or Not to Jot?

2011-08-24T12:02:00.000-04:00

When I started writing for publication, I decided to keep an idea notebook. I didn't have any real reason for this, other than that I had heard that it was a good idea and was something that "serious writers" did, and I was going to be a "serious writer," so I obviously needed one.

The cool thing is that once I started carrying around a notebook for my thoughts and ideas, I found it to be really helpful. I lost so many flashes of insight in the past, because by the time I got around to writing them down, the minutiae of life had shoved them aside. But I know not everyone does this, and I'm curious about you guys.

I have a small booklet in my purse that I jot things down on, and a journal that I keep next to my bed for recording my dreams or any other thoughts that occur to me while I'm at home.

How about you? Do you jot, or not?

Feel the Fear and Write It Anyway

2011-08-22T02:42:00.000-04:00

First, I owe you guys a winner announcement for a copy of Jay Asher's THIRTEEN REASONS WHY. I wish I had a copy for everyone, because this is such a fabulous book, but sadly, I don't. So, by random drawing, the winner is:

Antje!

YAY!

*throws cyber-streamers*

So, check your email, Antje! I'll get your book to you as soon as you get me your address.

And now I want to open up to you guys a little bit.

It took me a really long time to decide to write for publication. I always enjoyed writing, and I always enjoyed telling stories, and you all know how much I love books. But whenever I thought of someone else reading what I had written, my words sounded hokey and stupid to my own ears, and I got so self-conscious about it that I'd scratch it all out or erase it or throw it away. Even now, I don't always feel as if what I'm writing is "me" - I follow the rules, and I work on my craft, and I've definitely been improving, and these are all good things.

BUT: I've been using the "rules" as a way of hiding my own true style, not because there's anything wrong with my style necessarily, but because when I write the way that comes naturally to me, I feel pretentious and stupid and I worry that everyone will hate it. And that's not good at all.

I've just finished reading Maggie Stiefvater's SHIVER trilogy. I re-read SHIVER and LINGER and read FOREVER all in one weekend. (Hubbles had to do a bit more of the housework than usual. It made him a little crazy. This is understandable.) And the biggest takeaway for me as a writer was that her writing is so lyrical and poetic and UN-self-conscious, and that is the way I want my writing to be. Not lyrical in the same way or poetic in the same way, but un-self-conscious and simply "me".

So, I'm working on incorporating that principle into my work. I'm practicing the act of writing without judgement, beyond the question of "Does this tell the story the way that it needs to be told?" It's scary, but I'm trying it anyway.

And come back Wednesday for my review of FOREVER, the third and final installment of the SHIVER trilogy, where I'll be giving away a brand new SIGNED copy! (Are you excited? Because I am SUPER excited.)

Are you self-conscious about your voice in your written work? What book or books have you read that seemed utterly UN-self-conscious?

Tidbits From WriteOnCon: On Being a Happy Writer

2011-08-19T02:21:00.000-04:00

FIRST: Go HERE to enter a copy of THIRTEEN REASONS WHY by Jay Asher! And spread the word, 'cuz this is an amazing, amazing book. I'd give it to everybody if I could.

The WriteOnCon! It was fabuloso! With editors! And agents! And authors! And prizes! And armadillos!

One of my favorite posts was by Viking editor Kendra Levin, who posted on the writing/life balance. She talked about how, as writers, we need to do three things:

ONE: Set goals. Not just grand career goals, but smaller, achievable, weekly goals, as well.

TWO: Make sacrifices. In order to achieve our weekly goal, we must sacrifice something. You all know this by now.

THREE: Give ourselves a weekly gift. One that will feed us as people, and that will also make our writing life easier.

So, my three things for this week (before bedtime on Saturday) are:

ONE: Rewrite the first chapter of my chapter book. I thought it was done, but there was a problem that was nagging at me, and Tuesday morning I figured out how to fix it - unfortunately, the way to fix it is to throw out the first four chapters and do them over in a new way, with new scenes and a different beginning. I want to have the first chapter done by Saturday.

TWO: No internet. This post, a tweet to spread the word about this post, and that's it until I achieve my goal.

THREE: I initially chose a frap for my gift, but now I think a walk through the park would be a better idea. I can take my kids, and I always get good writing-thinking done on walks through the park.

How about you? What will your three things be this week? How about next week?

Best O' Fluck

2011-08-15T03:34:00.001-04:00

I'm not the greatest typist. I've never taken a class, and I just kind of get faster and better the more often I do it, which these days is pretty often. I'm still no speed demon, but I'm well past the one-finger-typist stage. However, I'm not immune to typos.

One typo that I seem to make over and over again happens at the end of my critique emails, when, instead of typing "Best of Luck," I keep accidentally typing "Best o fluck." And the more I do it, the MORE I DO IT. It's like the typo that won't die.

So, I finally decided to look up "fluck." And you know what?

It's a new word!* How awesome is that?

In light of this discovery, I am going to embrace my persistently typo-ridden signature. I'm going to define "fluck" as that wonderful type of luck that is part fluke, part luck, and part hard work. It is the awesome of luck: freaking luck. Freaking lucky people will be called "flucky."

Fluck: it's like luck, but better. And Irish sounding.

And to all you writers and actors and creative people out there,

I wish you the best o' fluck.

*At least, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, dictionary.com, and babelfish.com, it is. And that's good enough for me.

P.S. Hey! Have you read Jay Asher's THIRTEEN REASONS WHY yet? GO HERE to win a copy!

P.P.S. DUDE! It's WriteOnCon week! So I'm going to be busy being not-here, okay? Come find me at WOC! See you there!

Friday Favorites: Book Trailers!

2011-08-12T06:00:00.001-04:00

I have an admission, and it's one that might offend a lot of you, so please try not to hate me, but...

I'm not really fond of book trailers. I find most of them to be klunky and amateurish and full of bad acting or weird lighting or generally non-professional-looking stuff.

(I majored in film and theatre. I'm a little snobbish about total amateurs basically making an ad. It's a character flaw. Try to forgive me, okay?)

BUT!

Thanks to Cat Gerlach, whose blog can be found HERE, I have found a winner!

This is suspenseful. It is professionally done, in every way: acting, script, lighting, editing, music, etc. And I AM DYING TO READ THE BOOK NOW.

This is the standard to which we should hold ourselves when creating book trailers, people. Behold: the trailer for MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN.

So creepy!

Don't you all want to run out and get it now?!? I know I do!

SO, you tell me, since I typically don't seek out book trailers: what good ones have you seen lately? What else have I missed?

Aaaaand, MORE CONTESTS!

2011-08-11T04:40:00.000-04:00

Hey there! Do you write funny? Have you got a funny scene of 350 words or less in your WIP? Can you whip one up in a matter of minutes (or even hours)?

YES?

You're in luck, because Uber-blogger and MG-Writer Extraordinaire Nathan Bransford is hosting a JACOB WONDERBAR Funny Writing Contest Spectacular Happening Event over on his blog, which you can find HERE. HURRY! It closes at 6PM PST today! And if you scroll down to the 186th comment, you can read my entry! Or, you can just read it below:

Bartholomew Ophelia Treebottom IV was bored. He swung his legs, heels banging in time with the bonging of the clock tower. Bored...Bored...Bored...

Tuesday was always a boring day. It was the day his parents reserved for their weekly trip to the taxidermist’s shop. His father was a world-renowned specialist in stuffed dead tarantulas, and was always on the lookout for a new specimen. His mother accompanied him, because the taxidermist’s wife made excellent omelettes. Bartholomew never went; dead tarantulas were boring.

Just then his neighbor Mandy tripped by, her eyes gleaming. “I’m breaking into the haunted Whaley House.” She cocked her head. “Want to come?”

Bartholomew considered. Haunted houses never really were. They were always just full of old junk. And dust. Dust made him sneeze. Bartholomew hopped down. “Alright, then.”

The door was locked, but the window opened easily, so they clambered in. It reeked of rot, and Bartholomew gagged. The room was covered in an inch-thick layer of dust, and stringy cobwebs stretched from corner to corner. His father would have loved to see the spider that had woven those webs. Bartholomew reached out to touch one, when a loud moan rolled down from upstairs.

Surprised, he fell forward, grabbing at the web - which was much more rope-like than he had expected - and bringing it, and a nearby lamp, crashing down. The lamp snagged on the curtains, which tore from their rod and landed with a whump upon Bartholomew, setting off a sneezing fit as he flailed about in a frantic attempt to free himself. Mandy screamed. Bartholomew jerked his head free just in time to see Mandy, covered in fake cobwebs and stuffed tarantulas, careening backwards into and over the side of an overstuffed armchair, upsetting a basket of something that, Bartholomew belatedly realized, looked like eggs. Peals of cackling laughter drifted in from the hallway.

As he sat, rumpled curtains hanging from his shoulders, rotten egg dripping down his forehead and off his chin, it occurred to Bartholomew that his parents, and Tuesdays, were not as boring as he had thought.

Also, don't forget to enter to win a copy of THIRTEEN REASONS WHY, by Jay Asher, HERE.

Happy Thursday!

CONTESTS AND GIVEAWAYS!

2011-08-08T03:41:00.000-04:00

I'm going to take a break from the usual blogging schedule this month. It's summer, my kids need attention, my WiP needs attention, and I figured we'd all benefit from switching things up a bit. Besides, half of you are going to be on vacation some time this month anyway, right?

SO - contests today!

First up is Gabriella Lessa's contest, in which entrants post their 30-word pitch and first paragraph in order to win critiques from one of four editors at Sourcebooks, who will also be judging the contest. Yeah, that's right - your pitch and first paragraph read and judged by an editor at a closed house. This is a golden opportunity, guys, so go HERE to enter.

And now, I'm hosting a giveaway of my own, for a very special book.

A while back, I won a copy of THIRTEEN REASONS WHY, by Jay Asher, from Shannon Whitney Mesenger. It took me a while to get down to it, because I'd heard that it was pretty much a read-it-in-one-sitting thing, and I wanted to make sure I had enough time to at least get thoroughly into it, rather than sneak a page in here and there.

I had heard right.

Even though I ended up not being able to read this in one sitting because of demands from my kids and needing to sleep and write and things like that, I read it pretty much constantly until I had finished it - I snuck in pages while I was cooking, I read it curled up on the sofa when I should have been critiquing or revising, I read it on the bus... I could not put this book down, and when I absolutely had to put it down, I could not stop thinking about it.

And when I finished reading it, I could not stop thinking about its implications for me and my own life.

THIRTEEN REASONS WHY goes beyond the descriptions of it as original and fresh. This is an incredible, moving, thought-provoking, life-changing book. It will make you re-evaluate how you behave, how you speak to and about others, and how you go about living your life. And it might even change the way you think. This is a really, really important book.

So, I'm going to give away an unopened, unread, hardcover copy to one lucky blog reader.

