Category: writing tips

Oh Susanna – Are There Taboo Subjects In Picture Books?

59 Comments

OK.  Twitter?

Here’s the problem:

I could spend ALL DAY there!!!

Seriously!

Everybody posts all these awesome links to fascinating, must-read articles and blogs and photos and etc. etc. etc. and no sooner am I done with one there are 20 more I’m dying to check out.

How do y’all get any work done?

Twitter is the Anti-Work!

Clearly there are going to have to be some strict ground rules or there’s going to be some world-class time-frittering going on over here 🙂

So which one of you self-disciplined types is going to lay the rules out for me?

And enforce them?! 🙂

Alrighty then.  Now that that’s out of the way, I hope you all had wonderful Mother’s Days however you may have celebrated!  I spent mine like this:

(Well, not really, but I would have if I could have :))

I hope you’re all as excited as I am about the Birthday Contest coming up at the end of this week!!!

And I must apologize in advance if I’m a little behind in visiting you all this week.  I have three days of back-to-back school visits, so my time will be limited.  But be assured that even if I don’t have time to comment I will be reading!  (I am abysmal at trying to comment from my phone… whilst driving… and trying to listen to my GPS… also the police frown on such multitasking and it is of course illegal so I would never do it… even if I was coordinated enough. :))

So stop encouraging me to break the law and let’s get onto today’s Oh Susanna question.

I have actually chosen two questions which I will address together because I think they are related.

First is Saba’s question:  Are there any subjects that are considered taboo in the picture book industry that children’s writers should stay away from?

And second is Catherine’s question (which I’m paraphrasing slightly): [In my story] Cheeku the Cheeky Chinese Chicken… I took out the chef because someone said kids can’t think about chickens going to be killed… The motivation for Cheeku to run away was so as not to be eaten. I had to change it to he didn’t want to be cooped up forever, but although it’s fun, it has no story as such. Do you think i should put the chef stuff back in?

These are interesting and related questions, I think.

Saba, I’m sure you aren’t referring to things like graphic violence, murder, torture, what I will refer to as “adult topics”, and things of that nature.  I don’t think any of us would ever consider writing a picture book about a subject that was so obviously inappropriate for children.  I think what you might mean is what I would call sensitive topics.  For example, is it appropriate to write a picture book about a family with same sex parents, or a picture book about war, death, or serious illness?

And that is a question that I think different people might give you different answers for.  Some would say those topics should be avoided – that they’re not appropriate.

But I think most would say that picture books are badly needed on those topics, because children who are experiencing those situations have just as much need (possibly more) to explore their feelings and feel validated, understood, comforted, and reassured as children who read books about being scared of the dark or getting a new sibling.

One glance at the Perfect Picture Book list will show you that there ARE picture books about war, poverty, illiteracy, death, illness, disability, non-traditional families, slavery, and a host of other sensitive and difficult topics.

To a large degree, I don’t think it’s the topic that is the issue, but more how it’s addressed.  Pretty much any topic – even a story about bears – can be written so it’s not appropriate for the picture book audience.  But by the same token, pretty much any topic can be written about in a sensitive and careful way so that it is not only appropriate, but valuable for this age.  For example, a book like Beatrice’s Goat most certainly addresses poverty, but in a way that is very palatable to children and filled with hope.

It all depends on how it’s written.

This is not to say that every book is appropriate for every child.  What’s right for one family may not be right for another.  Parents, teachers, and librarians must use their discretion.  While a book about a child losing his mother (as a very powerful example, I would cite the picture book The Scar by Charlotte Moundlic) might be terribly upsetting to many children, it might be just exactly what a boy or girl who has just lost a parent might need to hear to feel that they are understood in their grief and loneliness, that others have gone through this, and to help give voice to their emotions.  And while some families might welcome a book that addresses where babies come from in a very exact way (for example, Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle) others families might prefer to preserve the mystery a little 🙂

As writers, we want to reach all children, the ones that struggle with the hard things as well as the “every day” things (and I put “every day” in quotes because nothing feels every day to a person who is going through it, but as adults we know that there are some experiences that are normal and common for childhood and others you hope no child will ever have to bear, yet some of them do.)

Catherine’s question about her manuscript I think ties into this discussion.  Is it appropriate to write about a chicken who is afraid of being eaten?  I think it can be if it’s done right.  If there is humor, if the emphasis is more on the escape then the reality of being eaten, if it ends happily, and if there is a level at which it relates to common childhood experience – perhaps having to do something you don’t want to do, or needing to find a better way to do something, or finding your place in the world – then I think it can work.  There are certainly a host of fairy tales where some pretty scary stuff goes down if you think about it too carefully (Red Riding Hood, anyone?!) but that hasn’t stopped parents from reading them or children from enjoying them.  And anyone who has seen Disney’s Little Mermaid has seen the chef singing “les poissons, les poissons” merrily preparing to cook Sebastian the crab and I think most kids find that scene deliciously fun 🙂  So again, I think it’s all about how it’s written.  And again, depending on how it comes out, it might be a story that is not be appropriate for every child (perhaps more sensitive children would be better steering clear) and that parents, teachers and librarians might want to be selective about.

