This is my first blog post since New Year's Day - as usual, I started out the New Year with good intentions and writing aspirations, but somehow seemed to fizzle out.
For the past couple of months, I've felt blocked in my writing and blah in general. I could blame it on my suspected seasonal depression; or my insomnia; or my stress, frustration and dissatisfaction with my current day-to-day situation. But I don't want to make excuses anymore - I want to get back to feeling creative, feeling inspired, and to writing.
Today's SCBWI Shop Talk meeting at the bookstore was just the writing stimulus that I needed. I went with Michelle - it was the first meeting I've been to since October, when store events and group meetings went on a 2-month hiatus for the holiday season. Then, at the end of January, Kim S. and I missed the meeting because we attended the SCBWI conference in New York City. And last month, a massive snowstorm and power outage that weekend kept me and many others homebound.
Today's group was huge - there were 19 people squeezed around the large meeting table and in another row of folding chairs. It was great to see the familiar faces of SCBWI regulars: group moderator Val; Karen O. (www.karenkaufmanorloff.com); Della (www.dellarossferreri.com); Kim (www.kimmiepoppins.livejournal.com and www.kimberlysabatini.blogspot.com); Karen S.; Bill; Laurie; Janine; Shiloh; and Heather.
Val has been submitting her novel about a 13-year-old girl who's in the burn unit of a hospital - it sounds like an excellent story; I'd love to read it. Karen O. showed us the mock-up of her soon-to-be-published picture book, I Wanna New Room, the sequel to I Wanna Iguana, and Della shared her latest published picture book, Star of the Show. Both are wonderfully-illustrated stories that should easily capture kids' interests and imaginations. Kim read her adorable, energetic counting book manuscript, Muggly, showing the number of ways that a little kid can turn an moth into an unlikely friend. She also sent her Young Adult book, Touching the Surface, to an agent and got a "good rejection" - with a lot of positive, constructive feedback. Karen S. has submitted her middle-grade historical novel to an agent, and is looking forward to a reply. She's read passages from it during several meetings - it's well-written and descriptive and has great potential to be published. Bill read us his amusing poem about a boy who's been trapped in a school locker by bullies and is trying to use his cell phone to call the principal to help him get out. Laurie, a middle-school teacher, assigned 500 students to write books for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) in November - she said it was a success; the kids had great enthusiasm for writing their books. And her humorous play, The Ransom of Miss Elverna Dower, about a class of students who kidnap their teacher, recently won a playwriting award.
There were several newcomers too - I can't remember all the names, but Carol is an illustrator who shared her portfolio of beautifully imaginative artwork with us; Marisa gave us a synopsis of her Spanish -language picture book about two brothers who lose their pet hamster; and Jean read us her inspirational parenting article. It's always great to see new faces - I hope they'll be interested in coming to future meetings.
We also spent a lot of time discussing the upcoming local Eastern NY Regional Conference - Val, Karen O., Della, and Karen S. are some of the planners, and they've put together what sounds like a great line-up for the June 12th event. The keynote speaker will be Caldecott-winning picture book author Emily Arnold McCully, and sessions will feature Scholastic Books' editor Dianne Hess; Eve Adler, editor at Henry Holt Books for Young Readers; Ellen Wittlinger, author of several notable middle-grade and young adult books; award-wining author-illustrator Peter McCarty; and Mary Watson, Creative Director of Shenanigan Books.
Manuscript and artwork critique consultations are already filling up - I've got to send in my registration soon, so I can hopefully get a critique session. Michelle and I had a question for the conference organizers - what would be the best work to send in for a critique: a portion of a finished manuscript that's been critiqued before, or something new? I thought it might be beneficial to get some professional feedback on a new work, but Karen O., Val, Della and Karen S. all said we should show our very best work, with the hope of connecting with someone who'll want to see more of it.
So Michelle is going to send in again the first part of her middle-grade novel, Blackboard, and I decided to re-submit the first chapter of What Luck. I've had the manuscript critiqued three times already - author KL Going and her editor, Kathy Dawson, both gave positive and constructive feedback. And agent Liza Voges couldn't relate well to the story premise. I'll see what happens this year, and hopefully the feedback will spur me to finally finish the book and get it ready for submission.
After the meeting ended, Michelle, Kim, Janine, Karen S., Della, Val and I continued our writing discussion over lunch in the bookstore cafe. We each got to talk about our work, and about our writing experiences, more in depth. Our talk was so inspiring that I wished we could go on all afternoon. But I'm glad to say the writing stimulus has continued, even after I came home to the computer and to this blog, for the first time in months.
So now I feel renewed energy for my writing - I hope it lasts. And I have a new writing goal - to keep working on What Luck, so I may have a first draft of the book finished in time for the June conference. And also, to make sure my first chapter is at its polished best, and ready for another critique. I'll keep my fingers crossed for more positive feedback, and hopefully some professional interest in the rest of the story. And I wish for the same positive critique outcome, for my fellow SCBWI writing peers and friends.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Rite About Time - New Year's Day 2010 Blog Reboot
So, it’s a new year, a new decade, and time for a re-boot of this blog. I’m keeping this one, rather than starting yet another blog, because I only had 14 posts last year, so there’s plenty of room for many more this year. And I like the format and topic of this blog. Hopefully, this year I’ll be able to develop this blog enough to be able to express my thoughts and ideas about writing, time, and life in general.
Today was New Year’s Day, and I’m glad to say it was a productive day, a good way to start 2010.
I woke up to Ian cueing up U2’s “New Year’s Day,” our first-song-of-the-new-year ritual. Bonos’ words, “I… I will begin again” reminded me to consciously make my goals for the year, even if only in my mind.
I’ll write them out here now:
- Work more on my writing projects. Mainly, to finally finish writing my “neverending novel. Actually I have three novels in the works now – but I definitely want to pick one and stick with it until the end. I’ll still make notes and outlines for the other stories though, and even sketch out rough drafts of scenes for them, whenever my mind turns to them. But I do want my main focus to be to finish one book by the end of this year. That’s been my main goal of each new year, for way too many years. Hopefully, I’ll see it through this time.
- Write more blog posts here, and on Facebook and MySpace. I know how important it is for writers to have a presence on the Internet. So I want to develop this blog into something interesting enough to draw some readers, and maybe even get some comments on it. I need to build my identity as a writer, even if I’m not published yet. It’s a way of taking my writing more seriously, and of committing to a writing career.
- Work on other, shorter forms of writing – like articles and short stories. I’ve always envied my writing friends like Michelle, who’s now an internationally published poet; and Rich and Lisa, who have written and published excellent short stories; for their ability to write in shorter forms while they also work on their novel projects. They get the satisfaction of having some finished works, as well as having credits for their writing resumes. I’m glad to say that I did actually write a complete 10-page short story today – I started it this afternoon, and finished it just before I started writing this blog. It’s just a piece of “fan fiction” (a story that borrows characters from an already established work, like a book, movie or TV show) so I can’t do anything with it, unless I want to post it on a fan fiction forum. But even writing fan fiction can help me to hone the skills needed to write short pieces of my own. And I proved to myself that I can write and finish a complete story, which is something I haven’t done in a long time.
- Take better care of my health.
- Take better care of my finances.
- Become a full-time driver.
- Try to keep a positive attitude.
- Appreciate all the great people in my life, and let them know it.
- Be the best person I can be and do my part (however big or small) to help make this world a better place.
So, my goals are pretty much the same every new year – but hopefully this year, I’ll be able to achieve some of them.
It’s late now (3:30 am) and I’m going to stop for now and try to get some sleep. I’ve had insomnia for several months now, but hopefully I can work on beating it, and maybe I’ll be able to be in better health this year.
So far, I’m feeling pretty positive about 2010 – I know every year has its ups and downs. But hopefully I’ll be able to maintain that positivity, and achieve another goal for this year!
Happy 2010!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Write About Time - Supernatural and Time-Travel
I just re-watched last week’s amazing episode of Supernatural (the show airs on Thursday nights at 9:00, on the CW channel) and for me, it was definitely the best episode of the season so far, and I also think it was one of the best episodes of the whole series.
I’m a latecomer to the show, but after spending the summer catching up with the series on DVD, I’m hooked. It’s all thanks to Devon, my friend at work and a total fanboy, who spend last season raving to me about the show and trying to convince me to watch it. I told him I had started watching the show when it premiered in 2005, but had missed some of the early episodes, so I gave up on it. He lent me his box set of the first season, telling me he was sure I’d love it.
He was right. Ian and I started watching it in mid-June, and gradually were drawn into creator Eric Kripke’s mythic story of the Winchester brothers – badass Dean and emo Sam – cruising US backroads and highways in a cool ’67 Chevy Impala, on a quest to find their missing demon-hunter father and to search and destroy monsters and creatures of the supernatural.
Every time I saw Devon at work, he’d ask two questions – what episode was I on and what did I think of it so far? We’ve had some good, fun talks about it. And he doled out one set of DVDs after another to me – I told him he was like a dealer feeding crack to an addict! The show is addictive – Ian and I blazed through seasons 1 – 4, well before the season 5 premiere on Sept. 10th. And now, Thursdays are must-see TV nights. I haven’t been into a TV show this much since The X-Files and Sliders in the ‘90s.
The show has been so engrossing, and a welcome distraction from the stresses, frustrations, and uncertainties that seem to crop up in day to day life. And, because I also can’t help but watch with a critical writer’s eye, I’m learning what it takes to create great series characters and story arcs that help build an enthusiastic and loyal audience. I’ve found many websites devoted to the show and its strong cult following. I can only hope that my own writing will inspire readers to have even a fraction of the type of positive reaction and dedication that fans have for Supernatural.