THE RULES:

Follow this blog. Not my Twitter account, not my Google+ account (although those are good, too). This blog. All followers get +1 for this.
Comment on this post. Another +1.

That's it! Simple giveaway, simple rules. If you spread the word this time, there won't be any extra entries, but there will be virtual pie and hearts forever from me. :-) And since it's only the one book, this one is OPEN INTERNATIONALLY! Woo-hoo!

The giveaway closes NEXT FRIDAY, AUGUST 19th, at MIDNIGHT WEST-COAST (that's PST) TIME, to give my followers over there a chance to get their last-minute comments in.

And... Begin.

Friday Favorites: The Dixie Chicks

2011-08-05T11:46:00.000-04:00

I've been listening to a lot of music lately, and one of the songs that's been in my head a lot, and thus in my CD player a lot, is "Not Ready To Make Nice" by the Dixie Chicks.

I like a wide range of music, from crooners like Frank Sinatra and Matt Dusk and Michael Buble to Folksy singers like Paul Simon and James Taylor to country singers like Willie Nelson and Garth Brooks to classical, like Mozart, and Baroque, like Vivaldi, to 80's pop like WHAM! I listen to David Bowie and Culture Club and Peggy Lee and Bad Religion all in one shot. I like music.

But I LOVE music that says something, that isn't afraid to stand up and say, "This is how I am, and this is what I believe, and I won't apologize for that."

What music have you been listening to lately?

Wisdom on Wednesdays: Read Up

2011-08-03T06:07:00.000-04:00

We writers hear a lot about reading widely. We're supposed to read a lot of our genre, but also a lot of everything else. We're supposed to read great stuff, mediocre stuff, and not-so-mediocre stuff. We're supposed to read literary and commercial.

Read, read, read.

Well, I'm not arguing with that.

But I'm here today to make the case for reading up more often than anything else. And by that, I mean read the books that are so well-written, they leave your ego in tatters. Read books that are so amazing, they make you want to slip inside them and live among their post-apocalyptic pages. Read books that, in one way or another, are so far beyond what you are writing that you have to stop yourself from actually screaming with the knowledge of it.

Because if you're like me, noting forces you to up your game more than the realization that you haven't broken through the ceiling of what is possible yet. Read books that show you where the ceiling really is.

Read up.

I've been reading books by John Green and Tahereh Mafi. What have you been reading?

Writing Craft: Voice, and WINNER!

2011-08-01T10:45:00.000-04:00

FIRST: I was up late into the night counting and adding and clicking and compiling the entries for my 200 Follower Lauren Oliver Giveaway, and wow, guys! The entries! You blew me away with your enthusiasm. You guys are awesome, and I really wish I could have given something to all of you. But, there can only be one winner, and according to RANDOM .ORG, that winner is:

ARI!!!

Yay! *tosses confetti and streamers*

So, Ari, check your email, okay? I want to get these books to you!

NOW: Writing craft. I've been reading a lot lately, and one thing that's been jumping out at me in a make-or-break sort of way is VOICE. We keep hearing that having a distinct voice is essential, but what does that mean? And more importantly, how do we do it?

Well, I think the most important thing we can do is make sure our character is well-thought out and fully realized. What personality type does this character have? Is she tough-as-nails, or sweet as cotton candy? Does he hold the door for his mother, or stride on through without looking back? Is he the quintessential nerd? Is she in love with her guy, or in love with love? Who are these people?

What is the framework within which their thoughts are built? (AN ABUNDANCE OF KATHERINES by John Green is an excellent example of having a well-developed mental framework for each character.) And how will they react emotionally to this situation that they're in? The answers to these questions, more than anything, will dictate their voice, and getting that right can really make your book sing.

And of course, having a distinct way of writing, a distinct cadence, is part of it, too. Garrison Keillor's work is the perfect example of this. Other examples are Roald Dahl (you know a Roald Dahl book by the end of the first page), Dr. Seuss, and Bill Bryson, travel writer extraordinaire.

But then there's the "break" part. I've come across a handful of books in the past couple of months that just haven't resonated with me. The voice was distinct, the background was there... But it just didn't feel right. Most of the time, the character was being snarky in a moment that didn't seem to call for it. I'm not against snarky teens, but there doesn't need to be a comment on every page or at the end of every scene for a reader to get it. Over a whole book, it gets to be too much, and it loses impact.

I wish I had a formula, but I don't. These are just some things to think about. How about you? What book have you read lately that had an outstanding voice? What made it so amazing?

Friday Favorites: Wonderfalls

2011-07-29T10:18:00.000-04:00

Hubbles and I sometimes take forever to get through our DVDs. We were given a set this past Christmas, and only just got down to watching it a couple of weeks ago. But boy, are we glad we did.

The series is Wonderfalls.

It's from 2004, it has Lee Pace in it (along with a bunch of other delightful actors), it's set at Niagara Falls, it's about a girl who hears inanimate objects talking to her, and it's hilarious. Like all excellent quirky offbeat comedies (remember Lee Pace's other vehicle, Pushing Daisies?), it got canceled.

We're five episodes in, and we love it. You might too. Check it out!

Wisdom on Wednesdays: Finish the Book

2011-07-27T12:12:00.000-04:00

FIRST: GUYS!!! There are less than 15 entries to WIN signed copies of BEFORE I FALL and DELIRIUM by Lauren Oliver! Your odds are pretty good, so GO HERE to enter.

Okay, now that you're back, we can talk about writing. And one of the most important things you can do - in fact, maybe the single most important thing you can do - is finish your first draft.

I know how tempting it is to go back and revise what you've written, instead of forging ahead into the next chapter. I know how easy it is to think that if we can just write the perfect outline, maybe we'll only need to revise our rough draft once before it will be ready for publication. I know what it's like to be cruising along, words flying from your fingers, when that little internal editor pipes up and says, "You know, you really needed to mention this back in Chapter Three for it to make sense here," and I know what it's like to want to go back RIGHT NOW to Chapter Three and stick it in.

Don't do it.

Finish the first draft.

Make a note of all those things that crop up - maybe in the margin, or maybe in a balloon, or maybe in a separate document. Wherever works for you. But don't let anything stop you from getting to THE END.

What stops you from finishing your manuscripts?

Writing, DIY Style

2011-07-25T12:48:00.001-04:00

FIRST: If you haven't entered yet to win signed copies of Lauren Oliver's BEFORE I FALL and DELIRIUM, go HERE to do that now.

Writing is a lot like DIY. Yo get an idea to insulate your attic, and you set about doing it. Maybe you even check out a few websites and ask around just to make sure you have a good idea of how to go about this new project. You gather your materials: insulation, vapor barrier, tape. A mask and goggles to protect your face and lungs. And you start sticking that stuff in there. But pretty soon, you realize your hands are itching like crazy, and you'll never be able to use these clothes again. Plus, without staples, the vapor barrier won't stay up. So, you go off to gather more materials: gloves, protective outer clothes, heavy duty staples and stapler.

You wrestle for a while with the insulation and vapor barrier. It's hard to juggle it all and get it in place - this stuff is way bigger and harder to manage than you thought it would be - but you get there, slowly but surely, with lots of breaks to hydrate and cool off, and after a while you can see that you're making progress. Then your neighbor comes over to check it out, and HE says you needed to put in something between the insulation and the wood to leave a void... Dog doodles. You didn't think about that.

So you rip out everything you've done, and cuss and stomp around and cuss, and you put some gloves on over your itchy hands and you start over. And after a reeeeaaaaaallly long time, at last, you put in the final piece! You staple in the final section of vapor barrier! YES! Time to hit the showers!

But when you step back to admire your work, you see that the insulation is sagging in a few places, and there are gaps. Maybe your neighbor points out a few to you, and maybe he brings some string to run along to hold everything in place. There's more cussing. You feel like you're ready to rip your hands off by now, they're so itchy and sore. But you go back over the whole thing, ripping off that vapor barrier, filling in the gaps, taping everything back up again, and finally, after a lot of work, a lot of sweat, a lot of advice from others, a lot more work, some cussing, and about 4x more time than you thought it would take, you have something to show for it.

Yeah. Writing a book is just like that.

Friday Favorites: Winnie the Pooh, Winnie the Pooh...

2011-07-22T05:00:00.012-04:00

FIRST: Have you entered yet to win signed copies of Lauren Oliver's BEFORE I FALL and DELIRIUM? Go here to do it now...

I love Winnie the Pooh.

Actually, I should clarify: I'm not a fan of any of the TV series, or the "New adventures" spin-offs. I'm talking about the original Pooh - the books by A. A. Milne, and the classic "The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh," a compilation of three shorter Disney films about Pooh's adventures in the Hundred Acre Wood. I grew up laughing at Pooh's quirks, Tigger's exuberance, and Rabbit's inattentive bossiness.

So, you can imagine how excited I got when I saw this trailer:

I couldn't wait to share this with my kids, and they, fans of the original classic that they are, couldn't wait to see it. So we went this week, and let me tell you, it did not disappoint. The animation is perfect, the humor is clean and pitched perfectly at the intended audience, and, most importantly to me, it is true to the original stories. There were no explosions, or high-speed chases, or war-machines. This movie is innocent - the way most children, in their hearts, really are. It finds its way through moments of joy, and fear, and laughter, and loneliness, as honestly as any little girl or boy left to his own devices with a handful of stuffed animals would, without the stuff and fluff of hyped-up battles and souped-up guns. My boys - especially my 8-year-old - giggled and guffawed through the whole thing.

My kids did notice a few differences: this film's Rabbit wasn't at all the same as the original one, being much more actively bossy and much less likely to slump against the wall moaning, "Why, oh why does it always have to be me?" They re-used the old joke about Pooh misinterpreting "issue" for a sneeze, but this time the characters got pretty deeply into explaining what they really meant. Everyone was a little more wordy than before, and as a result, the film lacked some of the subtlety of the original.

But that didn't take away from its appeal - a truly "G"-rated movie for the young children of the 21st century. And if the other animated movie released this summer by Disney is any indication of where things are headed, it may well be the last one ever. Better see it while you can.

The 200-Follower Celebration Lauren Oliver Giveaway!

2011-07-21T02:19:00.000-04:00

I know last week I promised you an extra-special giveaway if I reached 200 followers, and when I promise, I deliver. I was going to do a vlog, but... I don't know how. It's a caveperson thing. I'll learn, eventually, but in the meantime, you'll have to live with just pictures. And no voiceover. Boo.

ANYWAY - back to the giveaway! Which is extra-awesome, because the prize is double the size.

So, a while ago, I went to my local bookstore to see the lady who wrote these:

Lauren Oliver's NYT Bestselling Books

And she very kindly did this to them:

Lauren Oliver's signature in her books.

And I'm giving them both to one of you.

Pretty great, huh? And doubly great, because not only are these books incredible, but they're by an intelligent, thoughtful person. I love it when I love a book, but love the author even more.