Saba and Catherine, I hope that answers your questions.  If not, please feel free to clarify or ask follow-ups in the comments!

Everyone else, Saba, Catherine and I are all VERY interested in your thoughts on this matter.  Are there subjects that are taboo in picture books?  Or that should be?  Should a writer stay away from the topic of a chicken who is afraid of being eaten?

I will look forward to your thoughts!  Especially if you have first-hand experience with having a story turned down by traditional publishers only because of topic.

Have a wonderful day! 🙂

Cori Doerrfeld Shares The Creation Of Her Picture Book Little Bunny Foo Foo! And Then Susanna Shares One Of Hers To Make Up For The Glitch!

51 Comments

Welcome, everyone, to today’s very special treat!

You may remember Cori.  She did an interview and giveaway here in February 2011 (see Part 1 and Part 2.)  She is a talented author/illustrator who has illustrated multiple books, including two for Brooke Shields as well as the recent Seashore Baby and Snowflake Baby, but in the last year she has also published Penny Loves Pink and Little Bunny Foo Foo which she both wrote and illustrated.  I hope you will enjoy her entertaining tale of Little Bunny, which makes for perfect spring fun and a great Easter gift 🙂

Take it away, Cori!

All my stories find their origin in childhood. I am inspired by my own childhood, as well as the ones I’ve witnessed as a daycare teacher, nanny, and mother.  When I was little, I loved the bizarre, the unique, and even the scary.  I loved Stephen Gammel’s illustrations in Scary Stories, and I was a huge Tim Burton fan.  When I started creating stories and characters of my own, I was naturally drawn to similar themes.  At the daycare, we sang every children’s song known to man, and the one that always stuck out as odd to me was “Little Bunny Foo Foo”, especially the way my coworker sang it.  The traditional song turns the bunny into a goon, but my coworker always turned the bunny into a monster instead.  The children just loved the idea of a bunny transforming into a monster, and so did I. Images of a seemingly harmless bunny hopping through a forest kept creeping into my mind. What would she look like if she turned into a monster I wondered…

As both an illustrator and an author, I usually visualize a story before I write any text. Based on my initial thoughts, I’ll do a very rough thumbnail version of a book.  This way I can see right away how the art will flow one page to the next, as well as how to best break up the text.  My original version of “Little Bunny Foo Foo” was much darker and intended for an older audience.  

My husband and I attended several comic conventions a year to sell and promote our work, and this is where my initial version premiered.  We printed little paperback copies off the computer.  It was always a good seller, and kids seemed to like it too.  The violence was no worse than the Tom and Jerry cartoons so many of us grew up with.  When a publisher showed interest in the book however, I was asked if I could find a way to push the story even further and to tone down the manic, mallet wielding bunny.  The editor suggested that Bunny Foo Foo could use something softer to bop the mice, like an oven mitt.  It took me nearly a year to rework the story.  I struggled quite a bit at first.  I was not only attached to my original version, but I found it difficult to formulate just how I could push both myself and the song in a new direction.  The editor’s suggestion of an oven mitt was stuck in my head, and one day the idea just hit me all at once.  I find a lot of my story writing problems are solved this way.  If I just think on an issue long enough, eventually lightning will strike.  Obviously if Little Bunny Foo Foo is bopping mice with an oven mitt, it’s because they stole the cupcakes she had just finished preparing! 

I know many people liked the way Foo Foo bopped the mice due to random, unknown reasons in the original version, but I really liked the idea of telling one story with the text, and another with the illustrations.  In my finished, published version of Little Bunny Foo Foo, the text is only a slightly modified version of the classic song.  The illustrations however, reveal a lot more to the story; showing an increasingly frustrated rabbit simply trying to recollect her cupcakes.  This plot line gave me several opportunities to create fun little scenes where mice and birds collaborate to steal Foo’s cupcakes, as well as the chance to show why the Fairy meets her fate in the end.  

Little Bunny Foo Foo is my second self-authored title, and was therefore still a learning experience.  Every story, even once it is picked up by a publisher, goes through several transformations.  The end result is more of a team effort than I realized before becoming a published author.  An author must learn to balance input and requests from the publisher with maintaining the integrity of the original idea.  Mallets may become oven mitts, but sometimes cupcakes with sprinkles are the perfect way to sweeten a strange and disturbing bunny’s desire to scoop up field mice, and bop them on the head.

I hope you all enjoyed this glimpse into the creation of a picture book and will all feel inspired to go out and buy Foo Foo for your friends and relations! 🙂

However….

I realize it didn’t turn out to be quite what I promised…!