What’s not to love? At its core, the show is family story, and its two leads, Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki, are perfect as Dean and Sam. Both have grown into their roles as their characters have gotten more complex. Jensen gives Dean a cocky irreverence that hides his doubts and longing for a “normal” life, and Jared’s Sam fears a darkness beneath his sensitivity and intelligence. They share a dysfunctional childhood, a strong sense of justice, a sometimes reckless bravery, a fervent need to honor their father, and an intense brotherly bond. Their family ties are at times nearly pathological, and have been their weakness almost as much as their strength. And did I mention that both guys are hot?!
The show is a great mix of genres – horror, action, drama, comedy, mystery and suspense. The plots are intentionally derivative – they pay homage to classic myths and folklore (such as werewolves, vampires, vengeful spirits, and urban legends) as well as pop-culture icons (like Star Wars, The X-Files, Stephen King, buddy movies, and lots of horror flicks) but with a fresh spin in each episode. Season 4 raised the stakes by adding angel characters to counteract the demons, in a battle of good and evil. Both brothers realized their actions unwittingly helped to bring on the apocalypse, and now, at the beginning of season 5, they have to deal with the ramifications, and face them head-on.
For me, one of the most exciting and interesting things about last season and this season is the exploration into time-travel, one of my favorite themes in storytelling.
In the 3rd episode of last season, titled “In The Beginning,” Dean was sent back to the past, to learn the origins of the Winchester family and how they became demon-hunters. In a Back to the Future homage, Dean met the younger versions of both of his parents, influenced his father to buy the Impala, met his grandfather, and learned that his and Sam’s lives were preordained, by the choices their parents made more than ten years before they were even born. It was an important reveal that added depth and understanding to the overall story arc.
And in last week’s episode, “The End,” after Dean has shunned Sam and said they’re better off without each other, he is sent five years into the future, to a post-apocalyptic wasteland where a deadly virus has turned most of humanity into something akin to zombies; the US is under martial law, decreed by President Sarah Palin; a risen Lucifer is wreaking havoc on the world; and a group of hunters/rebels, led by a future-Dean, live in a wooded compound and have taken it upon themselves to fight evil and battle Lucifer. It’s a horribly urgent wake-up call to present-Dean, and back in 2009 at the episode’s end, he makes amends with Sam and vows that they will not be pawns in the battle of good vs. evil – instead they will make their own future. I thought it was an immensely satisfying episode – and the time-travel was an important device to build the tension and raise the stakes for the rest of the season.
And these two episodes have helped me learn an important thing about using time-travel in storytelling – at its best, time-travel is a literary device that lends weight to a story’s theme, helps develop characters, and is a way for the characters to learn something about themselves and their lives, and gives them a chance to do whatever they can to try to change their present situations. But the characters are most essential to the story – readers must believe in the characters and the reality of their situations, and be invested in going the distance to find out the outcome of a time-travel plot. Otherwise, time-travel is just a gimmick.
In the time-travel book that I’ve been writing, my main character meets up with her past self, and the two of them switch time-frames and lives. Both learn important lessons about making choices, taking chances, and living their lives. And like Sam and Dean, they learn that they have a chance to make their own futures.
I care about my story’s characters and it’s important to make them as well-rounded, realistic and relatable as possible, so any readers will care about them as much as I do. My characters may not be facing the apocalypse, but their situations must be just as important to them within the framework of my story.
In interviews, Eric Kripke has promised to resolve Supernatural's apocalypse story arc by the end of this season. And I, along with others in the show’s strong cult following, am anxious and excited to see how it all turns out. I love spending part of my time in the world of Supernatural, and the show inspires me to want to spend more of my creative time in the extraordinary world of my own time-travel story.
I’m a latecomer to the show, but after spending the summer catching up with the series on DVD, I’m hooked. It’s all thanks to Devon, my friend at work and a total fanboy, who spend last season raving to me about the show and trying to convince me to watch it. I told him I had started watching the show when it premiered in 2005, but had missed some of the early episodes, so I gave up on it. He lent me his box set of the first season, telling me he was sure I’d love it.
He was right. Ian and I started watching it in mid-June, and gradually were drawn into creator Eric Kripke’s mythic story of the Winchester brothers – badass Dean and emo Sam – cruising US backroads and highways in a cool ’67 Chevy Impala, on a quest to find their missing demon-hunter father and to search and destroy monsters and creatures of the supernatural.
Every time I saw Devon at work, he’d ask two questions – what episode was I on and what did I think of it so far? We’ve had some good, fun talks about it. And he doled out one set of DVDs after another to me – I told him he was like a dealer feeding crack to an addict! The show is addictive – Ian and I blazed through seasons 1 – 4, well before the season 5 premiere on Sept. 10th. And now, Thursdays are must-see TV nights. I haven’t been into a TV show this much since The X-Files and Sliders in the ‘90s.
The show has been so engrossing, and a welcome distraction from the stresses, frustrations, and uncertainties that seem to crop up in day to day life. And, because I also can’t help but watch with a critical writer’s eye, I’m learning what it takes to create great series characters and story arcs that help build an enthusiastic and loyal audience. I’ve found many websites devoted to the show and its strong cult following. I can only hope that my own writing will inspire readers to have even a fraction of the type of positive reaction and dedication that fans have for Supernatural.
What’s not to love? At its core, the show is family story, and its two leads, Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki, are perfect as Dean and Sam. Both have grown into their roles as their characters have gotten more complex. Jensen gives Dean a cocky irreverence that hides his doubts and longing for a “normal” life, and Jared’s Sam fears a darkness beneath his sensitivity and intelligence. They share a dysfunctional childhood, a strong sense of justice, a sometimes reckless bravery, a fervent need to honor their father, and an intense brotherly bond. Their family ties are at times nearly pathological, and have been their weakness almost as much as their strength. And did I mention that both guys are hot?!
The show is a great mix of genres – horror, action, drama, comedy, mystery and suspense. The plots are intentionally derivative – they pay homage to classic myths and folklore (such as werewolves, vampires, vengeful spirits, and urban legends) as well as pop-culture icons (like Star Wars, The X-Files, Stephen King, buddy movies, and lots of horror flicks) but with a fresh spin in each episode. Season 4 raised the stakes by adding angel characters to counteract the demons, in a battle of good and evil. Both brothers realized their actions unwittingly helped to bring on the apocalypse, and now, at the beginning of season 5, they have to deal with the ramifications, and face them head-on.
For me, one of the most exciting and interesting things about last season and this season is the exploration into time-travel, one of my favorite themes in storytelling.
In the 3rd episode of last season, titled “In The Beginning,” Dean was sent back to the past, to learn the origins of the Winchester family and how they became demon-hunters. In a Back to the Future homage, Dean met the younger versions of both of his parents, influenced his father to buy the Impala, met his grandfather, and learned that his and Sam’s lives were preordained, by the choices their parents made more than ten years before they were even born. It was an important reveal that added depth and understanding to the overall story arc.
And in last week’s episode, “The End,” after Dean has shunned Sam and said they’re better off without each other, he is sent five years into the future, to a post-apocalyptic wasteland where a deadly virus has turned most of humanity into something akin to zombies; the US is under martial law, decreed by President Sarah Palin; a risen Lucifer is wreaking havoc on the world; and a group of hunters/rebels, led by a future-Dean, live in a wooded compound and have taken it upon themselves to fight evil and battle Lucifer. It’s a horribly urgent wake-up call to present-Dean, and back in 2009 at the episode’s end, he makes amends with Sam and vows that they will not be pawns in the battle of good vs. evil – instead they will make their own future. I thought it was an immensely satisfying episode – and the time-travel was an important device to build the tension and raise the stakes for the rest of the season.
And these two episodes have helped me learn an important thing about using time-travel in storytelling – at its best, time-travel is a literary device that lends weight to a story’s theme, helps develop characters, and is a way for the characters to learn something about themselves and their lives, and gives them a chance to do whatever they can to try to change their present situations. But the characters are most essential to the story – readers must believe in the characters and the reality of their situations, and be invested in going the distance to find out the outcome of a time-travel plot. Otherwise, time-travel is just a gimmick.
In the time-travel book that I’ve been writing, my main character meets up with her past self, and the two of them switch time-frames and lives. Both learn important lessons about making choices, taking chances, and living their lives. And like Sam and Dean, they learn that they have a chance to make their own futures.
I care about my story’s characters and it’s important to make them as well-rounded, realistic and relatable as possible, so any readers will care about them as much as I do. My characters may not be facing the apocalypse, but their situations must be just as important to them within the framework of my story.
In interviews, Eric Kripke has promised to resolve Supernatural's apocalypse story arc by the end of this season. And I, along with others in the show’s strong cult following, am anxious and excited to see how it all turns out. I love spending part of my time in the world of Supernatural, and the show inspires me to want to spend more of my creative time in the extraordinary world of my own time-travel story.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Right About Time - Freaky Friday With Kim
In this blog, I've mentioned Kim Sabatini before - my wonderful writing friend and fellow SCBWI Shop-Talker, and founder of C'RAP (Children's w'Riters Always Procrastinate!), our sub-group of Shop Talk writers. She's not only a talentd writer of charming kids' picture books and young adult spiritual-fantasy novels, but she's an enthusiastic advocate of childrens' literature and an avid supporter of childrens' writers.