The Rules:

Be a follower of this blog. (+1)
Leave a comment on this post right here. (+1)

And, that's pretty much it! Each person gets a minimum of two entries. But if you want extra entries:

BLOG about it (+5)
LINK to it in your sidebar (+5)
TWEET about it (+1)
MYFACEPLUS+ about it (+3 for each of those)

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, leave me links in the comments section so I don't have to spend hours on the Web searching for your MyFacePlusTweetLinkyBlogs. I get enough screen time as it is. I'm starting to turn an interesting shade of flourescent. My husband is a little wierded out.

This giveaway will remain open until Midnight on the night of July 31st, when it will close and I will do a lot of math before handing over the result-choosing of ONE WINNER to RANDOM.ORG.

And I'm sorry, but these are chunky (meaning HEAVY) books, so I have to limit this one to the US and Canada.

Are you excited? Because I am SO excited to be able to give these to you!

Happy entering!

Wisdom on Wednesdays: It's the Little Things

2011-07-20T01:19:00.001-04:00

It's summer. And where I live in Southern Ontario, it's sweltering. And sticky. And we're all losing patience with one another.

It's on days like this that it's important to remember to appreciate the little things: a monarch butterfly kissing the flowers by the porch; happy children; a joke well-told.

Because really, when we look back, we realize it's the little things we love that shape our lives, and shaped ourselves.

What little things have you appreciated today?

Writing Craft: Parents in Picture Books, and WINNER!

2011-07-18T00:06:00.000-04:00

First: the winner of TOOTER'S STINKY WISH according to RANDOM.ORG (shocking to see me use electronics like this, I know, but all those slips of paper just take too darn long to cut out) is:

Swaty!!!

*throws virtual confetti*

Congratulations, Swaty! You didn't have an email attached to your profile, so please email me (you'll find my addy right up there under my picture in the corner) so I can send you your prize. Be sure to do it soon, though - within the next two weeks at the latest - or I'll have to draw another winner.

ALSO: We hit 200 followers! WOO-HOO! I know I promised you an extra-special giveaway, so keep your eyes peeled for the announcement of that later this week. Probably on Friday, since I have a post planned for Wednesday, and Friday is a good day for that. But I might do shout-outs on Friday, so maybe there will be a special extra post tomorrow or Thursday. We'll have to wait and see. But it will be extra-amazing, so you don't want to miss it!

And now for today's topic: parents in picture books. Or rather, the absence of parents in picture books.*

Basically, they're usually not really there. And when they are there, they're not instrumental to the resolution of the story.

We all know that this is not the way things go in real life. We all know that moms and dads know what their kids are getting up to even before their kids do. (I can smell a plot hatching from a mile away, and I can see a lie coming before my son even opens his mouth. He thinks I'm psychic. I'm going with it.)

We all know that parents either stage things, or interfere with things, or subtly guide their kids. We all know that when we let our kids choose what to eat for breakfast, we're not really giving them real responsibility, because the choices never include things like fudge sundaes or jellybeans.

But here's the thing: the kids don't know that.

Picture books, like all books for kids, are about giving them independence and power. If you want your picture book to be effective, if you want to connect with your child reader, it's a good idea to keep the adults out of the problem-solving process. Remember that this is the child's world we're entering, and in the child's mind, he is the ruler of his domain.

Can you think of good picture books that are examples of this? How about books that exemplify the opposite of this?

*Except in cutesy concept books about Mommy being magic or a special day with Daddy, but those books aren't the books we're talking about. There's nothing wrong with those books, but they're mostly concept books and that's not what we're tackling here today.

Friday Flash Fiction: Ali Cross' INDEPENDENCE DAY Blog-Hop!

2011-07-15T03:46:00.001-04:00

FIRST: This is your last chance to enter the giveaway of TOOTER'S STINKY WISH, by Brian Cretney, illustrated by Peggy Collins, and signed by both of them! Go HERE to do it!

And now, today is Ali Cross' Independence Day Blog-Hop! (Ali is a ninja of awesome: always positive, always supportive, and lots of fun. To visit her dojo, go HERE.) The challenge was to write a 250-word-or-less flash fiction piece for the prompt: "It's Independence Day, and something unexpected happens..."

So here's my entry:

***

This is it: my own personal Independence Day. The day I strike out on my own, forge ahead into the great unknown, cut the umbilical cord. I'm movin' out.

I reach for the last box of books, but Dad puts a meaty hand on my shoulder. "Let me get that one, son."

"That's okay, I can do it." I can do it all myself. Ever since Mom died, Dad's been watching me like he watches the sky on a day when the air is heavy with the anticipation of rain. He's been waiting and waiting for my dam to burst and let everything out, but I'm going to prove that I'm okay. I'm ready to go it alone.

But Dad already has his strong arms wrapped around the box. I follow him out to the car, slamming the door shut behind me. It flexes away from its frame as I kick the doorplate with my heel. "Hasta la vista, Baby."

I head for the rusty Mustang and my vision tunnels in on my dad, crumpling over sideways, the box crashing to the sidewalk, its contents exploding out and littering the ground. I run to him, grab his wrist, stare into his blank eyes, shake his chest. My First Aid training evaporates, and I am alone.

I can't do this myself.

***

So, that's my entry. I hope you enjoyed reading it. To read the others, just follow the links in the nifty linky-list below, and feel free to join in the fun by adding your own entry to the mix. Happy reading!

Wisdom on Wednesdays: On Finding Our Calling

2011-07-13T02:02:00.000-04:00

I was struck last week by just how much my son loves making art.

He hates piano practice; it takes him easily three times as long as it should, because every time he gets assigned a new piece to learn he complains that it's too hard and moans and chokes and gets all worked up and says he wants to quit. Then he learns it and by the next lesson he enjoys playing again - at least, until the next new piece. We won't let him quit; we think it's good for kids to learn that sometimes, we have to work hard to get good at something. Besides, he doesn't really have to work that hard; he's actually naturally quite good at it. But it isn't his calling.

Ditto for dance classes, which we are letting him quit even though he said performing was better than he had thought it would be, because his expectations of what performing would be like were pretty low to begin with. And he dislikes the challenge so much, he doesn't even bother to practice between classes.

But not so for art. No matter how hard it is, he keeps re-doing it until it's just the way he wants it. He enjoys the process.

I am not a great writer. This does not mean that I never will be, but I recognize that I am not now. I am good, but not great. But when I am immersed in the act of writing, that doesn't matter.

Finding your calling isn't about being naturally good at something.

Finding your calling is not about enjoying the result of having learned something and gotten good at it.

Finding your calling is about enjoying the process of learning something so much that it doesn't matter how bad you are. It's about enjoying the act itself so much that no matter where you begin, you will keep doing it until you get better. It when we love not the results, but the process, that we know we have found our true calling.

Have you found yours?

Writing Craft: Rounding Out Your Characters, Part Five

2011-07-11T03:09:00.000-04:00

FIRST: Have you entered my giveaway to win a copy of TOOTER'S STINKY WISH, signed by BOTH the author Brian Cretney AND the illustrator Peggy Collins? GO HERE to do it if you haven't.

And now back to our regularly scheduled Monday programming.

So far, we've covered rounding out our characters by:

- Giving them hobbies and passions that then inform their internal thoughts and their dialogue;

- Giving them verbal tics and/or interesting, unique patterns of speech;

- Giving them specific personality traits and interests, but global problems;

- Giving them strong internal conflict to grapple with.

But I'm no expert, and I'm sure there are a bazillion ways to round out characters that I haven't thought of or tried. So, what's one way you like to round out your characters? Maybe we can all pick up some new tips from each other.

Happy Monday!

The "The Blog Is Back" Giveaway!

2011-07-08T06:00:00.002-04:00

You guys stuck with me while I was on a brief it's-summer-and-I-don't-know-what-to-do-with-my-kids hiatus, and to make it up to you I promised you a giveaway today. So, here it is! Because when I make a promise, I deliver.

SO. Remember when I told you my crit buddies Brian Cretney and Peggy Collins had a picture book coming out a while back? Well, I went to the amazing TOOTER'S STINKY WISH launch party - seriously, they had a children's band and a real live (de-stinkified) skunk and everything - and I GOT THEM BOTH TO SIGN A COPY OF THEIR BOOK! A book signed by both the author and the illustrator is a rare thing, folks. And I am offering it to you! Just because I like you, and you guys rock.

So, here's the skinny on the stinky.

1) Be a follower.
2) Leave a comment on this post by MIDNIGHT ON FRIDAY, JULY 15TH for one entry.
3) Tweet, blog, Facebook, etc. for one extra entry each (up to three extra entries), but please leave me the links in the comments.

And that's it! I'll randomly pick a winner out of a hat and announce it in my post on Monday, July 18th. And if I get more than 50 entries, I'll throw in an additional prize of a stuffed skunk. A toy one. Not a real one. That would be gross, and not a very good prize at all. But a toy skunk is nice and soft and cuddly, and you know you want one, don't you?

Also, if I hit 200 followers, I'll do another giveaway! Which will be so awesome and amazing, it will make your monitor explode. I promise. Because I have planned my 200-followers giveaway, and I have some amazing books waiting for you.

Happy contest-entering!

Wisdom On Wednesdays: Let's Go Outside

2011-07-06T06:00:00.001-04:00

FIRST: my sincere apologies for the recent absence of internet presence, and deepest gratitude for your patience with me and for sticking with me anyway. The first few days of summer vacation are always a little hectic back here at my place, while the kids and I figure out a new sleeping/working/yardwork/playing/getting-the-heck-out-of-the-house schedule that keeps us all happy and semi-well-rested I'm back now, and to reward you all on Friday, I'VE GOT A GIVEAWAY COMING UP! So remember to come back, okay?

NOW. This week's wisdom. I saw on the news last night that doctors are prescribing walks in the park as stress relief.

Do you know what this says to me? This says that a number of people have become so disassociated with the real world that they don't even remember how nice it can be to go for a walk.

As writers, it's easy to get sucked into the computer bubble. We write on our laptops, whose screens, let's face it, are sucky in natural lighting. Then we read blogs: agent blogs, writer blogs, editor blogs, writer beware blogs... And we blog, too, and Tweet, and MyFaceSpaceCreate-friend, because that's how we keep in touch with agents in New York and San Fransisco and writers in England and Australia and Iceland and all over North America. We're supposed to do these things. It's how we educate ourselves about our industry, and it's how we develop and maintain relationships with people who do what we do and understand why we do it. That's important stuff!

And let's not forget our critique groups, which are both essential and increasingly internet-based. It's a wonder any of us get out at all. It's a wonder we haven't all developed the bio-luminescent glow of a deep-sea creature.

And yet! And yet, getting out of our houses and into the fresh air is important. It's important for our physical health, for our mental health, and for the creative process. I've had more manuscript ideas and epiphanies since my kids got out of school and forced me out into the real world than I've had in the past year, except for last summer, when I had just as many.