Chalk it up to Cori having a new baby and me being over-scheduled and both of us feeling time-crunched resulting in a slight miscommunication…  It turns out Little Bunny Foo Foo, since it’s based on the familiar rhyme, didn’t actually change text at all from pre- to post-published, so it’s not a good candidate for comparison.

Luckily, I know another writer… and I finagled my way into her files… 🙂

SO.  Since I want to deliver on my promise, I hope you will accept something of mine instead of something of Cori’s for now.  Cori has another book in the works that she thinks will be much better suited to this type of post, but since it’s not published yet, we’ll have to wait for that one.  Meanwhile, hopefully this will suffice:

I’m going to share the creation of Freight Train Trip with you, if that’s an okay substitute for Cori.  I chose it because most of my other books had such minor changes from my version to the published version that they wouldn’t be very interesting for this exercise.  But Freight Train… that’s another story 🙂

I got the idea for this story from my children and my nephews, but particularly from my nephew, Eli, who was going through a heavy train phase when this story came to mind.  I wrote it in rhyme because I wanted to capture the rhythm of the train.

Here is the original:                    And this is the published version:

Tooooo-Hooooo!
Chug.    Chug.
Freight train pulls out of the yard.               The freight train’s pulling from the yard.
Locomotive’s working hard.                        The locomotive’s working hard.
“Safe trip!” calls the stationmaster.             “Safe trip!” calls the stationmaster.
Chugga, chugga, train rolls faster.               Chugga chugga, the train rolls faster.
Locomotive in the lead
Changes gear and picks up speed.
Chugga-chugga-chugga-chugga choo CHOO CHOOOO!
Clicka-tacka-clicka-tacka too HOO HOOOO!
Engine rushes down the track                      The engine rushes down the track
Ninety-seven cars in back                          with ninety-seven cars in back.
Full of lumber, grain and ore                      They’re full of lumber, toys, and more,
Headed for the Western Shore.                   and headed for the western shore.
                                                          Chugga chugga choo CHOO CHOOOO!
                                                          Clicka clack too HOO HOOO!
Down the line a crossing gate                     Down the line a crossing gate
Closes telling cars to wait.                         closes telling cars to wait.
Freight cars rumble.  Rails are humming.      Freight cars rumble.  Rails are humming.
Bells clang, “Look out!  Trains a-coming!”     Bells clang.  “Look out!  The train is coming!”
Locomotive thunders past.
Freight cars follow just as fast.
Chugga-chugga-chugga-chugga choo CHOO CHOOOO!
Clicka-tacka-clicka-tacka too HOO HOOOO!
Engineer sees up ahead                             The engineer sees up ahead
Signal lights are flashing red.                      that signal lights are flashing red.
Has to stop his speeding train                     Racing toward him, running late,
‘Til the light turns green again.                    Is the eastbound six-oh-eight!
Switcher moves him to the side                   The engineer sees in a flash
So two trains will not collide.                      that trains are headed for a CRASH!
When the westbound track is clear,               Where, oh, where is Switchman Jack,
Puts his engine back in gear.                       who’s supposed to switch the track?
Railroad track begins to climb.                     TOOOO-HOOOO!  TOOOO-HOOOO!
Engine’s working double-time.                     The whistle wails.
Up the mountain, what a strain                    Hurry up and switch those rails!
For the long and heavy train!                      Just in time Jack flips the switch
When it clears the snowy peaks,                  Trains rush past without a hitch!
Down the other side it streaks.      Chugga chugga choo CHOO CHOOO! Clicka clacka too HOO HOOO!           
Chugga-chugga-chugga-chugga choo CHOO CHOOOOO! 
Clicka-tacka-clicka-tacka too HOO HOOOOO!
Races toward its destination,                       The train speeds toward its destination
Slows and pulls into the station.                   It slows and pulls into the station.
Cargo haul is safely done.                           The cargo haul is safely done.
Journey’s over.  It’s been fun!                      Our journey’s over.  It’s been fun!
Chug.    Chug.                                          Chug.  Chug.  CHOOOOooooooooo!
CHOOOOooooooooooo!

(Text copyright Susanna Leonard Hill and Little Simon 2009 all rights reserved)

I tried VERY hard to get this lined up so you could see the changes easily.  It works on my preview.  I can only hope it comes out right on your view!  Please forgive that one tiny line of chugga chuggas after “trains rush past…”- it was supposed to be on two lines but just wouldn’t fit right.  (And if it doesn’t come out right, let me know, but I probably won’t have time to fix it until Thursday!)


So now.  What do we see?  Anyone?  Anyone?  Bueller? (sorry, I couldn’t resist :))


The changes they asked for were:
1.  Make it more dramatic.
2.  Put in the articles.  (You know.  All the “the”s.)
3.  There was some disagreement as to how the chugga chuggas read.


They asked for more drama.  I gave them more drama.  Funny that the only critics of this book have said it’s too dramatic 🙂


As for the articles, I liked the rhythm better without them.  I fought for them.  But I was out-voted by the copy editor who convinced the editor that it wasn’t proper English without the articles.  “What about Sheep In A Jeep?” I said desperately, but alas, it was not to be and the articles went in.