She writes a great blog, Jess Free Falcon, here at Blogger (www.kimberlysabatini.blogspot.com) and on LiveJournal (www.kimmiepoppins.livejournal.com), where she chronicles her writing progress, reviews books she's read, comments on her favorite childrens' authors, and tells stories about her family life.
She's also started a very cool weekly post, "Freaky Friday," where she interviews aspiring, rather than published, authors. As she describes, "If you've seen the movie Freaky Friday, you know that its premise is about change and growth through role reversal. ... I thought it would be intersting to interview aspiring writers; the same writers who spend lots of time reading the interviews of published authors and dreaming of the day when they might get their book on the shelves..."
So far, she's interviewed her friend Janine Lucas, a young adult novelist, who I met at SCBWI's Mid-Hudson Valley conference in June; fellow ShopTalker and C'rapper Dean Pacchiana, who is working on a series of young adult mysteries; young adult fantasy writer Jessie Harrell, who I met at SCBWI's NYC conference; and several writers she's met online through Facebook and Verla Kay's Blue Boards: Mike Jung, a writer of mid-grade books; Amy Spitzley, who's written five young adult fantasy novels; and Hilary Sierpinski, who has completed a mid-grade novel and has several others in the works.
In her interviews, Kim talks with the writers about their writing background; writing habits; current projects; and favorite inspiring books, among other things. She shows a window into the minds and lives of other writers, and I think that's very inspiring. I love meeting and befriending fellow writers, and I'm always interested in their writing interests, their process and their projects. Kim's "Freaky Friday" blog helps to widen her community of fellow writers, and gives readers a chance to find out more about them and their work.
This past week, I was honored to be Kim's interview subject! I've written several interviews in the past, with musicians and writers, when I was a journalism student, and as a contributor to a couple of local entertainment papers in the '90s. But this was the first time that someone interviewed me. It was fun and interesting, to talk about myself and my work "for the record."
Kim's interview with me can be found on her post dated Friday, September 25, 2009.
I really appreciate Kim's interest in my writing, and her friendship and support. She truly does as much to promote her friends' and peers' writing as she does her own. I'm looking forward to reading more of her "Freaky Friday" blogs and meeting and learning about other writers in her wide network.
Thanks, Kim!
www.kimberlysabatini.blogspot.com
www.kimmiepoppins.livejournal.com
She writes a great blog, Jess Free Falcon, here at Blogger (www.kimberlysabatini.blogspot.com) and on LiveJournal (www.kimmiepoppins.livejournal.com), where she chronicles her writing progress, reviews books she's read, comments on her favorite childrens' authors, and tells stories about her family life.
She's also started a very cool weekly post, "Freaky Friday," where she interviews aspiring, rather than published, authors. As she describes, "If you've seen the movie Freaky Friday, you know that its premise is about change and growth through role reversal. ... I thought it would be intersting to interview aspiring writers; the same writers who spend lots of time reading the interviews of published authors and dreaming of the day when they might get their book on the shelves..."
So far, she's interviewed her friend Janine Lucas, a young adult novelist, who I met at SCBWI's Mid-Hudson Valley conference in June; fellow ShopTalker and C'rapper Dean Pacchiana, who is working on a series of young adult mysteries; young adult fantasy writer Jessie Harrell, who I met at SCBWI's NYC conference; and several writers she's met online through Facebook and Verla Kay's Blue Boards: Mike Jung, a writer of mid-grade books; Amy Spitzley, who's written five young adult fantasy novels; and Hilary Sierpinski, who has completed a mid-grade novel and has several others in the works.
In her interviews, Kim talks with the writers about their writing background; writing habits; current projects; and favorite inspiring books, among other things. She shows a window into the minds and lives of other writers, and I think that's very inspiring. I love meeting and befriending fellow writers, and I'm always interested in their writing interests, their process and their projects. Kim's "Freaky Friday" blog helps to widen her community of fellow writers, and gives readers a chance to find out more about them and their work.
This past week, I was honored to be Kim's interview subject! I've written several interviews in the past, with musicians and writers, when I was a journalism student, and as a contributor to a couple of local entertainment papers in the '90s. But this was the first time that someone interviewed me. It was fun and interesting, to talk about myself and my work "for the record."
Kim's interview with me can be found on her post dated Friday, September 25, 2009.
I really appreciate Kim's interest in my writing, and her friendship and support. She truly does as much to promote her friends' and peers' writing as she does her own. I'm looking forward to reading more of her "Freaky Friday" blogs and meeting and learning about other writers in her wide network.
Thanks, Kim!
www.kimberlysabatini.blogspot.com
www.kimmiepoppins.livejournal.com
Monday, September 21, 2009
Right About Time - Written in the Stars
I've always thought horoscopes were interesting, but I don't usually read mine every day. Most of the time, horoscopes are vague and general and can apply to anyone. But once in awhile, I come across a horoscope that seems to be written just for me.
Like the one in today's New York Daily News, written by Jennifer Angel:
"It's time to get serious, Sagittarius. The end of the year is almost here, and your goals and New Year's resolutions are up for reevaluation. Tick off what has been achieved, and what hasn't, taking into account what was realistic and what wasn't. Set new goals now for the remaining three months of the year, but make sure they're realistic and achievable."
Wow. A straightforward admonishment, that I really needed to read and contemplate. A wake-up call that the year is running out, and it's right about time to reevaluate my writing and focus on my writing goals.
I have achieved some of my writing goals so far this year. I took a step towards a more professional view of my writing, when I went with Kim S. to the SCBWI NYC conference in February. For that weekend, I got to see just how large-scaled the world of childrens/teen publishing really is. The big-time. And I was inspired to visualize my place in it.
I also went, with Michelle, to the local SCBWI Mid-Hudson Valley conference in June - our sixth one now. That helped keep the momentum of inspiration going through out the summer.
But what about the actual writing? At the beginning of the year, I planned to focus on two projects - my tween novel, What Luck, and my time-travel fantasy for adults - and to finish them both by the end of the year.
I'm still writing and rewriting What Luck, but haven't reached the end yet. I realized I need to restructure the plot to deepen the story for my main character, so I've been focused yet again on the first half of the book. I know how it develops and how it ends, and I've outlined it all. But I have yet to actually write out the ending.
As for my time-travel novel, I haven't done much more than an outline, character studies, and notes. I know I need to focus on one project at a time, and I've committed to finishing What Luck, but I also want to give the time-travel book more attention.
So, it is now realistic to still hope to finish both books by the end of the year? Probably not, since there's just over three months left, and the retail holiday season, which always eats up a lot of my time and energy, is fast approaching.
I seem to be in the same spot that I'm always in, at this point every year. With time running out on goals set with good intentions. Usually, it's around this time that I give up, and look to the new year to set the same goals again for myself, and hope that I finally get a chance to accomplish them.
But I need to break this cycle. I don't want to set my writing goals aside until next year. I feel the long shadow of time behind me, and I know that I can't count on unlimited time ahead. It's time now for accomplishments, not just dreams.
What Luck is in pretty good shape - I realistically think that I can finish the first draft by the end of the year, if I devote a lot of my time to it. I'll give as much of my free time as I can to the project. I'll keep in mind that the SCBWI NYC conference is coming up again in February - that should give me incentive.
I won't be able to do much with the time-travel novel in the next three months, but I can keep the story in the back of my mind, and continue to add to my notes when I can.
And if I start to get off track again, I'll remember today's message, that seemed to be written in the stars, just for me.
Like the one in today's New York Daily News, written by Jennifer Angel:
"It's time to get serious, Sagittarius. The end of the year is almost here, and your goals and New Year's resolutions are up for reevaluation. Tick off what has been achieved, and what hasn't, taking into account what was realistic and what wasn't. Set new goals now for the remaining three months of the year, but make sure they're realistic and achievable."
Wow. A straightforward admonishment, that I really needed to read and contemplate. A wake-up call that the year is running out, and it's right about time to reevaluate my writing and focus on my writing goals.
I have achieved some of my writing goals so far this year. I took a step towards a more professional view of my writing, when I went with Kim S. to the SCBWI NYC conference in February. For that weekend, I got to see just how large-scaled the world of childrens/teen publishing really is. The big-time. And I was inspired to visualize my place in it.
I also went, with Michelle, to the local SCBWI Mid-Hudson Valley conference in June - our sixth one now. That helped keep the momentum of inspiration going through out the summer.
But what about the actual writing? At the beginning of the year, I planned to focus on two projects - my tween novel, What Luck, and my time-travel fantasy for adults - and to finish them both by the end of the year.
I'm still writing and rewriting What Luck, but haven't reached the end yet. I realized I need to restructure the plot to deepen the story for my main character, so I've been focused yet again on the first half of the book. I know how it develops and how it ends, and I've outlined it all. But I have yet to actually write out the ending.
As for my time-travel novel, I haven't done much more than an outline, character studies, and notes. I know I need to focus on one project at a time, and I've committed to finishing What Luck, but I also want to give the time-travel book more attention.
So, it is now realistic to still hope to finish both books by the end of the year? Probably not, since there's just over three months left, and the retail holiday season, which always eats up a lot of my time and energy, is fast approaching.
I seem to be in the same spot that I'm always in, at this point every year. With time running out on goals set with good intentions. Usually, it's around this time that I give up, and look to the new year to set the same goals again for myself, and hope that I finally get a chance to accomplish them.