So, for the sake of your sanity, your blood pressure, and your manuscript, go outside and take a stroll. Do it often - every day is good, but more than that won't hurt. We're all in danger of being the guy I saw tonight on the news, but I bet our work-lives and our life-lives will both be better if we don't let it happen.

See you Friday!

Wisdom on Wednesday: Know When to Fold 'Em

2011-06-22T12:53:00.000-04:00

I thought I was going to have to post an IOU for today, because things are so crazy at my house this week (Last week of school! Dance recitals! Birthday Parties!) that I couldn't even think of a blog topic.

Then I realized that in deciding to pack up the internet for the remainder of the week, I had my blog topic. Don't you love it when that happens?

Sometimes, you have to take a step back from writing or blogging because life just gets too busy, and you either don't have the time to put into it, or you don't have the mental resources to spend on working through it.

It's hard to put a manuscript in a drawer. I've done it. It sucks. It feels like giving up. But sometimes, when you've taken it as far as it can go, when you just don't have any more mental resources to put into it, that's what you have to do. And it isn't giving up; it's realizing that this one isn't the one, and that the next one might be.

Writing Craft: Rounding Out Your Characters, Part Four

2011-06-20T06:00:00.001-04:00

First, sorry for the lack-of-post last Friday. No computer = no blogging. But - hooray! - ol' Lenny is back from the shop, which means I am back on the blog!

We've covered a few ways to round out your characters: giving them specific interests, giving them global problems, and giving them distinctive speech patterns or verbal tics. But there are a few we haven't talked about yet. One oft-promoted way to make your characters more three-dimensional and believable is what I think of as the "C" word of the literary world. CONFLICT.

But what does that mean exactly?

Well, there's the conflict that you get when screaming yellow aliens threaten to coat your planet with purple goo and your hero has been locked in a dungeon by a fire-breathing dragon and has to figure out how to save the day, but that's external conflict, and that's not what I'm talking about here. That's more of a plot thing than a character-development thing.

I'm talking about internal conflict. What you get when you give your character a desire that is at odds with who they see themselves to be as a person, or with the type of person they want to be. Like Edward in TWILIGHT: he's a vampire and he wants to eat Bella for lunch, but he's also got a conscience that tells him that it's wrong to kill people. And that was before he even figured out he loved her! Talk about conflict. Whatever you may say about TWILIGHT, whether you loved it or hated it (and please let's not bash it here), you have to give Stephanie Meyer credit for creating characters who were brimming with internal conflict.

Another example is Teresa Toten's BETTER THAN BLONDE, the sequel to ME AND THE BLONDES. In it, Sophie finds herself tempted by her high-school crush...who is newly married. He says he loves her, and (she thinks) she loves him too, but she knows that fooling around with someone else's guy is a no-no. But then again, his new wife practically stole him from her. But then again...adultery. See what I mean? Major conflict!

The important thing to remember here is that the struggle has to be fully realized. You can't have your character mull it over for a page or two and then, easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy, they decide and that's the end. Let them really be tempted by both options. Let them stew. Let them decide, then change their minds. Torture them a little. Because that's what life is: struggle over choices, regret, sacrifice, and doing better next time. And your characters need to live to be believable.

What books have you read lately that had characters who had to deal with some serious internal conflict?

Wisdom on Wednesdays: Copying the Experts

2011-06-15T06:00:00.001-04:00

The more conferences I go to and the more paid critiques I get from editors and agents, the more I see how the type of critique you get from a pro is just so different from what you get from most critique groups.

Not that critique partners won't give you valuable feedback - not at all! My critique partners are invaluable. I could never put a price on them or on their feedback. They keep me grounded, and they keep me focused. They keep me pointed in the right direction. They are my rocks in a roiling sea of uncertainty, and I would be lost without each and every one of them. I need them.

But I encourage you to get a paid critique from an editor. Not only will you get a different level of feedback, but you'll learn a ton about how to give good critique. It won't just make your manuscript better; it will make you a better writer overall, and a better critique partner.

Writing Craft: Rounding Out Your Characters, Part Three

2011-06-13T06:00:00.001-04:00

We've all heard those complaints about female protagonists who are so bland, they aren't really anybody. And the general wisdom, espacially when it comes to girls in kidlit, is that Bland = Bad.

We've also heard about the importance of making your protagonist relatable to as broad an audience as possible.

And sometimes those seem like two contradictory statements.

Fortunately, I read a book lately that is a great example of a female protagonist who is simultaneously relatable, and multi-faceted and specific in her interests and goals. (And I'm sorry for not having a picture; my computer is still in the shop. It might be able to be revived, and we're pacing anxiously while we wait to hear the news. In the meantime, I've got an adequate but subpar stand-in that won't let me do URL picture links. Apologies.)

Carolyn Mackler's THE EARTH, MY BUTT, AND OTHER BIG ROUND THINGS introduces us to Virginia Shreves, an overweight, insecure, cynical teenager who feels out of place everywhere, but nowhere more than at home with her family.

I picked this book up because of the title (which is AWESOME, isn't it?), and because of the shiny silver sticker on it that says "Printz Honor Book." Yup, you read that right. How could it not be good? But within the first few pages, I thought, "Hmm. I don't think I can relate to this girl." Her problems, at first glance, were not my problems, and her interests were not my interests. In fact, I found myself identifying with her family, the ones she felt she didn't fit in with: I like learning languages and getting exercise and watching artsy films. So I was worried. I thought this was an example of "too specific."

But it had the sticker, and I loved the voice, and I believe in giving a book more than the first chapter to reel me in. By chapter four, I was completely sold on this book, and the more I read, the more I loved it.

Here's why:

Virginia's problems were not with her body, or with her family having different interests. They were with how people spoke to her and treated her, and how she viewed those people, and how she let that influence how she viewed herself.

Her personality was specific, and that made her interesting and believable. But her problem was global, and that is what makes her so relatable.

You can have a specific, well-rounded character (pardon the pun) who is also someone everyone can relate to. And these make some of the best books.

Go read this book! Study it. It's a keeper.

Do you have any other examples of books with specific characters who face global problems?

Saturday Special: WIN a copy of Elana Johnson's POSSESSION!

2011-06-11T06:00:00.001-04:00

Just popping into the blogosphere for an extra-special post to direct you to Literary Rambles, where natalie Aguirre is giving away not one, not two, but THREE copies of Elana Johnson's YA debut POSSESSION! I picked up my own copy yesterday, and guys, you do not want to miss this!

Three copies = three winners.

Go! Enter! And spread the word...

P.S. I am close-ish to getting 200 followers. When I get there, watch this space for a giveaway of my own design... Bwa-ha-ha-ha-haaa!

Friday Favorites: COMPUTERS!

2011-06-10T10:13:00.000-04:00

My computer died sometime overnight on Monday. It worked - albeit grudgingly, moaning and groaning and generally acting like the crotchety 5-years-ancient thing that it was - Monday evening, but when we tried to turn it on Tuesday morning, nothing.

So: I need a new one. And as we have already established, I am a Twenty-First Century Caveperson.

So, A SURVEY! Because you guys are the best, and because you all probably know way more about this stuff than I do. Also, the Hubster and the F-i-L know lots, but they also have to spend hours and hours tinkering and tweaking, and I do not want to do that, so do I really want to trust them? Hmmm. I think not.

First: Mac or PC? If PC, what make/brand/whatever? Intel i3, or dual-core processor?

Second: Hate it, Like it, Love it?

Third: Best thing about your computer?

Fourth: Worst thing about your computer?

That's it! four little qustions. (Okay, that first one was a doozy. Sorry about that. But it was all necesary.) Can you guys help a gal out? Pretty please?

Have a great weekend!

Wisdom on Wednesday: Listening

2011-06-08T06:00:00.013-04:00

I've been getting a lot of critique lately along the lines of:

-This is good, but it's quiet.

-This is good, but it's awfully short.

-This is good, but the MC should be more/less defined.

-Etc.

I spent a lot of time thinking, "Yeah, but I wanted to write a quiet book. So that means I'm done!"

Or, "Yeah, but I was aiming for short, so there would be lots of white space - more room for illustrations is good, right? So that means I'm done!"

Or, "Well, I made that MC purposefully vague/detailed, and you said it was good otherwise, so... Party time! I'm done!"

Um... No.

This week I've come to realize that what my amazing, wonderful, patient critters (because my CPs must be among the most patient in the world, because they deal with me and my detailed crits so well) were really saying was:

This is good for the type of book you're writing. But I don't think the market wants this type of book. In order to make this marketable, you need to make it into a different book.

Sometimes, in order to become great writers, we must first learn to be great listeners.

And a few incredible critique partners probably helps too.

What have your critters been telling you lately that you need to listen to?

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday!

2011-06-06T06:00:00.002-04:00

I'm putting my Writing Craft posts on hold until next week so I can celebrate Marvelous Middle Grade Monday with Shannon Whitney Messenger, Shannon O'Donnell, and all the other lovely bloggers who take the time to review a Middle Grade book every Monday - because MG really does deserve more attention!

So, to see what marvelous Middle Grade book I'm reviewing, go HERE to my post from last Friday, where I talk about a really moving book that I read last week.

And then go to all the other blogs (linked from the Shannons' blogs) celebrating MMGM and see what they're talking about this week!

Wisdom on Wednesday: Less is More

2011-06-01T08:52:00.001-04:00

I can be wordy. My blog posts will attest to that. But as this post will show, I've been working on that, both on my blog and in my manuscripts.

Don't use a paragraph when a sentence will do.

Less is more.

Happy June!

Writing Craft: Rounding Out Characters, Part The Second

2011-05-30T08:32:00.000-04:00

The title of this post is a hint at what I'm going to talk about today: speech patterns and dialogue.

I was on the phone to different plant nurseries yesterday, looking for a specific plant in a specific size, and everyone I talked to gave me the usual, "Just one second and I'll go check." Polite, professional, blah.

Then when I called the third place and I told the guy who answered what I was asking for, he did something different. He repeated it back to me and followed it up with, "Stand by."

I immediately decided that I liked this guy. He was funny, friendly, a little quirky, and original. And I wondered what it is about him that made him use that term: did he come from a military family? Is he a math and sci-fi geek? Is he a college student on track for NASA working part-time for some spare cash? With those two words, he went from being "the guy who works at the plant store" to being an interesting person whom I wanted to know more about.

In books, as in life, people who use interesting words and turns of phrase do more than just stand out. They become memorable, and more importantly, they become interesting and endearing. So bear this in mind when you're writing dialogue. Give one of your characters a catchphrase that tells the reader a little more about who he is. Let the history teacher invent cuss words. Got a makeup freak in your book? Maybe whenever someone compliments her looks, she tells them the shade of her eyeshadow. Pick out those little details that distinguish each character from the others and let them show.