We ended up changing the chugga chuggas so no one would stumble, although I confess when I read this aloud, I say it the original way, which makes sense to me, and sounds more train-like 🙂


So what do you guys think?  Is it helpful to see this?  Which version do you like better?


Having spent way too much time trying to get these columns to line up, I really hope you guys find this useful! 🙂  Please let me know.  And of course, if you have questions, fire away in the comments.


And now, I’m off to 2 days of intense school visiting (although I’m still planning to get Would You Read It up tomorrow… somehow… :)) so forgive me if I don’t get around your blogs as much as usual!  I’ll catch up eventually 🙂


(And, just so you know, in a couple days I’m going to pull some of the verses from the published version because I’m not really sure I’m allowed to post it like this, so learn from it while it’s up :))


Have a lovely day! 🙂



Straight From The Editor! #2 And Then Some

25 Comments

I hope you’re all revved up and rarin’ to go this morning, because we’re going to have all kinds of fun.  If you’re not revved up yet, you will be after this! 🙂

First:  today my blog is being critiqued by the awesome and wonderful Laura Barnes over at Laura B Writer.  She’s running a series of blog critiques to help us all learn how to do things better, and I’m the second to go.  Her blog, in general, is a font of valuable information about marketing and how we, as writers, can make the most of our presence on the web.  Please check out her blog if you haven’t – you’ll be glad you did!

Second:  my friend, Catherine Johnson over at Catherine Johnson, Writer, was kind enough to send me her copy of The Preacher’s Bride by Jody Hedlund because she knew I wanted to read it.  (It’s historical romance.)  I thought it would be fun to make it into a Book’s Journey.  Catherine made a page that goes in the front and put her name, where she’s from, and the date she read the book, and then she sent it to me.  Now I have done the same and would like to send it on.  Eventually, we’ll send it back to Jody and she’ll have a copy of her book that’s gone (hopefully!) all over the world!  So – first come, first served!  Whoever is first to say in the comments that they’d like to read The Preacher’s Bride will get it.  The only requirement is that you play along with the game and when you’re done, pass it on to someone else 🙂

In addition, since I thought up this idea, I thought it would be fun to do with one of my own books, so first I’ll take a vote as to which book to send (poll open for a week, from now until midnight October 24th) and then I will circulate one of my books for the same fun!  Only I want mine signed directly in the book so I can eventually bring it on school visits and show the kids where it has been!  So, please vote below for which book I should send on a journey 🙂


<a href=”http://polldaddy.com/poll/5590405/”>Pick A Book For A Book’s Journey!</a>
Third:  this week’s theme for Fun Friday Foto Fextravaganza (which I hope you are REALLY impressed that I’m remembering to post today instead of forgetting until Wednesday :)) is PUMPKINS/JACK O’LANTERNS!

Fourth:  I hope you’re all getting excited for the Choose Your Own Adventure Bloghop next Monday, October 24th!!!

Fifth:  (I told you there was all kinds of stuff going on today!)  I spent the weekend at the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival.  Really, if you’ve never been to such a thing, you owe it to yourself to go.  Sheep, llamas, alpacas, gorgeous wool, knitting and crochet meetings and books and patterns and products – WOW.  It’s a whole world I knew nothing about and it makes for a lot of fun!

Anyway, there I was, signing copies of Can’t Sleep Without Sheep, when a woman came up to me and asked me to sign one for her daughter.  “How old is she?” I asked, pulling a book from the pile and uncapping my pen.  “Well,” said the woman, “she was just born a couple days ago.  She was premature, so she’s in the NICU, but she’s going to be fine.”  But here’s the kicker.  The woman went on to say, “This will be her very first book.”

Can you believe it?  I was so honored!  To think something I wrote was going to be the very first book in this child’s library; that one of these days, that mother will sit with her little daughter and read Can’t Sleep Without Sheep to her.  How special is that?!  I am tucking this one away for those moments when I’m afraid my career is over and I’ll never sell another story (well, that would be right about now!) so I can pull it out and look at it and remember something good.

And finally, the moment you’ve been waiting for! STRAIGHT FROM THE EDITOR!

To remind you, our September winner was Aimee.  Her pitch was as follows:

TITLE: Listen to Me
GENRE: YA Contemporary with a dash of Magical Realism (target age 13-17, but I hope for crossover appeal)
PITCH: Stacy can talk to herself-in-twelve-years - but will the impossible relationship with Older Me help her navigate the high school rites of bullying and unrequited love, or just fuel her destructive self-loathing?