But I need to break this cycle. I don't want to set my writing goals aside until next year. I feel the long shadow of time behind me, and I know that I can't count on unlimited time ahead. It's time now for accomplishments, not just dreams.
What Luck is in pretty good shape - I realistically think that I can finish the first draft by the end of the year, if I devote a lot of my time to it. I'll give as much of my free time as I can to the project. I'll keep in mind that the SCBWI NYC conference is coming up again in February - that should give me incentive.
I won't be able to do much with the time-travel novel in the next three months, but I can keep the story in the back of my mind, and continue to add to my notes when I can.
And if I start to get off track again, I'll remember today's message, that seemed to be written in the stars, just for me.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Right About Time - "One Song Glory"
One Song Glory
From Rent – by Jonathan Larson
“I’m writing one great song before I…
One song glory
One song before I go
Glory
One song to leave behind…
Find one song
One last refrain
From the pretty-boy front man
Who wasted opportunity
One song
He had the world at his feet
Glory
In the eyes of a young girl
A young girl…
Find glory
Beyond the cheap colored lights
One song
Before the sun sets
On another empty life
Time flies … Time dies
Glory – one blaze of glory
One blaze of glory – glory
Find glory
In a song that rings true
Truth like a blazing fire
An eternal flame
Find one song
A song about love
Glory
From the soul of a young man…
A young man
Find the one song
Before the virus takes hold
Glory
Like a sunset
One song
To redeem this empty life
Time flies …
And then – no need to endure anymore
Time dies …”
Adam Pascal’s voice, singing the words to one of my favorite songs from Rent, has stayed in my mind since last week, when Ian and I saw an amazing production of the musical at Proctors Theatre in Schenectady.
Rent is one of my favorite musicals, and though I never got to see it on Broadway, I saw a touring production in West Point about ten years ago with Ian and my sister. And I’ve seen the movie, in the theater and several times on DVD. But this production was special – billed as Rent: The Broadway Tour, it stars original cast members Adam Pascal (as Roger), Anthony Rapp (as Mark), and Gwen Stewart (the soloist in “Seasons of Love”). The rest of the cast was as outstanding as the original members; the voices of the cast and the music of the band were perfectly mixed; and the staging recreated the gritty East Village, NYC set within the elegant theatre. I feel fortunate that we were able to see the show (from excellent seats – 5th row!) and I recommend this tour to anyone who loves the play. (It runs through January, 2010.)
The story of Rent’s creator, Jonathan Larson, is a poignant counterpart to the play’s tale of (as Jonathan described it) “a community celebrating life, in the face of death and AIDS, at the turn of the century.” It took seven years of collaborative work to bring the musical to its preview run at the East Village’s New York Theatre Workshop. But sadly, on January 25, 1996, before the first preview, he died of an aortic aneurysm. Rent went on to be an off-Broadway success; then moved to Broadway that April, where it won several awards, including the Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize. It closed last September, after 12 years – the 8th longest-running show on Broadway. And tour productions continue to be performed around the world.
The musical’s plot is loosely based on Puccini’s opera La Boheme, and Jonathan Larson based the characters on himself and his circle of friends in downtown NYC. Like the main characters Mark and Roger, Jonathan and his roommates lived in a run-down apartment with inadequate heat, and like Mark, Jonathan’s ex-girlfriend left him for a woman. Like filmmaker Mark, Jonathan wanted to tell his friends’ stories through his art – by creating a rock opera. And, like Roger, the musician who longs to write one great song, Jonathan hoped his creative work would make a difference. And it did – Rent changed modern musical theatre.
Many consider Rent to be Jonathan Larson’s “one song glory” – it is his most significant and successful work, and it made him an important figure in musical theatre history. But biographical sources show that he wrote several works before Rent, and was mentored by Stephen Sondheim early in his career. He wrote and staged a musical, Sacrimmoralinority, while attending Adelphi University, and it was later produced at a small theatre in NYC. In the ‘80s, he wrote Superbia, a rock musical based on George Orwell’s 1984, but it was never fully produced. Then he wrote tick…tick…BOOM! in 1991 – an autobiographical musical monologue about a frustrated composer struggling to make a living in New York theatre. The play was eventually produced Off-Broadway in 2001, and has played in several US and international productions. Jonathan Larson’s collective work was given to the Library of Congress in 2003.
And just as Jonathan Larson had more than one play in him, his character Roger has more than just one song. Roger’s back story emerges throughout the play’s lyrics – he had been the front man in a band that played shows at CBGB’s and other clubs in NYC, and presumably, had enough songs to attract a following. But now he’s HIV+ and a recovered addict, depressed and regretful over the suicide of his girlfriend, and his “wasted opportunity.” He sings One Song Glory, expressing his frustration and longing to write one last great song to make up for his mistakes and “redeem this empty life.” He wants it to have meaning – “a song that rings true,” but he doesn’t find inspiration until he meets and falls for Mimi, the HIV+, heroin-addicted dancer who lives downstairs. He resists her at first, but her positive, “no day but today” embrace of life draws him in, and he tries to support her in her struggle to stay clean and healthy. It’s all too much for them, though, and they break apart. He finally draws on his emotions of love for Mimi, and writes Your Eyes, a song that he sings to her when they reunite, as she’s deathly ill. Roger’s meaningful “one song glory” revives her and leaves everyone with hope.
Though I love all of Rent – every character and song – I’ve always felt an affinity to Roger and his One Song Glory. I don’t know what it’s like to be a male, HIV+, ex-addict/ musician. But I understand his frustration, and his writer’s block stemming from his lack of control over his situation. My own situation isn’t nearly as dire as Roger’s, but I often feel creatively stifled by time constraints and day-to-day stress. Also, I understand Roger’s desire to write something with meaning, to redeem his mistakes and add some depth and significance to his life. I hope to do the same thing with my writing – writing gives me a sense of purpose in this life. And lately, I can understand his urgency – over the past several months, the losses of a friend, a relative, and some friends’ relatives have reminded me that this life is uncertain and sometimes fleeting. What matters is embracing life and the people in it, and doing something/anything to make a difference. For me, it’s using my writing ability to create stories that will mean something to readers and that can add something positive to this world.
I know I have many more stories in me than just one. And my feelings about my writing change depending on the project. Some of them leave me frustrated, and some give me hope. Some of my stories are just creative amusements. And some have much more depth than others. But I’m trying to focus my writing on a couple of projects at a time, to hopefully redeem the wasted opportunities of the past. And hopefully, some will be published and will go out into the world. But I find myself thinking of One Song Glory, and wondering which of my stories will have the most meaning, the most significance, in this life. Which one will represent my thoughts, emotions, and ideas the best? Which one will “ring true … truth like a blazing fire, an eternal flame”? Which one will have the potential to make a difference in this world? Will I find the one great story, like Roger found Your Eyes and Jonathan Larson found Rent, to leave behind – “one blaze of glory”?
I’ll keep being inspired by Rent, and I’ll keep those questions in mind, while hoping to find the answers one day. Until then, I’ll just keep on writing… and writing… and writing. Because “time flies…”
From Rent – by Jonathan Larson
“I’m writing one great song before I…
One song glory
One song before I go
Glory
One song to leave behind…
Find one song
One last refrain
From the pretty-boy front man
Who wasted opportunity
One song
He had the world at his feet
Glory
In the eyes of a young girl
A young girl…
Find glory
Beyond the cheap colored lights
One song
Before the sun sets
On another empty life
Time flies … Time dies
Glory – one blaze of glory
One blaze of glory – glory
Find glory
In a song that rings true
Truth like a blazing fire
An eternal flame
Find one song
A song about love
Glory
From the soul of a young man…
A young man
Find the one song
Before the virus takes hold
Glory
Like a sunset
One song
To redeem this empty life
Time flies …
And then – no need to endure anymore
Time dies …”
Adam Pascal’s voice, singing the words to one of my favorite songs from Rent, has stayed in my mind since last week, when Ian and I saw an amazing production of the musical at Proctors Theatre in Schenectady.
Rent is one of my favorite musicals, and though I never got to see it on Broadway, I saw a touring production in West Point about ten years ago with Ian and my sister. And I’ve seen the movie, in the theater and several times on DVD. But this production was special – billed as Rent: The Broadway Tour, it stars original cast members Adam Pascal (as Roger), Anthony Rapp (as Mark), and Gwen Stewart (the soloist in “Seasons of Love”). The rest of the cast was as outstanding as the original members; the voices of the cast and the music of the band were perfectly mixed; and the staging recreated the gritty East Village, NYC set within the elegant theatre. I feel fortunate that we were able to see the show (from excellent seats – 5th row!) and I recommend this tour to anyone who loves the play. (It runs through January, 2010.)
The story of Rent’s creator, Jonathan Larson, is a poignant counterpart to the play’s tale of (as Jonathan described it) “a community celebrating life, in the face of death and AIDS, at the turn of the century.” It took seven years of collaborative work to bring the musical to its preview run at the East Village’s New York Theatre Workshop. But sadly, on January 25, 1996, before the first preview, he died of an aortic aneurysm. Rent went on to be an off-Broadway success; then moved to Broadway that April, where it won several awards, including the Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize. It closed last September, after 12 years – the 8th longest-running show on Broadway. And tour productions continue to be performed around the world.