Who are some of the most memorable people in your life, and what did they always say that made them memorable?

Friday Favorites: Finale Season!

2011-05-27T06:00:00.001-04:00

It's May Sweeps!

For those of you who don't lurk on TV show fan boards like I do *ahem*, that means this is the time of year when all the prime time networked shows (which are basically the only ones I watch, aside from cartoons with my kids and the Weather Channel) wind up their seasons and go on hiatus for the summer.

Which means this is when things heat up. Cliffhangers galore, guys. Get ready to be left dangling.

SO, which season finales did you like, and which ones did you hate?

I thought the best offering by far was the 2-hour delight that was The Mentalist. I loved the twist towards the end of the first hour - I had been wondering how they would wind up the whole bomb scenario, and I thought they did it really nicely. And the ending! In a food court, of all places! All I can say is, wow. You need to watch this one, guys. And if that isn't enough to convince you, then check this guy out:

Simon Baker

Bet you want to watch now, don't you? He totally rocks the character of Patrick Jane: damaged, enigmatic, impetuous, and brilliant. How could you not want to watch this show?

Of course, there were other good moments.

Grey's Anatomy did a super job of reversing pretty much every single relationship on the show in one hour without leaving this viewer feeling depressed and hopeless about it all, which was quite a feat.

They can't believe it, either.

Castle finally (FINALLY!) said those three little words - although it's a toss-up as to whether Beckett will remember by the time Season 4 opens in September. (For the reason, you'll have to go back and watch the finale if you missed it.) I'm looking forward to finding out!

She knows.

The New Directions lost at Nationals on Glee, but can anybody honestly say they were surprised? I mean, the oldest members of the Glee Club are Juniors. They've got one more year of high school, and we're writers. Do you put the climax 2/3 of the way through the book? No, you do not. So, no surprises there. But, there was an awesome moment between Kurt and Blaine.

Brittany and Santana: MVPs for the season.

But the best, in my book? The Mentalist FTW!

How about you? What was your favorite finale?

Wisdom on Wednesdays: The Shower Reflex

2011-05-25T06:00:00.001-04:00

No, I'm not going there. That's a whole other blog, folks. Trust me, this is a writing thing!

When I was at the SCBWI Writers' Retreat and Conference in Niagara Falls the other weekend, I had the enormous privilege of attending a workshop by Terri Farley, author of the Phantom Stallion series and the new YA novel, SEVEN TEARS INTO THE SEA (which is about, among other things, the legend of Selkies, magical creatures who can shed their sealskins to take human form, so I am super-excited to have a copy of this book!).

And I'm not going to blow the whole workshop; that would be unfair to Terri, and I'd do you a disservice, because I could never sum up all that Terri covered in one blog post. But there was one thing that I often do anyway, so I feel okay about sharing this one tip.

Terri called it "The Shower Reflex."

You know, that moment when you think you're done, and then you go get involved in something else (like taking a shower, or doing yard work) and your muse shows up and goes, "Hey, this is what you should have done in that scene!"

For me, this moment usually comes after I've submitted my manuscript. Which is obviously not ideal.

So, my wisdom for today is not to wait until the last minute to make those revisions. To make them a week (or five) before you need to have them done. Give yourself time for the Shower Reflex. Pretend you've submitted it. Really let go of it. Then go take a shower.

Do you make last-minute revisions like me and then live to regret it? Or do you give yourself time to subconsciously reflect before submitting?

Writing Craft: Rounding Out Characters, Part One

2011-05-23T10:33:00.000-04:00

There are lot sand lots of ways to develop your characters more, so I'm going to tackle them one-at-a-time in these Monday posts for the next few weeks.

This week, we're going to talk about hobbies and passions. If you really think about it, everyone has a hobby, apart from their job, that they take seriously. Maybe it's a sport, like my neigbor; maybe it's antique cars; maybe it's a craft, like knitting or crocheting; maybe, like me, you know a few sci-fi buffs. It could be anything, but everybody has something.

The thing is, if you want your characters to be believable, they should have hobbies and passions, too. And those hobbies and passions should inform their internal thoughts and their dialogue.

Teresa Toten's YA novel ME AND THE BLONDES is a great example of this. In it, the main character, who tells the story, is the captain of her basketball team, so her inner thoughts are filled with sports references. When she uses a metaphor, it's often basketball-related. Not every time, but enough that we really understand that this is a kid who plays basketball seriously.

Additionally, her mother is a film buff, so her dialogue is peppered with movie quotes. And every character is like this.

There are challenges with this. If the hobby is one you don't know anything about, there will be research involved. And then there's the question of blank-slate-style relatability, which I'll get into in another post. There is a balance to be struck here, and it will take a lot of attention to detail and hard work in the revision stage. But it's hard work that will pay off.

Are you already doing this in your WiP? Did it improve your manuscript?

Friday Shout-Outs!

2011-05-20T06:00:00.001-04:00

It's been a while since I've done any shout-outs, and I'm thrilled to have some doubly-great news to share this week. Two of my picture book critters, Peggy Collins and Brian Cretney, have a new book coming out!

Peggy is the brilliant, kind, very funny author-illustrator of IN THE GARDEN and IN THE SNOW. More importantly, she was one of the very first people to encourage me on my writing journey, when I met her at an SCBWI event two years ago. I am thrilled and honoured to be in a critique group with her.

Brian is the author-illustrator of LAST IN LINE, and he's someone I am just getting to know, but I can say without a doubt that he is generous and kind and talented, and I am really looking forward to getting to know him better over the coming months.

And these two incredible people have collaborated on their newest creation, TOOTER'S STINKY WISH, out at the end of this month! Written by Brian and illustrated by Peggy, this fabulous picture book chronicles the adventures of one very un-stinky skunk who wants nothing more than to stink like any skunk should. Check out the super-cool (and hilarious) book trailer here. Check out the details for their launch party in St. Catharine's, ON here. And pre-order their book HERE!

And make sure to check out their websites and congratulate them!

Wisdom on Wednesdays: On Friendship

2011-05-18T06:00:00.001-04:00

I just came back from an amazing weekend at the SCBWI Canada East Writers' Retreat and Conference in Niagara Falls. Yeah, I know. AMAZING, RIGHT?

Not only were the workshops practical and useful and incredible, but so were the critique sessions. And the fact that there was even time scheduled in to take the critique into consideration and work on a revision.

But the best part was the people. Eating meals at the same table and talking about everything but writing; laughing our way through who knows how much wine and cake; holding each others' hands in the hallways while we sweated bullets over our impending critique sessions; and being there for each other in the hallways as we came out afterwards, our minds swirling with new ideas and uncertainties, reassuring each other that "you'll figure it out."

Yes, you have to make room for the writing. But don't do it at the cost of forging bonds with other writers. We hold each other up. Individually, we are all a mess: overworked, undernourished, living off a steady stream of caffeine and the pure adrenaline rush of creating. But together, we can make miracles happen.

Wisdom on Wednesdays: What We Can Learn From Nike

2011-05-11T06:00:00.006-04:00

Confession time: I have been procrastinating. Oh, have I ever been procrastinating. It's yard work season, people.

But last night, I just couldn't wait any longer. I had two deadlines staring me in the face, and I just had to get off my butt and do some serious writing and revising. So, I dragged my sorry butt away from the TV, and I hid my books where I can't see them, and I hauled myself down to my basement office, and I made myself type something. I made myself focus. I made myself produce. Butt In Chair.

And you know what?

It totally worked! And now I'm so into my story that even though it's after midnight while I'm typing this, I don't want to stop and go to bed.

Which is stupid, because I have kids to feed and pack lunches for in the morning. And after the yard work, I could really use a shower. I think I might be wearing half my garden in my hair.

So I'm going to stop, and shower, and go to bed. I will dream about my WIP. And I know that tomorrow, if I just do it, I'll be sucked right back in. And that's a great feeling.

So, if you're stuck? Or just dreading that BIC time? Just Do It.

Writing Craft: Expecting the Unexpected

2011-05-09T06:00:00.001-04:00

I was watching one of my never-miss, the phone is unplugged, just let that person at the door think we're dead shows with the hubster a while ago, and it features yet another will-they, won't-they couples. In this episode, there was a scene at the end where the woman basically told the man that she loves him, but not using those actual words, and then there's a moment during which neither of them says anything while their eyes do the talking, and THEN she puts on a sad sort-of smile, turns away, and the camera fades to black.

Needless to say, thew end of this scene caused some rather heated debate at my house. The hubster was certain that the woman just needed more time to process (since she is, of course, involved with someone else at the moment), while I had dramatic twists and turns pouring out of my ears. I finally settled on one of two things: either there has been a proposal from the actual boyfriend, or she's pregnant. Both scenarios would give the writers the most time to spin out the will-they/won't-they for yet another season, while delivering the highest level of immediate impact for big drama and high stakes.

And then we waited with bated breath to find out what would happen.

And then last week, what happened was that we saw her decide to make a move on this guy (FINALLY!), only to miss out by seconds.

In other words, she wasn't pregnant, and she was also probably not engaged. And nothing else was going on, either. It was predictable. It was kind of blah. And you know what else?

It was refreshing.

I have begun to expect the unexpected in books and film, and when the normal happens, it's actually kind of a nice change. And I think there's a lesson here.

When we write, yes, high drama is important. Yes, we need to keep the stakes high. But there's a balance to be struck: we need a few moments of ordinary in there, too. Sometimes, the best way to take our reader by surprise is not to try to surprise them at all.

What do you think? Do you expect the unexpected, and get surprised by the normal? Do you look to have a balance of both in your writing, or is it high drama all the way? What works for you as a reader? As a writer?

Friday Favorites: Blockbuster

2011-05-06T08:57:00.000-04:00

Those of you who regularly read the blog know that I'm a TV and movie freak. I have my don't-miss, the-phone-is-off-the-hook shows, like this one:

Castle

And of course, this one:

Grey's Anatomy

And I love movies. Especially with popcorn. So last winter, when faced with the prospect of getting to watch my choice of movie after a 20-minute walk through the snow, a search through the shelves, and another 20-minute walk back, versus joining Netflix and having unlimited access to whatever I wanted to watch from the comfort of my own home without having to go ANYWHERE in the snow, you know what I picked. Of course I joined Netflix. Who wouldn't?

But as I sifted through Netflix's offerings, I quicly realized that Netflix didn't have most of what I wanted. So, I watched some things on Netflix (like kids' TV with the kids), and I went to Blockbuster for the rest. Like my local librarians and my local bookstore proprietors, I love my local Blockbuster staff members. They know my face. More importantly, they know my tastes. I need them like I need air. I knew that even if Blockbuster didn't have what I was looking for, there would be a friendly staff member who would be more than happy to look into ordering it in for me.

Only now Blockbuster Canada has gone into receivership.

Which does not bode well for this customer.