Here are Erin’s comments:

Here are my thoughts about your pitch: It is a little confusing. “Talking to herself-in-twelve-years” doesn’t quite get across the idea that she’s talking to herself in the future. I had to read it a few times to get that. You might want to just say her future self. Also, is the relationship impossible because nobody can talk to themselves in the future or because she doesn’t get along with herself? I don’t think you want to use that word impossible. Perhaps just go with relationship. Keeps it simple and to the point.  Also, “fueling her destructive self-loathing” leads to more questions and could possibly turn an editor off. It might be better to give the resolution so that the editor might be intrigued as to how it happens. See what I’ve done. Do you think it gets the main point of the story across? If not, then you need to rework it so that it does. Perhaps be more specific than bullying or unrequited love.
Stacy can talk to her 26 year-old future self. But will her relationship with Older Stacy help her successfully navigate the high school rites of bullying and unrequited love, or just make things worse?
Lastly, fyi, there is a young adult novel coming out in November by Jay Asher and Printz Honor-winning author Carolyn Mackler — THE FUTURE OF US, in which two best friends log onto AOL in 1996 and discover a window to their future Facebook selves. Razorbill is publishing it. It sounds very similar to yours and I just wanted you to know it was out there.

I hope you all find Erin’s comments as interesting and insightful as I do.  Not only does she bring her experience as a career editor, but she knows what else is out there.

So, are you feeling revved up and rarin’ to go for your week now?

What?

You’re in donut withdrawal?

OK.  But just one!  These are pumpkin, BTW, in keeping with this week’s FFFF theme 🙂

courtesy google images 


					

		
		
			





			
				



	
	

					
Straight From The Editor!
			


	


				

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Happy Monday, Everyone!


I hope you’re all feeling bright-eyed and bushy-tailed this morning 🙂


To start off, we have a new piece of the Would You Read It feature (which makes me realize I’m going to have to put some sort of organized posting calendar in my sidebar so everyone will know when to look forward to what, but I digress…)  This exciting part includes editor Erin Molta’s thoughts on the winner’s pitch – an educational opportunity for us all!


To remind you, the winner was Alisha, and her pitch was as follows:




Working Title:  Finding The Reindeer Beat


Age/Genre:  PB


The Pitch:  When Santa’s sleigh team decided to retire, a new group of reindeer trained with Coach Dasher, almost crashed in front of Santa, and discovered the secret to staying together.




Here are Erin’s comments:






Your pitch is intriguing, but in order for an editor to hit reply and write out a note to say she/he wants to read more, it needs to have a little more punch!





For instance, here’s your sentence: “When Santa’s sleigh team decided to retire, a new group of reindeer trained with Coach Dasher, almost crashed in front of Santa, and discovered the secret to staying together.”





I think it needs more action and decisiveness, like this: Santa’s sleigh team retired. A new set of reindeer trained with Coach Dasher but crashed in front of Santa. Finally, after (they are threatened with replacement or after many trials or something . . .) they discovered the secret to working together.





That basically tells the story in a nutshell and though it’s three sentences, it gets the point across in a decisive manner without the wishy-washy verbs—“decided” and “almost” are passive and seem like you’re not sure. Always go with the action.







Of course, our contest was for one sentence – perhaps something to consider modifying slightly in the future if this type of comment comes up again.  But hopefully Erin’s thoughts about action will be helpful to us all!




Now for item number 2.  And I hope you’re all paying attention because even though it’s Monday morning, that is no excuse to ignore our health.  So please follow along with this important exercise program:




Exercise for the weak:


Begin with a 5-lb potato bag in each hand. Extend your arms straight out from your sides and hold them there as long as you can.


Each day you’ll find that you can hold this position for just a bit longer.


After a couple of weeks, move up to 10-lb potato bags.


Then try 50-lb potato bags and then eventually try to get to where you can lift a 100-lb potato bag in each hand . (I’m at this level.)


After you feel confident at that level, put a potato in each bag 🙂
(Courtesy of my friend Teri through her friend Bev.)


     


I hope that gets your week off to a good start 🙂


Feel free to share your thoughts on the editor’s comments as well as any successful exercise programs of your own in the comments below, and don’t forget to tune in Wednesday for Would You Read It, this week starring Saul with an Early Reader!


OH!  And I almost forgot!  Marissa Oachs over at The Review Stew did a nice review and giveaway for my books (go here: http://www.thereviewstew.com/2011/09/childrens-books-by-susanna-l-hill.html) so please hop over and check out her site and enter the giveaway if you’re so inclined 🙂





					

		
		
			





			
				



	
	

					
How To Write A Novel
			


	


				

			17 Comments		

		
				

			
There are millions of great books out there that will tell you how to write a novel.


Witness exhibits A…




 …B…




…and C…. (and these are just randomly selected drops in the bucket!)




But I’m going to tell you the real way, the way that doesn’t get told in those books.  Pay close attention now because this is worth millions of dollars and I’m giving it to you for FREE.  Because I like to share 🙂


Ready?


Turn on your computer.


While it’s booting up and sorting itself out (shaking off the cobwebs as it were,) make a pot of coffee.