The musical’s plot is loosely based on Puccini’s opera La Boheme, and Jonathan Larson based the characters on himself and his circle of friends in downtown NYC. Like the main characters Mark and Roger, Jonathan and his roommates lived in a run-down apartment with inadequate heat, and like Mark, Jonathan’s ex-girlfriend left him for a woman. Like filmmaker Mark, Jonathan wanted to tell his friends’ stories through his art – by creating a rock opera. And, like Roger, the musician who longs to write one great song, Jonathan hoped his creative work would make a difference. And it did – Rent changed modern musical theatre.
Many consider Rent to be Jonathan Larson’s “one song glory” – it is his most significant and successful work, and it made him an important figure in musical theatre history. But biographical sources show that he wrote several works before Rent, and was mentored by Stephen Sondheim early in his career. He wrote and staged a musical, Sacrimmoralinority, while attending Adelphi University, and it was later produced at a small theatre in NYC. In the ‘80s, he wrote Superbia, a rock musical based on George Orwell’s 1984, but it was never fully produced. Then he wrote tick…tick…BOOM! in 1991 – an autobiographical musical monologue about a frustrated composer struggling to make a living in New York theatre. The play was eventually produced Off-Broadway in 2001, and has played in several US and international productions. Jonathan Larson’s collective work was given to the Library of Congress in 2003.
And just as Jonathan Larson had more than one play in him, his character Roger has more than just one song. Roger’s back story emerges throughout the play’s lyrics – he had been the front man in a band that played shows at CBGB’s and other clubs in NYC, and presumably, had enough songs to attract a following. But now he’s HIV+ and a recovered addict, depressed and regretful over the suicide of his girlfriend, and his “wasted opportunity.” He sings One Song Glory, expressing his frustration and longing to write one last great song to make up for his mistakes and “redeem this empty life.” He wants it to have meaning – “a song that rings true,” but he doesn’t find inspiration until he meets and falls for Mimi, the HIV+, heroin-addicted dancer who lives downstairs. He resists her at first, but her positive, “no day but today” embrace of life draws him in, and he tries to support her in her struggle to stay clean and healthy. It’s all too much for them, though, and they break apart. He finally draws on his emotions of love for Mimi, and writes Your Eyes, a song that he sings to her when they reunite, as she’s deathly ill. Roger’s meaningful “one song glory” revives her and leaves everyone with hope.
Though I love all of Rent – every character and song – I’ve always felt an affinity to Roger and his One Song Glory. I don’t know what it’s like to be a male, HIV+, ex-addict/ musician. But I understand his frustration, and his writer’s block stemming from his lack of control over his situation. My own situation isn’t nearly as dire as Roger’s, but I often feel creatively stifled by time constraints and day-to-day stress. Also, I understand Roger’s desire to write something with meaning, to redeem his mistakes and add some depth and significance to his life. I hope to do the same thing with my writing – writing gives me a sense of purpose in this life. And lately, I can understand his urgency – over the past several months, the losses of a friend, a relative, and some friends’ relatives have reminded me that this life is uncertain and sometimes fleeting. What matters is embracing life and the people in it, and doing something/anything to make a difference. For me, it’s using my writing ability to create stories that will mean something to readers and that can add something positive to this world.
I know I have many more stories in me than just one. And my feelings about my writing change depending on the project. Some of them leave me frustrated, and some give me hope. Some of my stories are just creative amusements. And some have much more depth than others. But I’m trying to focus my writing on a couple of projects at a time, to hopefully redeem the wasted opportunities of the past. And hopefully, some will be published and will go out into the world. But I find myself thinking of One Song Glory, and wondering which of my stories will have the most meaning, the most significance, in this life. Which one will represent my thoughts, emotions, and ideas the best? Which one will “ring true … truth like a blazing fire, an eternal flame”? Which one will have the potential to make a difference in this world? Will I find the one great story, like Roger found Your Eyes and Jonathan Larson found Rent, to leave behind – “one blaze of glory”?
I’ll keep being inspired by Rent, and I’ll keep those questions in mind, while hoping to find the answers one day. Until then, I’ll just keep on writing… and writing… and writing. Because “time flies…”
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Right About Time - SCBWI Mid-Hudson Conference
On Saturday, Michelle and I went to the SCBWI Shop Talk meeting at the bookstore. There were 23 people there – a big crowd – and about half of us had attended the June 13th SCBWI Mid-Hudson conference. We all talked briefly about it, and everyone agreed that this year’s line-up of speakers was great. It’s been over 2 weeks since the conference, but I’m still on a high and feeling inspired and motivated by it.
It was the sixth conference that Michelle and I have attended, and it was, as always, well-planned and well-coordinated. But I couldn’t help comparing it to the NYC conference that Kim S. and I went to in February – that was my first big-time writing conference.
The Mid-Hudson conference definitely feels homey and comfortable now – different from the nearly overwhelming excitement and sensory overload that I felt in NYC. Michelle and I saw many familiar faces – some local authors, several members of the Shop Talk meetings, and even some customers from B & N. The conference has been at the same location for four years now – the former Best Western/newly-named Mercury Grand Hotel in Poughkeepsie, so it was easy to find our way around the lobby, ballrooms, smaller conference rooms – and the bathrooms too!
But the Mid-Hudson conference is just 1 day instead of 2, so it seemed to go by in a flash – the welcome and keynote speeches were followed by 2 breakout lecture sessions; then everybody had lunch in a banquet room and shopped for the presenting authors’ books in the lobby; then after another breakout session, everyone regrouped for a panel discussion and door prizes. There was so much to take in – I took copious notes, as usual, until my left hand and arm were cramped and achy. But it’s so great to be able to hear authors and editors talking about their own experiences in writing and publishing, and giving valuable advice – I didn’t want to miss a word of it.
Regional advisor Barbara Wells welcomed everyone, and thanked the conference committee for their hard work throughout the year – co-chairs Della Ross Ferreri and Karen Kaufman Orloff are already working on next year’s conference.
Linda Sue Park, the author of many books for children and young readers, including the Newbury Award winning A Single Shard, gave the keynote address. Scheduling conflicts had kept her from being able to speak at the Mid-Hudson conference for the past few years, but she was well worth the wait. (www.lindasuepark.com)
Even though she came from a different background, growing up in the only Korean family living in a Chicago suburb, I could relate to how her love of books led her to become a writer. She was first published in a newspaper children’s column when she was in the fourth grade, and she told the paper she wanted to be an author of children’s books when she grew up. She published her first book for young readers, Seesaw Girl, in 1999, and her latest novel, Keeping Score, was published last March. It combines the history of the Korean War with her love for baseball – a fan of the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets, she joked that writers should get attached to a losing sports team because “you’ll learn the cycle of disappointment and hope.”
She said that although every writer has a different “magic formula” for writing, there are “Three Rs” – rules that apply to everyone:
Read. Reading is like Olympic training for writers, a total immersion in the language of stories – you can learn everything from great books by great writers. She said she read about 400 novels before writing her first book, and it sold from the slush pile on her first try – “that wasn’t a coincidence.” We should take half of our “screen time” in front of the TV or computer and devote it to reading. I’ve read 27 books (8 of them teen novels) so far this year – I think that’s pretty good, but I would like to have even more time for reading. And I want to read more teen novels, since that’s what I’m writing right now.
Routine. A writer needs discipline, along with talent and passion. She found time for a writing routine while her two kids were growing up – 2 hours a day, with no distractions. Whatever commitment we can make to our writing, we should stick to it. I still need to find a writing routine – it’s hard to write daily because my work hours change from day to day. I don’t even keep up with daily journal writing. But if I commit to my goal of finishing my book before the end of the year, I should commit to writing at least 3 – 4 days a week.
“Recreation,” also known as Revision. Listen to critiques, even if we don’t agree with them. Then “play with the manuscript,” while keeping the original version, to see if the changes work. She said she was told that a secondary character from Keeping Score was dominating the book. She loved him, but she took him out of 2 chapters, and realized she didn’t need him so much in her story. The only problem I have with revision is that I do too much of it – I’m always reworking what I’ve written, over and over, and sometimes it keeps me from moving forward with a story. So I think I need to keep up with my recreation/revision, but I need to learn when enough is enough!
Linda Sue Park left us with the encouragement that we can use the Three Rs to make our stories magic for young readers everywhere. Afterward, Kim caught a picture of the rearview, and mirror image, of me having my books signed by Linda Sue Park! (credit to Kim)
Michelle and I went our separate ways for the first breakout session. Although the “Seriously Silly” talk by humor writer/ picture book author Alan Katz sounded fun, I thought I could better use the advice of “The Tao of Procrastination,” presented by author Elizabeth Cody Kimmel. (http://www.codykimmel.com/) I have serious issues with procrastination and what I call my writing ADD (constantly starting to write new book ideas instead of focusing on 1 at a time – I have nearly 20 partly-finished manuscripts just waiting to be completed!)
Elizabeth Cody Kimmel humorously acted out her typical writing day: staring at the computer screen; making several runs to the kitchen for coffee; getting tempted away from the blank page and onto Wikipedia and I-Tunes; and letting random thoughts distract her from her story. Everyone laughed – I felt like it could be me up there, doing the same things (but replacing snacking for coffee drinking) and it was great to see a prolific and successful writer with nearly the same writing process as mine.
Even her writing background and school study habits were similar to mine – she’s been a writer all her life, and still has the first picture book she wrote and illustrated when she was in the second grade. A lot of my school writing projects have been lost or discarded during the many times I’ve moved, but I still have a folder of some illustrated stories from elementary school, and I have the first novel I wrote, in a marbled notebook, when I was in fifth grade.