Because when Blockbuster is gone, where will I be able to go to find those old gems that Netflix doesn't offer? My choices will be limited by a handful of nameless, faceless people who I have no relationship with and no way of reaching.

I hate that.

What does the loss of brick-and-mortar places like Blockbuster and Borders mean for you? Do you care? Why or why not?

Wisdom on Wednesdays: Looking Up

2011-05-04T08:06:00.000-04:00

In a previous life, I was a chambermaid at a small inn in Maine. It was fun, but we had to follow the strictest standards: every room had to be cleaner than clean! One of the things the head chambermaid always used to say to us was, "Before you leave the room, remember to look UP!" She was reminding us that by just looking straight ahead and down, which is where our natural sightlines are, we might miss something important.

I think of her every time I go for an "inspiration walk." Her words are a reminder that if we keep our eyes open and our heads up, we'll see the things that most people miss. It might be the shifting pattern of a flock of birds, or the paint peeling off the water pump at the park, or a starling poking its head out of someone's roof gutter. It might be up high, or it might be on the ground in the shadows. It might be the cornerstone that holds our next story together. But if we don't remind ourselves to look in those unusual places, we'll never see it.

Have you been "looking up"? What have you seen lately that you normally would have missed?

Writing Craft: A Brief Note on Concept Books

2011-05-02T06:00:00.001-04:00

IT'S INTERNATIONAL PICTURE BOOK WRITING WEEK! More on that at the end of this post. And, I still have family in town, so this is going to have to be a quickie, but I just wanted to throw out another note on concept books, which is:

You still need a hook. In fact, since concept books are so plentiful and the possibility of another concept book out there being on the same subject as yours is so huge (like, there almost definitely, most certainly, without a doubt IS*), a hook is pretty much mandatory. So, whether it's that your book rhymes, or has a craft project at the end, or involves the counting of fish by pink feathery aliens living in a yellow submarine, figure out what it is, and include it in your cover/query letter.

And now:

IT'S INTERNATIONAL PICTURE BOOK WRITING WEEK! In which PB-ers the world over commit to writing one first draft of one picture book every day for a whole week! Because way back in November we did something called PiBoIdMo and now we have 30 ideas that we still haven't done anything with! *ahem* #notme #iswear #okaymaybe

Actually, I think NaPiBoWriWee is a great idea, and I think Paula Yoo is pretty cool for thinking of it and for putting it all together, so I'm joining in. Go here to do the same. It's a great way to give yourself a kick in the pants if you've let the writing slide, and it's a great way to experience some camaraderie if you've been trucking along all on your writerly lonesome for the first part of the year.

So, join in! Have fun! Go nuts! Keep me posted! And remember your hook!

*Unless your book is about seasons on Mars. In which case, your topic IS your hook.

Friday Favorites: Firsts

2011-04-29T08:58:00.000-04:00

I find myself reading series more often than not - but almost every time, it's the first book of the series that I end up loving most:

THE HUNGER GAMES

TWILIGHT

(Yeah, I liked TWILIGHT. I'm a Cullen wannabe. And I thought it ended perfectly.)

THE WIZARD OF OZ

(Yes, there were more. Lots, lots more. You should read them.)

Why is that?

And what about you? Are there any good series out there that have awesome second and third and onward books? Is the first one ALWAYS the best?

Wisdom on Wednesdays: Being Generous

2011-04-27T10:26:00.000-04:00

In the acting world, I used to hear this phrase all the time: "He/she's such a generous actor."

And I'd think a lot about what that means.

It means not hogging the spotlight.

It means thinking about the scene first, and putting aside your ideas about how things should go to find what works.

It means saying "yes" to your colleagues' ideas, and giving them ideas that they can say "yes" to.

It means being a team player.

It's the same in writing:

There are lots of books in the sea; yours is just one of them. This is a good thing.

Sometimes, we have to kill our darlings to make the story work.

Sometimes, we have to let the characters take us where they want to go.

Sometimes, writers need to lean on each other. We ask for support when we need it, and we support others when they need it.

It's a happy coincidence that my friend Matthew is doing a critique of a picture book query today on his blog, and he asked me to go over there and see if I could lend a few ideas. Without even knowing it, he was giving me an opportunity to be generous. If any of you write picture books, I invite you to go over there and do the same.

And when you write today, write with generosity in your hearts and at your fingertips.

Writing Craft: Details, Details

2011-04-25T10:00:00.000-04:00

The perfect scene is the scene that gives you just the right one or two details that you need to get a sense of the whole thing: the atmosphere, the setting, and what the characters are thinking or feeling, both in that moment as you enter the scene and throughout the scene as you take them (and their changing emotions) through it.

So, how the heck do you do that?

One way that works for me, since I watch a lot of movies (and, let's face it, I'm addicted to my favorite TV shows - I even get all snappy and irritable on rerun weeks, and I get all giddy when a new episode is coming up, and OMG SUMMER IS COMING SOON AND WHAT AM I GOING TO DOOOOOO??? *ahem* It might be a little unhealthy.), is to think of the scene as if it were being played out on-screen.

You know how often new scenes start with a close-up of something? Someone's hands fidgeting with the hem of their skirt, or a vase of half-wilted flowers on the side table, or something? Well, those are the same details you can start your scene with. Of course, it's probably not a good idea to start with those examples, because they're clichès, but you should think carefully about the tone you want to set, because the details you start with will dictate how your reader approaches each scene. Choose the one or two details that you would zoom in on if you were the director and this were your show.

And as I move through the scene, I picture it in my mind, and I write the details that my mental camera zooms in on. If the protagonist is feeling cornered by an intruder and needs to get away, in my mind, the camera zooms in on her grabbing the vase of half-wilted flowers and tracks the vase her as she hurls it at him. So, that's the detail I focus on; not what her body is doing, or what he's doing to dodge it, but her hands on the vase of flowers. (Again, clichè, but you know what I mean, right?)

So, that's how I approach it. How about you? Do you write with your zoom lens attached, or do you have another method? What works for you?

Friday Favorites: Trees and Books

2011-04-22T06:00:00.001-04:00

I love trees. I love the shade they provide on the hottest days of summer; I love look of their skeletons in winter, covered in a thin layer of snow, or dipped in glittering ice; I love the smell of their leaves unfurling in the spring, and the feeling of their rough bark beneath my hands; I love the way they shape the skyline; I love the contrast of their leaves against the cloudless sky, deep earthy green and endless blue.

I love books, the paper ones. I love the smell of them; I love the way they look on my bookcase, spines all lined up, an ever-shifting pattern of colors and textures; I love holding them, leafing through their pages, finding that perfect passage that has been read so many times that the binding is strained there; I love browsing through the shelves of undisclosed riches in the library and the bookstore; I love the feeling of my arms straining to bear the weight of my newfound treasures.

Today is a day when I experience the conflict of loving these two things.

Today is Earth Day.

Plant something.

Lend a book.

Publishing Is Not About Books

2011-04-20T06:00:00.002-04:00

Rachelle Gardner recently wrote this interesting post about the publishing industry and the music industry, and how much they (don't) have in common. It got me thinking, and what it got me thinking was this:

We've got it all wrong.

We've been talking about the future of publishing with the advent of the e-reader, and what will happen to publishing, and how self-pubbed e-books will change publishing, and and and. But here's the thing:

Publishing is not about books.

Publishing is about storytelling.

It's not about the words on the page (or the e-ink on the screen). Publishers create audiobooks, which in my mind are analogous to CDs. And more and more people are opting to listen to the audiobook instead of reading the words on the page - and hey, since you can do that AND clean your house at the same time, you can hardly argue.

And let's not forget about film rights: more and more books are optioned for film these days. Going to the movies is, for many, many, many people, an alternative to reading a book. For one thing, it's a hell of a lot quicker. And I think that in our time-pressured society, in which people are trying to cram more and more into our already-packed schedules (full-time job, family, pet, home repairs, and writing on the side, anyone?), the number of people investing in audiobooks and opting to skip the book in favor of the movie is only going to go up.

Books? I love them. I am a true bibliophile. I want a 3,600-sq-ft library like Jay Walker's. But mark my words: they're going to go the way of sheet music and movie scripts.

Publishing? It will survive. But not as we know it.

What do you think? Do you agree? Disagree?

Writing Craft: Picture Books and the Rule of Three

2011-04-19T00:21:00.000-04:00

First, I have family in town. Woo-Hoo! And also, Oh, Man! Because this means things just might get a little off-schedule here at the blog as I cram the additional obligation of socialising with my houseguest into my already overcrowded schedule.

So, since we're short on time, let's get down to business. Most of you have probably already heard about the Rule of Three, but when I started writing PBs, I hadn't. I just put it in my manuscript: the main character tried to solve her problem three times before she finally got it right. I didn't mean anything by it; it's just that two didn't feel like enough, and four felt like dragging it on a bit. And then I posted it on the SCBWI boards, and a critiquer said, "You did a nice job incorporating the Rule of Three in there."

And I went, "Wha-huh?" And I thanked her, modestly, because no-one likes a braggart, even when it's obvious that the braggart is a genius. And then I went and looked it up. :-) And I went, "OHHHH!" And I realised I'm not such a genius after all.

Basically, the Rule of Three is this: when writing a PB, do things as much as possible in threes. If a character has a defining characteristic, give three examples. If the character is solving a problem, make them try and fail three times. Jane O'Connor's FANCY NANCY starts off with a great example of this when Nancy says she likes being fancy, then lays out what that means for her by listing three fancy things that she does.

Another great example is Julia Donaldson's The Gruffalo, in which a mouse is first threatened by three different animals, then goes back and scares the same three animals.

And it's kind of a no-brainer, because when you think about it, things are in threes everywhere: three acts in a play, three movements in a symphony, triangles in classical art, three, three, three. Even bad things, as the saying goes, happen in threes. Cerberus had three heads. Humans like the number three, and it's ingrained in us. So go with it.

Everybody repeat after me: THREE is a magic number...

Hee-hee. Happy Monday night!

Can you think of examples, either PBs or novels, that do things in threes? Share with us.

Friday Favorites: DYSTOPIAS

2011-04-15T09:56:00.000-04:00

I love a good dystopian novel. I mean, LOVE. Dystopian is, by far, my favorite genre. These books make me think hard about where society is headed, and about whether I like it or want to go a different way. They make me think about who I am, and what I stand for. They help me to define myself. And, perhaps strangely, I find them to be rather affirming. (I might have some issues with questioning authority and some control-freak tendencies going on there. Just maybe.)

So, let's talk good dystopians! Some of my faves are:

FAHRENHEIT 451, by Ray Bradbury. This is one of the classics, guys. If you used the Cliff's Notes when you were supposed to read this in High School, then shame on you. This is a world where real thinking is shunned in favor of mindless pap, and where reading as an intellectual pursuit is illegal. As an aside, the TODAY show this morning featured stories about how and why men are pursuing more and more plastic surgery, and the phenomenon of "WombTubing," in which women video-document their pregnancies (from the first reading of the pregnancy test onwards) and post the vids on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter. I don't really need to say any more than that, do I? Go read this book. And if you've already read it, re-read it.