While the coffee’s brewing do not do anything so constructive as think about your novel.  Instead, play with the dogs, organize your daughters’ nail polish alphabetically or by color (without devoting too much energy to what it’s doing on the kitchen counter,) or watch Ellen Degeneres on YouTube in her cameo Harry Potter 7 role.  (Actually, you should do that last one no matter what!)


When the coffee is ready, bring a cup to the kitchen table your office and sit down in front of your computer.


Check your email.


Open the word document with your story in it, but don’t look at it yet!  It’s not ready to be looked at yet.  It just woke up.  It has sleep in its eyes and bed head.  It needs a minute, if you please!


Read and comment on a couple of your favorite blogs.


Sip your coffee.


Decide the coffee is too cold, take it to the microwave for a warm-up, come back and sit down in front of your computer again.


Think about how your chair is really uncomfortable – an obstacle to the creative process, truth be told – and fantasize about the ergonomically designed Chair Of Awesomeness you will buy when you sell your novel and get a $50,000 advance.


It’s important to think realistically.


Check your email to see if anyone commented on your blog yet.


Now.


Deep breath.


Look at your NIP (Novel-In-Progress for the uninitiated) but don’t look it straight in the eye.  Keep your head slightly averted lest it think you’re issuing a challenge.




Read the very last sentence you wrote yesterday and get ready to type onward full speed ahead the way you’re supposed to.


But decide you’re not quite sure where to go.  So go back and read the last paragraph.


Wow.  You wrote that pretty darn well!  Maybe you should read a little more of your awesome prose, just to get in the mood.  You know.  Get the old juices flowing.


Read all of the chapter you’re currently writing.  And maybe the one before that.  Maybe even start from the beginning so you can really get into it.  Change a few words.  Cut out a sentence and add another.


Sip your coffee.


Check your email in case anything that really demands your attention has come in since you last checked, perhaps an email from your agent telling you that there is a dog-eat-dog bidding war going on for your current ms on sub.


Did I mention it’s important to think realistically?


Look at your computer clock.


Gracious!  You’ve been working for a whole hour already.  What a disciplined worker you are!  But you have read that people who work at desks for a living are Some-Giant-Percent more likely to die of a heart attack, so you’d really better get up and stretch and take the dogs for a short walk before you get back to work.  For your health.


Walk the dogs.


Return to your computer like the disciplined worker you are.


Look at you NIP.


Place your fingers on the keyboard… (music swells in the background as the audience realizes that you are, at last, about to Really Start Typing!!!)


… and realize you’re STARVING!  In your zeal to get to work you have entirely neglected breakfast, the most important meal of the day.  Your brain needs fuel to be creative!  Really, how could you short-change yourself so?


Go find something sweet and breakfasty, preferably with something healthy, like fruit, involved.  Mmmm!  Raspberry Danish!  Perfect!


Okay.  Seriously.


Fingers on the keyboard.


Here you go.


Type.


Type type type.


Type type type type type.


Phew!  You’re working now!  The words are really flying!  You’ve written a whole paragraph in under 4 hours!  Stephen King, look out!


But darn!  Look at the time!  You’ve still got to get to the grocery store, the dry cleaners, the post office and the bank, put gas in the car, vacuum dog hair off the surface of your entire house, and be ready to meet the school bus by 3.  Not to mention what the heck are we having for dinner tonight?


Good thing you got so much done so fast!


Check you email one more time in case an editor has written to tell you she sold world-wide rights in every known language for your last book and, when you see she hasn’t – yet! – close your computer.


Repeat every day for as long as it takes to get to the end of your novel!


Wasn’t that helpful? 🙂


Please share your tips for how to work productively and how to write a novel (or a picture book or early chapter book or poetry or whatever you write!)  Alternatively, tell us how to get dog hair out of the car upholstery in 1 easy step because that would be VERY helpful too! 🙂

					

		
		
			





			
				



	
	

					
Hooked
			


	


				

			13 Comments		

		
				

			
I was fighting the urge.


I really was.


I told myself Quite Sternly! that I was not going to overwhelm you with billions of pictures of our exquisite new granddaughter.  And I’m really not.  Except I just have to post these two.  Because I’m totally hooked.  But then I’ll stop.  I promise 🙂











One of her beautiful face – she looks a lot different with her eyes open, doesn’t she?

















… and one of her tiny feet, because baby feet are simply irresistible 🙂






Okay.  That’s it.  I’m done 🙂


But speaking of being hooked, I am, coincidentally, reading Hooked: Write Fiction That Grabs Readers At Page One and Never Lets Them Go by Les Edgerton.  And it’s got me thinking about first sentences.


So I’d like to challenge everyone to a new twist on a combination of Monday and Wednesday’s posts.  Here’s what to do:  pick up the book you’re currently reading.  Type into the comments the title and author of the book and the very first sentence.  I’m assuming it hooked you because you’re reading the book, but please say whether it did or whether you were just willing to be patient for some reason, and please also say whether the book is delivering on it’s promise so far.  Not only will this be fun for writers to learn from, it will give all of us some recommendations for good reading 🙂


I’ll go first.


Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
“They say that just before you die your whole life flashes before your eyes, but that’s not how it happened for me.”
YES – I was hooked, and YES, so far the book has more than delivered on its opening promise – it’s terrific!


I can’t wait to see what you guys are reading and how good (or not) the first sentences are!


Have a great weekend!

					

		
		
			





			
				



	
	

					
Tails From The Wild Side
			


	


				

			7 Comments		

		
				

			
As many of you know, I have two dogs.


They are high-strung, riled-up, frothing-at-the-mouth, snarling, razor-toothed, hair-on-end, exceptionally ferocious… 


WHAT?


You don’t believe me?


Fine.  I’ll show you.  But remember, you were warned!


(WARNING: The following photographs may not be suitable for all audiences.  Please preview before allowing easily frightened individuals to view!)








See?


I beg your pardon!  Have you the temerity to suggest they are NOT ferocious?


Hmmpphh!  (Well, they do bark sometimes.  So there.)


ANYWAY, back to the point I was making before I was so rudely interrupted.  And as always, I do have one.


My ferocious dogs are being terrorized by a deer.


It’s true.  You heard me right.  A sweet, dainty, doe-eyed little white-tailed deer.  Except she isn’t.  She’s like the hand-maiden of Satan.


Yesterday, I was about to leave for my daughter’s lacrosse game (where we all got soaked for a change, but that’s another story…)  I let the dogs out to take care of their dogly business, and next thing I knew, I heard Scout’s Danger Bark!  Warning!  Warning!  Stay in the house!  Do not under any circumstances exit the premises!  Danger!


It was the wrong time of day for the UPS man, (who gives them cookies but is never allowed onto the property unchallenged as a matter of principal) but as I told you, the bear has been around.  So when I heard that bark I thought, Hmmm, maybe it’s the bear.  (I hope you were able to follow that leap of logic.)


So out the door I rushed lest my fierce ones need assistance chasing off the bear, heedless of my own safety (I’m that brave… or stupid….) and what should I see but a Mexican stand off.


But not with the bear.


Nope, my dogs were nearly muzzle-to-muzzle with a doe.




Quelle horreur!


The doe had the advantage of higher ground, but the dogs had the advantage of superior numbers.  It was bound to be a fearsome struggle.  The three of them stood in a triangle, with the doe at the top, almost equidistant from each other (what’s that called? not isosceles, the other one…) locked in mortal combat.  Really.


The doe snorted and threatened to step forward.


The dogs shrank back.


The dogs snarled and barked.


The doe shrank back.


Really, action this fast-paced was difficult to follow.  If only I’d had my video camera….


But seriously, we’re just at the brink of fawn season, and though it’s a little early, the only time I’ve ever seen a doe behave like this (and it’s happened twice before) was when she had a very young fawn nearby.  Does may look sweet, but they can, in fact, be lethal.  (Truthfully.  I’m not making this up – you can check.  To protect their fawns they will go after threats (dogs or people) with their front hooves, and the results are most unpleasant for the attacked.)


So I really was worried about my little sweetums.


“Scout!  Jemma!” I called desperately.  “Come!”


Now, ordinarily my dogs are the definition of obedience and jump to my command (hahahahahahahaha sorry, I couldn’t even say that with a straight face) but they were protecting me from the savage doe and would not be called off.  I was forced to use the age old ruse of opening the car door and calling sweetly, “Who wants to go for a ride in the car?”


Leaving one important duty (guard dogs!) for another (copilot and navigator!) they leapt aboard the Dog Mobile (that’s my 2002 Toyota Siena, for the uninitiated) and the doe went on her merry way, crisis averted without loss of face.


Phew!


Really, I’m exhausted just telling you about it.  I think it’s time for lunch.


And if you’re wondering how this relates to writing, well…. hang on…  I’ll think of something….  Ah, yes!  Get ready for a pearl of wisdom:  If you find yourself locked in the mortal combat of writer’s block, go for a drive in the car, hang your head out the window and let the wind blow your ears back.  Sound advice, no?  Very refreshing.


Feel free to share your own stories from Wild Kingdom, compliment Scout and Jemma’s excessive bravery (they always like to be told what good dogs they are!), or tell me what the heck that triangle with equal sides is called 🙂

					

		
		
			





			
				



	
	

					
How About A Writing Course?
			


	


				

			19 Comments		

		
				

			
Before we get involved in other things, let me take a second to remind you that the contest to win a signed copy of PENNY LOVES PINK is still open.  Please scroll down, read Cori’s interview, and enter to win if you’re interested.  You have until tomorrow (Friday Feb. 18) at 9 AM EST to enter, and it’s a prize definitely worth winning!