But Elizabeth Cody Kimmel saw the difference between “fun” and “school” writing, and so did I. She said she was an “all-nighter champion” in college, waiting until the night before a big paper or project was due. But then a “just do it” determination would kick in, to write it and write it well, and she always did. Yes, I remember too many similar all-nighters as well, throughout all of my school years.
While working for a literary agent, she wrote her first young readers’ novel, but even with her agency’s representation, it got 14 rejections. So she wrote another novel, In The Stone Circle, that was published by Scholastic. She gave herself a year to write her next book, but she didn’t spend 40 hours a week (the hours of a typical job) writing it. She spent some time researching, web-surfing, hiking, doing errands and raising her daughter. She said she felt like she was “faking it” and not working enough at writing.
But she’s published 28 books in 13 years (wow, that’s prolific!) and she realized that she was doing something right – that even her “off-time” fed her writing, and some of her ideas and activities have worked their way into her stories. She gave up her need to control her writing time and the sense of guilt about how much writing she was doing or not doing, because that was a detriment. And for every time she procrastinates, there’s a time when her “just do it” voice kicks in, and she starts writing and is very productive.
She cited playwright Edward Albee as having a similar approach – he walks around for months “with play,” letting it incubate like a baby, and then finally sits down and writes the play out. Writers need to indulge in silence, daydreaming, hiking – whatever down-time works. It’s like a solar panel – we need to charge our power before we can use that energy to write. But we should always think about the end result, so it doesn’t become a “slippery slope” of inactivity.
She said it’s different for everyone – some writers need to stick to a fixed writing schedule, and some need more latitude. We need to learn what’s right for us.
And that was advice I really needed to hear! Afterwards, when I asked Elizabeth Cody Kimmel to sign her book, Lily B. on the Brink of Love, for me, I told her I really saw myself in her writing approach, and she said that whenever she gives this talk, many others tell her the same thing. I’m so glad I’m not alone in my procrastination-then-writing process!
Holiday House editor Eleni Beja gave the next talk, “Throw Your Voice, Catch a Reader.” She said voice is the most important thing in writing, and often decides if a work will get published or not.
A great voice draws the reader in, induces trust, creates atmosphere, and conveys the mood of a story. It gives a sense of the characters, and shows what’s important to them and how they change throughout the book. Voice can allow readers to enter another time and place and get a sense of what it’s like there. It is your unique product that carries your manuscript and gives your story power. I think my voice is pretty well developed, after so many years of writing, but I’m always striving to improve it.
She said to find and develop your voice, listen to what speaks to you, and pay attention to the vision in your mind. To define your character’s voice, allow yourself to define yours. Do research, not just for facts, but to shape your voice. Write like you talk – record it, then transcribe it – the results can be surprising. I like this idea – I’m going to try it and see how it helps improve my writing.
Try writing your story in the first person, and then in the third person, to see which point of view fits best – I’ve done that with a few of my stories. Read books set in your story’s time period, to get a feel for the language of that time. Copy authors you love and pay attention to what works for them – you can learn from imitation. If your writing is timid or stiff, work on your boldness. When you think you’ve found your voice, test-drive it to see if it goes the distance. Read your work aloud, and look for traps in voice. I sometimes find that when I read my writing aloud, it sounds different from how it sounds in my head, and I am aware of passages that sound rough or wrong – the traps.
One trap is the use of clichés, especially similes and metaphors. Don’t settle for them – always try to use fresh metaphors. Another trap is when the story stalls at the beginning – you should dive right in ASAP. You can slow-build your story, as long as you keep it moving. Also, don’t reveal everything right at the beginning; a tip-of-the-iceberg approach is best. You can reveal information through your characters and voice. Beware of predictability – you don’t want your reader to be ahead of you. Lack of rhythm is another trap – the arrangement of words matters. She suggested Line By Line: How to Edit Your Own Writing by Claire Kehrwald Cook, as a helpful book to use when re-writing, so your book can be its best. I’ll have to order that book from work, to add to my collection of helpful writing books.
As an editor, she reads the slush pile (unsolicited manuscripts) at the end of the day when she’s “tired and cranky,” and 97% of slush manuscripts are not excellent, so submit only your excellent work that you can be proud of. Check out Holiday House’s guidelines, and their line of books. You should “type” your book into a genre, because publishers do that with their line. She makes sure a book is right for their market, and that the staff agrees. It can take 3 – 6 months for a response. If you get an encouraging rejection, think about the criticisms and how you can improve your manuscript – your voice can indicate what problems there are in a story.
It takes an average of 1 ½ - 2 years from a novel’s acceptance to publication, so look 2 years ahead – don’t write a story that fits today’s trends, because in 2 years the market will have moved on. The bottom line is an editor only has so much time and money to spend for the next 2 years. A great voice gives you leverage, and can help your book stand out. These stats are somewhat overwhelming, but they do give a realistic perspective of children’s publishing today.
We took a break for lunch, and Michelle and I joined Kim and her friend Janine; fellow Shop Talkers Roxanne and Angela; Justin and Jeff, who were also at the NYC conference; and some other writers at a large round table. It was great to catch up with everyone and talk about the sessions and our projects. But the time went by so fast; I wish there could be more social/networking time. It’s just as important to meet and connect with our peers as it is to learn from the professionals.
The last breakout session, “The Slush Hour,” featured Lisa Graff (http://www.lisagraff.com/), author of 3 novels for young readers (published by Harper Collins), and an associate editor at Farrar, Straus & Giroux. She used her experience as both writer and editor to give us tips on what to do and what not to do when submitting a manuscript.
She said that FSG publishes about 80 books a year, in all genres, but they receive from 20 – 100 submissions a day. Wow, that’s a lot of reading, and a lot of work for the editorial team! All manuscripts are sorted in piles. Agented material goes in one pile, manuscripts from conference attendees goes into another pile. She described slush as any unfamiliar manuscript, by an unknown author or without a publisher. The slush pile is on the back burner and the last to be read – but it does get read. Typically, editorial assistants and interns are the first readers, and if a manuscript looks promising, they’ll pass it on to the editors. She reads about 25 submissions or queries a day.
Sometimes real gems are found in the slush pile, such as the young reader book At the Sign of the Star by Katherine Sturtevant, and the teen novel Keesha’s House by Helen Frost.
She gave great advice on how to make a manuscript stand out in the slush pile. Research the publishing house – don’t submit if it doesn’t accept unsolicited manuscripts. If it does, read some books in the backlist, to make sure your book is of a similar tone or genre. Request a publisher’s writers’ guidelines, and stick to the rules. Find editors in the acknowledgment pages of books that are similar to yours, and research to find out facts like the exact spelling of an editor’s name, and their title. It’s best to submit to someone lower on the “totem pole” – an assistant or associate editor, who can give more time to a manuscript.
Submit your best possible work – editors want to see manuscripts that are publishable, even if they will still edit a lot and ask for a lot of revisions after acceptance! Send in a professional package – typed in black ink on white paper, with no typos, and a self-addressed stamped envelope for a reply. She wants to see the first 3 chapters – they’ll show if the beginning is strong and what the writing style is like – and a 1-page synopsis that describes the arc of the story. The cover letter should be concise, and state why you’re submitting to the publisher; a brief and intriguing description of your story; and your publishing history or some information about you that’s relevant to the book.
Your work should speak for itself, so don’t add any “bells and whistles” to your submission – it’s really unprofessional. She said she once received a package that had a lot of confetti in it, that went all over the floor, and took a long time to vacuum out of the carpet! And don’t send gifts – that’s just weird. Someone sent her a pair of blackened goggles along with a historical adventure story once, but it didn’t make sense to her! Things like that don’t make the editors want to publish a book. I’m sure many editors have strange submission stories!
Like Eleni Beja, Lisa Graff said it takes about three months for a response, but it varies among houses. Editors have to read manuscripts on their own time, because there’s too much to do in the office. Then, if a manuscript is strong, they write a report on the book’s strengths and weaknesses, and will check out the market to see if it fits in. She said to be patient – after 3 months it’s OK to send a polite e-mail to check on the status of your manuscript. And multiple submissions (sending the same book to several publishers simultaneously) are OK, as long as you state it in your cover letter.
Editors send out several kinds of responses, depending on the manuscript. The “dreaded form letter” says the book is not right for the house, or it’s too similar to one of their already-published books. Lisa said she’s received dozens, and has kept them in a file. A “not-very-personal letter” shows that your manuscript was noticed because they took the time to mention your book title and address the letter to you personally. It’s a more positive kind of rejection. A “more personal letter” gives some guidance – it’s explains why the manuscript isn’t right, and you can use the advice to make changes, if you agree. Sometimes an editor will say that they’d be interested in your revised submission, or would like to see some other work – this is encouraging.
If an editor wants to publish your book, you’ll get a phone call or e-mail. But don’t just wait around for a reply – work on your next book instead. It might not be so hard to get rejections if you’re focused on another book. I haven’t gotten to the submissions level yet, but I know I won’t have a problem with starting on a new book while waiting for replies. I have several stories on the back burner, waiting for me to finish them!
Lisa Graff did say that she had sent her manuscript to slush piles at publishers, while she was getting her degree in Children’s Writing at the New School, but met her agent, who sold her first book to Harper Collins. Although FSG has published many unagented authors, she thinks agents are the best thing for writers – they handle business matters and any uncomfortable situations, so the writer can just focus on writing. I’ve done a lot of research on various publishers, but I need to do more on agents. At Saturday’s Shop Talk, Kim showed me a big binder she’d put together with information on several agents and their agencies – she’s really done her homework and her book is in the submitting stage – I hope she has great success with it!