1984, by George Orwell (who also wrote ANIMAL FARM, another of my favorites). TV is ubiquitous, the government is totalitarian, and everybody tries to be the same as everybody else. The only part I don't recognize as I look around me now is the totalitarian government part. This book is possibly the most prescient piece of literature ever created, with the exception of:

FEED, by MT Anderson. I would give both my legs and a kidney to be able to write like this. And did I mention that even I am on Twitter? And when I'm not online, I wonder what information I'm missing out on? Look out, guys: The Feed is coming.

There are more, of course, but these are the ones I'd take with me to a deserted island if I could. (Which makes it sound like I would WANT to go to a deserted island... Which, come to think of it, I might. Peace and quiet and sunshine and ocean, anyone?)

How about you? What are your favorite dystopians? And if you hate the genre, what is your favorite genre?

Wisdom on Wednesdays: Just Keep Submitting

2011-04-13T08:10:00.000-04:00

The marvelous Editorial Anonymous said it best in this post: just because you've sent your manuscript to one or two people, that doesn't mean your job is done. Don't just sit around now waiting for something to happen. Write something else. Research more editors, more agents. If you get feedback, revise and improve. And whatever you do, just keep submitting.

My challenge to you is to submit one thing this month: a short story or a poem to a magazine or an anthology, a picture book to an editor, a novel to a publisher. One thing.

Writing Craft: What IS a Concept Book, Anyway?

2011-04-11T08:49:00.000-04:00

It's the first of our writing craft posts, guys! Woo-hoo! I'll be doing these on Mondays, and will switch between Picture Books and novels randomly as the mood strikes me.

Okay, let's talk about picture books. There is more than one kind of picture book out there, and I'm not talking about board books, although those are out there and a lot of board books would work equally well as picture books and vice-versa. (More about this in an upcoming post.) I'm talking about concept books versus all the rest of the picture books out there. A concept book is one that is written with the goal of delivering a piece of information, like the alphabet, or counting from one to ten, or the names of a bunch of different animals, or opposites, or something like that.

A lot of people mistake this to mean that a concept book has no plot, but that isn't the case. For example, Rod Campbell's DEAR ZOO (a favorite in my house) is about a child who writes to the zoo asking for a pet and receives crate after crate of inappropriate animals, which are returned until the perfect pet finally arrives. The "concept" element (names and distinguishing characteristics of a variety of animals) is really obvious and makes up the majority of the book - in fact, without this concept, you wouldn't really have a book - but there's still a basic storyline.

Sometimes the storyline even makes up the majority of the book, as in Kari-Lynn Winters' RUNAWAY ALPHABET, in which the sounds of each letter of the alphabet are delivered through the telling about a girl's day at the winter carnival. Here, even though it's clear that the point of the book is to deliver the sounds of the alphabet, you could do away with most of them and still have an engaging story.

Either way, while it's possible to have a concept book that does no more than list the items on the dining table or take us through our one-two-threes, you'll have a much stronger book if you manage to weave the concept into a story with a solid plot. Whether the framework you choose is that of a typical day (from waking to bedtime), an experience like the carnival, or even a night of dreams, having that framework will give you more angles from which to pitch your book, and will give readers more angles from which they can enjoy and appreciate it.

So, my challenge to you, picture-bookers, is to write a concept book this week. It could be a list, a counting book, an alphabet book, anything. But give it a plot.

And if you need somewhere to dummy out your new manuscript, check out this link to what is possibly the most expensive blank journal ever for the amount of writing space you get: it's 1 inch x 1 1/2 inches, and goes for $19. Great for those writing the extremely sparsely worded picture book. Or the guy at the market who can write people's names on a grain of rice.

So, how did you do? Have you written your concept book yet? Is it easier or harder than you thought?

Friday Shout-Outs: and TWO Giveaways!

2011-04-08T06:00:00.002-04:00

It's Friday, and it's time for some shout-outs! And there are two pretty frawesome giveaways happening right now too, so make sure you read all the way to the end of this post.

First, a shout-out to fellow Greater-Toronto-Area writer-person Maureen McGowan, whose TWO debut novels were released last Friday! CINDERELLA: NINJA WARRIOR and SLEEPING BEAUTY: VAMPIRE SLAYER are two fractured fairy tales with butt-kicking princesses, which just rocks. AND, they're told in choose-your-own-adventure format! How awesome is THAT? (They're both available at Amazon, but try your local indie bookseller first. Let's support local bookstores while we still have them. Okay? Okay.)

And just because they're so cool to look at:

So, go. Buy books. Read blog. She's great! I know you'll like her, and I know you'll like her books.

Next a shout-out to one of my former PB critique buddies, Yolanda Ridge, who emailed to tell me that she is thrilled to be holding a copy of her MG debut novel, TROUBLE IN THE TREES, which will be released on May 1st! YAAAY! Yolanda is smart, talented, and one of the best crit buddies I've ever had. I'll miss her while she ignores picture books for a while so she can focus on her middle grade work (*shakes fist in air*), but I wish her the very, very best of luck with this and all her future books.

And just because it won't be released until May, that doesn't mean we can't have a look-see, does it?

Looks good, huh?

AND NOW: The giveaways! Get excited.

There's another book debuting soon. You might have heard of it. I'll give you some clues.

It's a dystopian, which is exactly the kind of book I love. It's coming out on June 7th. James Dashner (of MAZE RUNNER fame) gave it a kick-ass blurb. It's by Elana Johnson. It's called POSSESSION. It looks like this:

And Shannon O'Donnell is giving an ARC of it away. HERE. So go enter! (But not too many of you, because I WANT IT IT'S MINE ALL MIIIINNNE!)

ALSO: Elana herself is running the most freaktastic giveaway I have ever seen, and I am completely jealous of her book-writing, contest-creating genius. So go enter. Details are HERE.

*ahem* I might have had coffee today.

Happy Friday!

Wisdom on Wednesdays: Switching Off

2011-04-06T09:43:00.001-04:00

Technology really fills a large part of our lives. And it's distracting.

This really hit home the other day when I realized that every time I open a new tab in Google Chrome, instead of getting a blank page, I get a list of apps, mostly games. And I was tempted. "Just one game," I thought to myself, "and then I'll get my work done."

But we all know that's never what happens. One game turns to two, then the best of three, then before you know it supper is an hour late and your kids are trashing the living room.* It's the same with Twitter, useful though it may be. It's the same with news feeds. It's the same with anything electronic. And it won't stop. Unless you make it.

Ian McEwan made a comment in this interview about writers needing quiet space which won't be interrupted in order to think and to write. I agree with him.

So, tempting as they may be,** I've made a commitment to ignoring those game apps that pop up on my screen whenever I open a new tab. I've made a commitment to spending my writing time doing actual writing. I've made a commitment to switching off.

How about you? What's distracting you these days? What are you going to do about it?

ALSO: I've noticed that I've gotten away from craft posts, so I'll be getting back to doing some of those starting next week. YAY!

*Come on, I know I'm not the only one. Am I?
**Dang, those Angry Birds are fun.

It's a Balancing Act

2011-04-04T05:56:00.000-04:00

First, if you haven't had a chance to check out the Write Hope auction to benefit Save the Children in Japan, hurry up! You only have a few days left to bid! My offering, a picture book manuscript critique and query critique, is at http://write-hope.blogspot.com/2011/04/day-10-item-1.html, but there are lots and lots of great things to bid on.

Second, Blogger's hyperlinks widgety-thing is acting up this morning, so sorry about that html up there.

And third: I've been feeling a little out-of-balance lately. The writing life, the mothering life, the wife-ing life (Hey, how come "mother" turns into "mothering" but "wife" doesn't really turn into anything? 'Cause "wifing" just looks wrong.), the being "me" life... They all just seem to be taking up too much time, and I'm running out of time to sleep.

As you may know from some of my previous posts, I usually turn to scheduling to fix this: I plan each day, in terms of when I'll do housework, when I'll do my workout, when I'll write, etc. I've fallen out of my scheduling ways lately, which is probably why I've been so off-kilter, and I'm getting back to it to try to get the life/sleep scales balanced again. But I'm curious about what you do.

How do you maintain balance in your life?

Write Hope Auction for Japan

2011-04-01T09:13:00.001-04:00

Remember that rumor about a picture book critique and query critique by me being auctioned off to raise money for Japan?

It's true. Click HERE to bid - you only have until 9AM EDT on Tuesday, April 5th!

It's for a great cause, and there are lots and lots of amazing things on offer, so head on over there.

Happy bidding!

*I originally had a typo in this post: I said that the auction would close on Monday, April 4th, not Tuesday, April 5th. I've corrected it here. Sorry!

Wisdom on Wednesdays: A Note on Professionalism

2011-03-30T06:00:00.002-04:00

A lot of you have probably heard by now about the author who went ballistic on a reviewer who posted a mixed review on their blog. I'm not going to name the author, or the reviewer, or the blog - it isn't really that important, and I don't want any flaming in here. The point of this post isn't to ridicule, or make the author feel worse than she probably already does now that she's had a couple of days to look back at her very bad, very public behavior.

I just want to reiterate this point: we are professionals. We might sleep in, gorge ourselves on chocolate and coffee, refuse to change our socks, and bathe sporadically, but when it comes down to dealing with other writers, editors, agents, and anyone else in the publishing or book business, we are professionals, and we have to act like it.

Please, please, please, for the sake of your future in this or any other industry (and this goes for actors too - and YOU KNOW WHO I AM TALKING ABOUT): don't respond unkindly when you see someone saying something about your work that you don't like. Don't insult people. Don't argue with people over whether your work has merit. Just don't do it. If you can't be professional and polite, then be invisible and silent. Lock yourself in your bedroom or call your best friend and rant away. Scream at your mirror till your throat is sore, write in your private journal until your pen runs out of ink and your anger runs out of steam, and then move on to the next book or the next movie or the next whatever and put the bad review behind you. Instead of trying to get even or convince them they're wrong, spend that energy making your next project ten times better than the last one.

But whatever you do, don't get into a public confrontation. It will only do you harm.

In Which Hell Freezes Over

2011-03-28T06:00:00.001-04:00

So, if you're a regular around here, you might have noticed the change in the sidebar to the right. Namely the addition of the "Tweet" buttons. And the big window with tweets in it. By me.

Yeeeaaah. I might have joined Twitter. This might be my profile. And it's a little weird.

I feel like I'm in uncharted territory. I mean, some people seem to go from wonderfully informative or insightful (this is a great book, this is a great article) to insanely off-the-cuff (Coffee - YUMMO!) in the space of less than three tweets. But then others are pretty much either one or the other most of the time. And I'm still getting the hang of how to sort the tweets. #isthatevenpossibleHELP

But I'm getting there. I wanted to open myself up to building connections with agents, editors, and other writers out there, so I figured I'd have to jump in sooner or later, and it may as well be sooner.