Now…


I don’t know about you, but I generally feel I need all the help I can get 🙂


When I go on school visits, and even teach writing workshops to kids, I always tell them that writing is a process.  Nobody gets it right the first time.  Revising and editing are part of the game.


Learning to write is also a process.  I’m sure there are lots of people out there who are truly masters of the craft, but I don’t feel like I’m one of them just yet.  Although I have a number of books published, I still feel like I’m learning.  My writing can always get better.


Whether you’re published already or not, if you feel like you have things to learn, or areas you could improve on, one great option is a writing course.


There are lots of them out there.  I can personally speak for those offered by the Institute of Children’s Literature and Jordan Rosenfeld, both of which are available online.


If you’d like something more “real” (i.e. an actual physical class that you go to and see other people!) I can also highly recommend The ABCs of Writing or Children.  Here’s the info if you’re interested:




The ABCs of Writing for Children will be offered again at Merritt
Bookstore, Front Street, Millbrook, NY, on Tuesday afternoons from 1 – 3
p.m.

Class will meet once a week for 6 weeks
Dates: April 5, April 12, (skipping April 19), April 26, May 3, May 10,
May 17


CLASS INSTRUCTORS:
Karen Kaufman Orloff – ex-magazine editor and author of four picture books
(I WANNA IGUANA, I WANNA NEW ROOM, IF MOM HAD THREE ARMS, TALK, OSCAR,
PLEASE!) and a regular columnist for “The Poughkeepsie Journal”

Della Ross Ferreri: Author of two picture books (STAR OF THE SHOW, HOW
WILL I EVER SLEEP IN THIS BED?), and two beginning readers (PICNIC ON THE
SIDEWALK, HEY! YOU’RE EATING MY HOMEWORK!) plus numerous poems/articles in
children’s magazines

Class will cover:

• How to get ideas
• How to structure a story
• Writing in different genres, including rhyme
• Creating great characters
• First drafts and re-writing
• Writing effective query letters
• Submitting to publishers

In addition, there will be:

• Manuscript critiques
• In-class writing exercises
• Ample Q & A time

CLASS FEE: $150
Small, intimate class setting. Informal atmosphere.

NOTE: YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE AN ILLUSTRATOR TO WRITE CHILDREN”S BOOKS!

For more information, contact Karen (orloff@bestweb.net/ 845-896-8038)





The only drawback with Karen and Della’s class is that you have to live within driving distance of Millbrook, NY (or have a private jet – but I’m thinking most of us aren’t quite there yet :))


Have any of you taken courses?  If so, please share them and tell us how your experience was and whether you’d recommend them!

					

		
		
			





			
				



	
	

					
Finding The Groove
			


	


				

			6 Comments		

		
				

			
So, y’all know I intend to write a novel this year.


What you may not know is that I have tried before.


Here’s how it went:


Novel #1(from about 1999): my agent liked it but said it needed more – a strong subplot.  12 years later, I’m still trying to figure out how to add a sub-plot.


Novel #2: written for a course at the Institute of Children’s Literature, I thought I was doing better with this one but, being a self-doubter by nature, I kept feeling that my instructor was being too kind, so I gave the novel to a an acquaintance and fellow writer to read.  Her comments were so brutal that I haven’t had the courage to take that one back out of the sock drawer.


Novel #3: has about 30 pages written with two alternate beginnings and I’m considering a third.


Novel #4: has about 30 pages written with three alternate beginnings.


Novel #5: An adventure story with elements of magic.  I wrote a chapter a day for 42 days for my kids.  They loved it.  Really.  And a couple other people who read it loved it as well.  My agent never got past page 90.  It’s currently being inflicted on my writing group.


Novel #6: has about 30 pages written with two alternate beginnings neither of which I like yet.


Novel #7: has about 30 pages written with three alternate beginnings.


Novel #8: has about 30 pages written.


Are you sensing a theme here?  Now you know why I have my work cut out for me!!!


So anyway, I read this interview with G. Neri on Cynsations blog yesterday.  It included some writing tips, and one of them really struck home with me.  It said:


“1.  Give yourself permission to write badly.  That’s right.  Even the greatest writers I know admit their first drafts suck.  So forget even trying.  The first draft is all about getting it out of your head and onto the paper (or disk).  It’s the number one obstacle that keeps would-be writers from ever finishing a novel.  They get stuck trying to make every page, every sentence, every word perfect just right.  Forget it.  Just find a word, throw together a sentence that communicates the basic idea, and move on.  Know that it will suck.  Embrace its suckage… move forward until you reach the end, then go back and fix.  Otherwise, you’ll never get done.”


This is good advice for me.  I can spend weeks revising a paragraph, but as you can see from my track record, I’m not so good on completion!  Didn’t I just list 5 novels with 30 (admittedly very polished but going nowhere!) pages?


What’s your biggest writing obstacle?  How do you cope with it?


Stay tuned as the year progresses, and we’ll see if my novel progresses with it!  Ultimately, I think it’s all about finding the groove 🙂