The conference ended with a faculty discussion panel. Michelle and I sat in the back, because she was tired and needed to be able to get up and walk around to relieve some of her pain. So it was hard to see all the writers and editors as they spoke. I did take some general notes on the questions and answers, though.
The editors said they see too much of work that isn’t excellent – authors need to pay full attention to their books. Writers should read widely in their genre, to see what type of work is being published now, and if their book will fit in. They shouldn’t try to imitate successful books, but should write original stories that speak to them. Also, beware of heavy-handed lessons in books – it’s better to have more subtle stories.
It’s helpful to have an agent who can look at a contract and can negotiate for things like the delivery schedule; number of free copies; and foreign and film rights. If you don’t have an agent, it’s OK to get a literary lawyer to look at the contract, but it’s worth it to have a good agent.
Door prizes were given out at the end of the day – a copy of each of SCBWI’s Master Class DVDs. Michelle and I had filled out entry forms for both Richard Peck’s Master Class on novel writing, and Tomie DePaola’s Master Class on the picture book. I figured I might as well enter both, even though I don’t write picture books – chances were slim that I’d win anyway. So I was very surprised when my name was called as the winner of Tomie DePaola’s Master Class! I was happy to give it to Michelle – she loves drawing and has done some imaginative illustrations as a hobby. She’s thought about writing and illustrating a picture book – now she’ll have a DVD of instruction and information, from one of the very best illustrators in the field, to encourage her!
Afterwards, some of the authors stayed to sign their books. Lisa Graff autographed my copy of her first book, The Thing About Georgie, and I thanked her for her motivating talk.
Kim, Michelle and me
It was the sixth conference that Michelle and I have attended, and it was, as always, well-planned and well-coordinated. But I couldn’t help comparing it to the NYC conference that Kim S. and I went to in February – that was my first big-time writing conference.
The Mid-Hudson conference definitely feels homey and comfortable now – different from the nearly overwhelming excitement and sensory overload that I felt in NYC. Michelle and I saw many familiar faces – some local authors, several members of the Shop Talk meetings, and even some customers from B & N. The conference has been at the same location for four years now – the former Best Western/newly-named Mercury Grand Hotel in Poughkeepsie, so it was easy to find our way around the lobby, ballrooms, smaller conference rooms – and the bathrooms too!
But the Mid-Hudson conference is just 1 day instead of 2, so it seemed to go by in a flash – the welcome and keynote speeches were followed by 2 breakout lecture sessions; then everybody had lunch in a banquet room and shopped for the presenting authors’ books in the lobby; then after another breakout session, everyone regrouped for a panel discussion and door prizes. There was so much to take in – I took copious notes, as usual, until my left hand and arm were cramped and achy. But it’s so great to be able to hear authors and editors talking about their own experiences in writing and publishing, and giving valuable advice – I didn’t want to miss a word of it.
Regional advisor Barbara Wells welcomed everyone, and thanked the conference committee for their hard work throughout the year – co-chairs Della Ross Ferreri and Karen Kaufman Orloff are already working on next year’s conference.
Linda Sue Park, the author of many books for children and young readers, including the Newbury Award winning A Single Shard, gave the keynote address. Scheduling conflicts had kept her from being able to speak at the Mid-Hudson conference for the past few years, but she was well worth the wait. (www.lindasuepark.com)
Even though she came from a different background, growing up in the only Korean family living in a Chicago suburb, I could relate to how her love of books led her to become a writer. She was first published in a newspaper children’s column when she was in the fourth grade, and she told the paper she wanted to be an author of children’s books when she grew up. She published her first book for young readers, Seesaw Girl, in 1999, and her latest novel, Keeping Score, was published last March. It combines the history of the Korean War with her love for baseball – a fan of the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets, she joked that writers should get attached to a losing sports team because “you’ll learn the cycle of disappointment and hope.”
She said that although every writer has a different “magic formula” for writing, there are “Three Rs” – rules that apply to everyone:
Read. Reading is like Olympic training for writers, a total immersion in the language of stories – you can learn everything from great books by great writers. She said she read about 400 novels before writing her first book, and it sold from the slush pile on her first try – “that wasn’t a coincidence.” We should take half of our “screen time” in front of the TV or computer and devote it to reading. I’ve read 27 books (8 of them teen novels) so far this year – I think that’s pretty good, but I would like to have even more time for reading. And I want to read more teen novels, since that’s what I’m writing right now.
Routine. A writer needs discipline, along with talent and passion. She found time for a writing routine while her two kids were growing up – 2 hours a day, with no distractions. Whatever commitment we can make to our writing, we should stick to it. I still need to find a writing routine – it’s hard to write daily because my work hours change from day to day. I don’t even keep up with daily journal writing. But if I commit to my goal of finishing my book before the end of the year, I should commit to writing at least 3 – 4 days a week.
“Recreation,” also known as Revision. Listen to critiques, even if we don’t agree with them. Then “play with the manuscript,” while keeping the original version, to see if the changes work. She said she was told that a secondary character from Keeping Score was dominating the book. She loved him, but she took him out of 2 chapters, and realized she didn’t need him so much in her story. The only problem I have with revision is that I do too much of it – I’m always reworking what I’ve written, over and over, and sometimes it keeps me from moving forward with a story. So I think I need to keep up with my recreation/revision, but I need to learn when enough is enough!
Linda Sue Park left us with the encouragement that we can use the Three Rs to make our stories magic for young readers everywhere. Afterward, Kim caught a picture of the rearview, and mirror image, of me having my books signed by Linda Sue Park! (credit to Kim)
Michelle and I went our separate ways for the first breakout session. Although the “Seriously Silly” talk by humor writer/ picture book author Alan Katz sounded fun, I thought I could better use the advice of “The Tao of Procrastination,” presented by author Elizabeth Cody Kimmel. (http://www.codykimmel.com/) I have serious issues with procrastination and what I call my writing ADD (constantly starting to write new book ideas instead of focusing on 1 at a time – I have nearly 20 partly-finished manuscripts just waiting to be completed!)
Elizabeth Cody Kimmel humorously acted out her typical writing day: staring at the computer screen; making several runs to the kitchen for coffee; getting tempted away from the blank page and onto Wikipedia and I-Tunes; and letting random thoughts distract her from her story. Everyone laughed – I felt like it could be me up there, doing the same things (but replacing snacking for coffee drinking) and it was great to see a prolific and successful writer with nearly the same writing process as mine.
Even her writing background and school study habits were similar to mine – she’s been a writer all her life, and still has the first picture book she wrote and illustrated when she was in the second grade. A lot of my school writing projects have been lost or discarded during the many times I’ve moved, but I still have a folder of some illustrated stories from elementary school, and I have the first novel I wrote, in a marbled notebook, when I was in fifth grade.
But Elizabeth Cody Kimmel saw the difference between “fun” and “school” writing, and so did I. She said she was an “all-nighter champion” in college, waiting until the night before a big paper or project was due. But then a “just do it” determination would kick in, to write it and write it well, and she always did. Yes, I remember too many similar all-nighters as well, throughout all of my school years.
While working for a literary agent, she wrote her first young readers’ novel, but even with her agency’s representation, it got 14 rejections. So she wrote another novel, In The Stone Circle, that was published by Scholastic. She gave herself a year to write her next book, but she didn’t spend 40 hours a week (the hours of a typical job) writing it. She spent some time researching, web-surfing, hiking, doing errands and raising her daughter. She said she felt like she was “faking it” and not working enough at writing.
But she’s published 28 books in 13 years (wow, that’s prolific!) and she realized that she was doing something right – that even her “off-time” fed her writing, and some of her ideas and activities have worked their way into her stories. She gave up her need to control her writing time and the sense of guilt about how much writing she was doing or not doing, because that was a detriment. And for every time she procrastinates, there’s a time when her “just do it” voice kicks in, and she starts writing and is very productive.
She cited playwright Edward Albee as having a similar approach – he walks around for months “with play,” letting it incubate like a baby, and then finally sits down and writes the play out. Writers need to indulge in silence, daydreaming, hiking – whatever down-time works. It’s like a solar panel – we need to charge our power before we can use that energy to write. But we should always think about the end result, so it doesn’t become a “slippery slope” of inactivity.
She said it’s different for everyone – some writers need to stick to a fixed writing schedule, and some need more latitude. We need to learn what’s right for us.
And that was advice I really needed to hear! Afterwards, when I asked Elizabeth Cody Kimmel to sign her book, Lily B. on the Brink of Love, for me, I told her I really saw myself in her writing approach, and she said that whenever she gives this talk, many others tell her the same thing. I’m so glad I’m not alone in my procrastination-then-writing process!
Holiday House editor Eleni Beja gave the next talk, “Throw Your Voice, Catch a Reader.” She said voice is the most important thing in writing, and often decides if a work will get published or not.
A great voice draws the reader in, induces trust, creates atmosphere, and conveys the mood of a story. It gives a sense of the characters, and shows what’s important to them and how they change throughout the book. Voice can allow readers to enter another time and place and get a sense of what it’s like there. It is your unique product that carries your manuscript and gives your story power. I think my voice is pretty well developed, after so many years of writing, but I’m always striving to improve it.