So, come find me. I'm @IshtaWrites. I tweet a few times a day, about books I love, articles I think are interesting, and other useful publishing/writing-related things. I don't auto-follow-back, but if your tweets generally err on the side of informative, I WILL follow you!

See you in the Twitterverse. #watchoutforflyingpigs

Friday Favorites: Firefly!

2011-03-25T06:00:00.000-04:00

Confession time: I'm a sci-fi geek.

I KNOW! Who saw that one coming? No-one, right? With my big hair and actor/dancer-ness? But yeah, I'm totally a sci-fi geek. I once dressed up as Counsellor Troi from Star Trek:TNG for Halloween. I went to conventions. My attic is a gold mine for Trekker nerds. But what with the kids, and the husband, and the trying to launch multiple careers at the same time, I kind of lost my way.

Until I discovered Firefly!

First, the concept: It's the Wild West. In Space. The blend of horses, six-shooters, illegal shipments of cattle, and spaceships is pretty frawesome. If that's not high-concept, I don't know what is.

Second: It was created by Joss Whedon. You know who he is - he wrote this show called Buffy the Vampire Slayer that might have gone on to attract millions of fans and spawn a spinoff, dolls, books, comics... He also wrote Toy Story. Mm-Hmm. So you know going in that this is going to be high quality scriptwriting.

Third: it stars Nathan Fillion, who is quickly becoming one of my favorite actors. His characters are so rich, you almost think he's just being himself, except that they're all different from each other, so he must just be good.

If you like westerns, you'll like Firefly. If you like Sci-fi, you'll like Firefly. If you like both, you'll definitely like Firefly.

It was cancelled after 14 episodes for reasons that are unknown to me - and frankly, I just can't understand what could have made them drop this show. So, go to the video store. Buy the series. Watch it. You'll love it.

Are Bookstores Going Bye-Bye?

2011-03-23T10:27:00.000-04:00

One of my local indie bookstores is going out of business at the end of this month. Well, actually, it's not technically one of my local bookstores. It's a family-owned-and-run shop two towns over from where I live. But it's the closest indie to my house, so I'm claiming it. At least, until the end of the month, when it won't be there anymore.

This makes me sad.

I asked the owners what made it impossible for them to stay open, and they cited the upsurge in e-reading, as well as the opening of a big-chain bookstore in the same town. With a dwindling customer base, they just couldn't keep up with rising rent costs.

Contrast this with the picture of big-chain bookstore BORDERS' bankruptcy and we have an interesting picture. Will the big chains, now pushing out the smaller mom-and-pops in some cities while going out of business in others, last much longer anyway? Are print books going the way of the video casette tape? Will bookstores become nothing more than a shopfront where customers can leaf through sample titles before downloading e-books, while sipping lattes and letting the kids run wild in the ever-expanding toy sections? Will the indie bookstores make a comeback? Or will all those bookstores be bulldozed to make way for condos?

What do you think?

More Ways to Give to Japan

2011-03-21T06:00:00.005-04:00

Courtesy of Robert Paul Weston:

If you live in Canada, go HERE for a site with links to donate to several humanitarian organizations that are giving aid to Japan.

If you live in the USA, go HERE to donate to the Red Cross.

If you live in the UK, go HERE to donate to the British arm of the Red Cross.

If you want to donate to the Japanese Red Cross, go HERE.

And if you like auctions, the intrepid trio of Rachael Harrie, Marieke, and Luna have put together an auction of all things writerly that they're calling WriteHope2011, to raise money for Save the Children's efforts in Japan. Go HERE for more deets and to bid. And there might be a rumor floating around that there will be a query critique and a PB critique by me that you can bid on, so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for those!

SO: Go forth and give.

Non-Blogfest celebrating Kirsten Hubbard's LIKE MANDARIN

2011-03-16T06:00:00.001-04:00

Disclosure: I haven't read LIKE MANDARIN. Yet. But I will. Because based on this Goodreads blurb, I can relate a little. Who didn't have someone who they would have given anything to be like in High School? And it looks like an amazing book. So in the spirit of raising some awareness for a debut author's debut book, here's my post on who I would have given anything to be like when I was a teenager. My Mandarin.

They sat together in every class. Perfect hair, perfect clothes, perfect teeth. Exchanging perfect smiles with their perfect boyfriends. Making plans to go to each other's perfect houses in their perfect neighborhoods on the East side of town, up in the hills, wide boulevards lined with quaint little shops and grand trees. Far away from my neighborhood on the other side of town.

They played fine instruments: piano, violin. Nothing like the uncultured, raw sound of my second-hand guitar. My wild curls were always getting caught in things, but they never had a wisp out of place. My mouth watered at the sight of their rich lunches, wraps and sodas and candy bars, white bread and American cheese. My cheese wasn't American; it was just plain cheddar.

I stole pieces of their lives: the name of a movie, a band, a store, a brand, stowed away on scraps of paper and in the recesses of my mind for future reference. Waiting for the day to come when I would get my invitation to the party.

My invitation came in an acceptance letter, two years earlier than usual. And just like that, I was the Mandarin, and they were just plain cheddar.

Hitting Your Target Age Group

2011-03-14T06:00:00.001-04:00

I saw "Fantastic Mr Fox" this weekend. It was dry. It was witty. It was excellently cast and voiced. The animation was perfect. It was peppered with brilliant references to other, famous films. It was fantastic.

It was not for kids.

This film was, in my opinion, way too violent for the 7+ age group it was targeted at. It included characters being drugged, shot at, drowned (but miraculously surviving), threatened with knives, bullied, and kidnapped. The main character, Mr Fox, breaks the law, lies to his wife about it, gets caught by his wife and promises not to do it anymore, and then in the end continues to steal and is applauded by the rest of the crowd of animals he hangs out with. There are very, very mixed messages being portrayed here. It's not for kids.

The jokes, while brilliant, are adult jokes. They'll go right over kids' heads - at least, they'd go right over my kids' heads, if I were to let my kids see the movie. So the humour isn't for kids, either. The target market for this movie is the 25-35 age group: the parents of the kids.

So why was this movie marketed to kids? Is it to get the parents to rent it for their kids to watch, and then get taken in themselves? What benefit is there to making something that looks like a kids' movie, has its trailers shown in the previews before other kids' movies at the theatres, but is so clearly not really for the kids? Did they know they were making a movie for grown-ups and teens, or did they just aim for younger kids and miss their mark?

This movie reminded me of the fine line we have to walk as children's writers between attracting the kids and keeping them reading, and pleasing the parents. Kids love Junie B. Jones for her quirky use of language and her spontaneity, and parents dislike her for the same reasons. Teens love Twilight because it speaks to their fascination with the line between life and death, and to the tortured nature of teenaged relationships; like it or not, teen girls can relate to Bella. Mothers hate that, and they think Bella is a poor role model. Write something too adult, and we lose the kids; write something too childish, and the parents start raising eyebrows.

That said, if I'm going to err, I want it to be on the side of writing for the kids. I don't want my jokes to go over their heads; I don't want to scare them into putting my book down; I don't want them to want to stop reading. And I want to make them think. And I have to believe that I can do that without making my book so risque that their parents won't want them to read it.

What do you think? Did you see "Fantastic Mr Fox?" Would you let your 2nd or 3rd graders see it? Is it appropriate to make a book whose movie version we wouldn't let our kids watch? Where is the line, and how do we walk it?

Disaster Relief for Japan: How to Help

2011-03-12T00:01:00.000-05:00

As you all know, Friday's disaster in Japan was catastrophic. My thoughts immediately went out to my friends who live in Tokyo, and my friends who live here in Canada but have loved ones in Japan. I hope that all our loved ones are safe and well.

If you want to do more than think good thoughts, go to Maureen Johnson's blog HERE for info about Shelterbox, a disaster relief organization, and deets on what you can do to help. And don't worry, it's even affordable for starving artists like ourselves. Everyone can do something. (Courtesy of Kiersten White: her blog is linked in my sidebar over there on the left. Thanks, Kiersten!)

Calling All Picture Bookers!

2011-03-11T06:00:00.023-05:00

The deadline for the Barbara Karlin Grant for unpublished picture book writers is looming! If you're a member of SCBWI and you have a picture book manuscript, you're eligible. So, hop on over HERE for all the deets and get that application in the mail ASAP to arrive by March 15th!

Also: I missed it, but I discovered a lovely Favorite Picture Book Blogfest that happened this Wednesday. Go on over to Megan Bickel's blog post for the list of participants, complete with links to all their posts about their favorite picture books.

As for my favorite picture book, it's...

Just kidding. Oh, come on. You didn't really think I could pick one favorite picture book, did you? Pffft. I can only ever narrow it down to a few. Some of my faves are OLIVIA by Ian Falconer, THE GRUFFALO and A SQUASH AND A SQUEEZE by Julia Donaldson (illos by Axel Scheffler), FUNNYBONES by the venerable Janet and Allan Ahlberg, and LOST AND FOUND by Oliver Jeffers. Interesting how most of those authors are from the UK... Guess I'll have to add "picture books" to the list of things I miss most about my time there, along with apples, sausages, and late-night kebaberies.

Happy Friday, everyone!

Wisdom on Wednesdays: Doing Pre-Submission Research

2011-03-09T06:00:00.005-05:00

This is more of a tip than a "wisdom," but it's something not everyone knows about, so I'm posting it anyway.

First and foremost, you have to do the pre-submission research. Subbing blind won't get you anywhere, unless you're extremely lucky when it comes to random drawings. In which case, buy a lottery ticket while you're at it.

And if you want to make your pre-sub research a lot easier, do online book searches according to the publisher. Most libraries in largish municipalities offer this feature in their online catalog search: type in the name of the publisher or imprint you want to scope out, choose the "search by publisher" field, and off you go: every book by that house or imprint in the library's system. Once you've got all the books by an imprint in one place, it becomes really obvious whether they do primarily dystopian or paranormal or picture books with talking animals. It makes it much easier to tell whether your MS would be a good fit for them.

Have any of you tried this? Do you have any other tips for making pre-submission research less painful?

iPad, youPad...

2011-03-07T06:00:00.001-05:00

I had the opportunity to take a friend's iPad for a test drive over the weekend, and I never thought I'd see myself type this, but...

I kind of liked it.

I like the screen size, and the size of the keyboard. I like the screen itself. I like the ease of internet browsing. I even like a lot of the apps. (And after learning that there is a Fast-Food Nutrition Information app, a Breastfeeding app, a whole whack of Workout apps, an app for reading every newspaper, and a zillion others, I am convinced that there is an app for everything. Prove me wrong. I dare you.)

So, I'm asking you: Do you have an iPad? Why or why not? What do you see as the pros and cons?