She said to find and develop your voice, listen to what speaks to you, and pay attention to the vision in your mind. To define your character’s voice, allow yourself to define yours. Do research, not just for facts, but to shape your voice. Write like you talk – record it, then transcribe it – the results can be surprising. I like this idea – I’m going to try it and see how it helps improve my writing.
Try writing your story in the first person, and then in the third person, to see which point of view fits best – I’ve done that with a few of my stories. Read books set in your story’s time period, to get a feel for the language of that time. Copy authors you love and pay attention to what works for them – you can learn from imitation. If your writing is timid or stiff, work on your boldness. When you think you’ve found your voice, test-drive it to see if it goes the distance. Read your work aloud, and look for traps in voice. I sometimes find that when I read my writing aloud, it sounds different from how it sounds in my head, and I am aware of passages that sound rough or wrong – the traps.
One trap is the use of clichés, especially similes and metaphors. Don’t settle for them – always try to use fresh metaphors. Another trap is when the story stalls at the beginning – you should dive right in ASAP. You can slow-build your story, as long as you keep it moving. Also, don’t reveal everything right at the beginning; a tip-of-the-iceberg approach is best. You can reveal information through your characters and voice. Beware of predictability – you don’t want your reader to be ahead of you. Lack of rhythm is another trap – the arrangement of words matters. She suggested Line By Line: How to Edit Your Own Writing by Claire Kehrwald Cook, as a helpful book to use when re-writing, so your book can be its best. I’ll have to order that book from work, to add to my collection of helpful writing books.
As an editor, she reads the slush pile (unsolicited manuscripts) at the end of the day when she’s “tired and cranky,” and 97% of slush manuscripts are not excellent, so submit only your excellent work that you can be proud of. Check out Holiday House’s guidelines, and their line of books. You should “type” your book into a genre, because publishers do that with their line. She makes sure a book is right for their market, and that the staff agrees. It can take 3 – 6 months for a response. If you get an encouraging rejection, think about the criticisms and how you can improve your manuscript – your voice can indicate what problems there are in a story.
It takes an average of 1 ½ - 2 years from a novel’s acceptance to publication, so look 2 years ahead – don’t write a story that fits today’s trends, because in 2 years the market will have moved on. The bottom line is an editor only has so much time and money to spend for the next 2 years. A great voice gives you leverage, and can help your book stand out. These stats are somewhat overwhelming, but they do give a realistic perspective of children’s publishing today.
We took a break for lunch, and Michelle and I joined Kim and her friend Janine; fellow Shop Talkers Roxanne and Angela; Justin and Jeff, who were also at the NYC conference; and some other writers at a large round table. It was great to catch up with everyone and talk about the sessions and our projects. But the time went by so fast; I wish there could be more social/networking time. It’s just as important to meet and connect with our peers as it is to learn from the professionals.
The last breakout session, “The Slush Hour,” featured Lisa Graff (http://www.lisagraff.com/), author of 3 novels for young readers (published by Harper Collins), and an associate editor at Farrar, Straus & Giroux. She used her experience as both writer and editor to give us tips on what to do and what not to do when submitting a manuscript.
She said that FSG publishes about 80 books a year, in all genres, but they receive from 20 – 100 submissions a day. Wow, that’s a lot of reading, and a lot of work for the editorial team! All manuscripts are sorted in piles. Agented material goes in one pile, manuscripts from conference attendees goes into another pile. She described slush as any unfamiliar manuscript, by an unknown author or without a publisher. The slush pile is on the back burner and the last to be read – but it does get read. Typically, editorial assistants and interns are the first readers, and if a manuscript looks promising, they’ll pass it on to the editors. She reads about 25 submissions or queries a day.
Sometimes real gems are found in the slush pile, such as the young reader book At the Sign of the Star by Katherine Sturtevant, and the teen novel Keesha’s House by Helen Frost.
She gave great advice on how to make a manuscript stand out in the slush pile. Research the publishing house – don’t submit if it doesn’t accept unsolicited manuscripts. If it does, read some books in the backlist, to make sure your book is of a similar tone or genre. Request a publisher’s writers’ guidelines, and stick to the rules. Find editors in the acknowledgment pages of books that are similar to yours, and research to find out facts like the exact spelling of an editor’s name, and their title. It’s best to submit to someone lower on the “totem pole” – an assistant or associate editor, who can give more time to a manuscript.
Submit your best possible work – editors want to see manuscripts that are publishable, even if they will still edit a lot and ask for a lot of revisions after acceptance! Send in a professional package – typed in black ink on white paper, with no typos, and a self-addressed stamped envelope for a reply. She wants to see the first 3 chapters – they’ll show if the beginning is strong and what the writing style is like – and a 1-page synopsis that describes the arc of the story. The cover letter should be concise, and state why you’re submitting to the publisher; a brief and intriguing description of your story; and your publishing history or some information about you that’s relevant to the book.
Your work should speak for itself, so don’t add any “bells and whistles” to your submission – it’s really unprofessional. She said she once received a package that had a lot of confetti in it, that went all over the floor, and took a long time to vacuum out of the carpet! And don’t send gifts – that’s just weird. Someone sent her a pair of blackened goggles along with a historical adventure story once, but it didn’t make sense to her! Things like that don’t make the editors want to publish a book. I’m sure many editors have strange submission stories!
Like Eleni Beja, Lisa Graff said it takes about three months for a response, but it varies among houses. Editors have to read manuscripts on their own time, because there’s too much to do in the office. Then, if a manuscript is strong, they write a report on the book’s strengths and weaknesses, and will check out the market to see if it fits in. She said to be patient – after 3 months it’s OK to send a polite e-mail to check on the status of your manuscript. And multiple submissions (sending the same book to several publishers simultaneously) are OK, as long as you state it in your cover letter.
Editors send out several kinds of responses, depending on the manuscript. The “dreaded form letter” says the book is not right for the house, or it’s too similar to one of their already-published books. Lisa said she’s received dozens, and has kept them in a file. A “not-very-personal letter” shows that your manuscript was noticed because they took the time to mention your book title and address the letter to you personally. It’s a more positive kind of rejection. A “more personal letter” gives some guidance – it’s explains why the manuscript isn’t right, and you can use the advice to make changes, if you agree. Sometimes an editor will say that they’d be interested in your revised submission, or would like to see some other work – this is encouraging.
If an editor wants to publish your book, you’ll get a phone call or e-mail. But don’t just wait around for a reply – work on your next book instead. It might not be so hard to get rejections if you’re focused on another book. I haven’t gotten to the submissions level yet, but I know I won’t have a problem with starting on a new book while waiting for replies. I have several stories on the back burner, waiting for me to finish them!
Lisa Graff did say that she had sent her manuscript to slush piles at publishers, while she was getting her degree in Children’s Writing at the New School, but met her agent, who sold her first book to Harper Collins. Although FSG has published many unagented authors, she thinks agents are the best thing for writers – they handle business matters and any uncomfortable situations, so the writer can just focus on writing. I’ve done a lot of research on various publishers, but I need to do more on agents. At Saturday’s Shop Talk, Kim showed me a big binder she’d put together with information on several agents and their agencies – she’s really done her homework and her book is in the submitting stage – I hope she has great success with it!
The conference ended with a faculty discussion panel. Michelle and I sat in the back, because she was tired and needed to be able to get up and walk around to relieve some of her pain. So it was hard to see all the writers and editors as they spoke. I did take some general notes on the questions and answers, though.
The editors said they see too much of work that isn’t excellent – authors need to pay full attention to their books. Writers should read widely in their genre, to see what type of work is being published now, and if their book will fit in. They shouldn’t try to imitate successful books, but should write original stories that speak to them. Also, beware of heavy-handed lessons in books – it’s better to have more subtle stories.
It’s helpful to have an agent who can look at a contract and can negotiate for things like the delivery schedule; number of free copies; and foreign and film rights. If you don’t have an agent, it’s OK to get a literary lawyer to look at the contract, but it’s worth it to have a good agent.
Door prizes were given out at the end of the day – a copy of each of SCBWI’s Master Class DVDs. Michelle and I had filled out entry forms for both Richard Peck’s Master Class on novel writing, and Tomie DePaola’s Master Class on the picture book. I figured I might as well enter both, even though I don’t write picture books – chances were slim that I’d win anyway. So I was very surprised when my name was called as the winner of Tomie DePaola’s Master Class! I was happy to give it to Michelle – she loves drawing and has done some imaginative illustrations as a hobby. She’s thought about writing and illustrating a picture book – now she’ll have a DVD of instruction and information, from one of the very best illustrators in the field, to encourage her!
Afterwards, some of the authors stayed to sign their books. Lisa Graff autographed my copy of her first book, The Thing About Georgie, and I thanked her for her motivating talk.
And Della Ferreri was excited that her new picture book, Star of the Show, was just released, and she signed my copy for me.
Della with Michelle
Kim and Janine were meeting Kim’s family in the hotel lobby, so we took some pictures while we waited for them.
Janine and Michelle (photo credit to Kim)
Janine and Michelle (photo credit to Kim)
Kim, Michelle and me
Then Kim’s family arrived – it was great to meet her husband, her mom, her in-laws, and her boys – who are her biggest fans!
Adorable Aidan and Kim – he’s the inspiration for the character of sweet little Oliver in her book. The picture’s a little blurry but it was so cute I had to include it!
The conference was just what I needed to reinvigorate my writing – I’m more than halfway through What Luck, and since Kim helped me figure out how to write the end (during the NYC conference) I can see it in sight. It’s right about time to keep working on the story – now that I’m finally done with this blog post!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
