This particular visit was tough to schedule because of trouble with snow days and winter weather, and when we finally managed to connect, I mentioned how jealous I was of everyone getting snow. I live way up on Lake Champlain, where we are supposed to have several feet of snow by now, and my cross country ski trails are sadly barren and brown. So what did I get in the mail this week?
I can honestly say, these are the "coolest" thank you notes I’ve ever received. Thanks, Mrs. Duff and students! Your snowflakes made my whole day.
10. This year’s theme is "Moments of Change." The publishing industry is evolving. We can lament that and snivel a bit, or we can be involved in the process and shape it creatively, in a way that values story and writers and readers.
8. Manuscript critiques. You can sign up in advance to have the first pages of your manuscript critiqued by one of the agents, editors, or authors offering feedback at this year’s conference. If you’ve never done this before, it’s a great opportunity to get a kind-but-very-honest opinion on how your manuscript might be received when you send it out. If you want a manuscript critique, sign up for one right away; these spots tend to sell out quickly.
7. Orientation session for first-time attendees. The organizers of this conference know that attending your first one can feel overwhelming, so they’ve set up this how-to-manage-your-weekend session on Friday afternoon. Smart.
6. Marla Frazee is one of the keynote speakers. MARLA FRAZEE!!! A two-time Caldecott Honor winner, and a kind, funny person, too. Marla will be speaking Saturday afternoon, along with her editor, Allyn Johnston of Beach Lane Books
5. Cynthia Leitich-Smith is another keynote speaker. You know…from Cynsations? She’s not only a well-loved kidlit blogger, but also a talented author and faculty member at the Vermont College MFA program. She’ll be talking Saturday morning.
4. Workshops! Workshops! Workshops! I’ll be presenting a session on Skype author visits and will also be on a panel with Jo Knowles and Carrie Jones to talk about "Blogging for the Future," how to set up and maintain a blog that will serve you throughout your career as a writer. And I’ve already started making my list of sessions I’m dying to attend, too. Matt Phelan is doing a session on Writing the Graphic Novel. Mitali Perkins and Deborah Sloan will talk about successful social networking. Toni Buzzeo and Cynthia Lord team up for a session on school visits, and Kelly Fineman offers a session on free verse. Kara LaReau, with whom I had the absolute pleasure to work with when she was an editor at Scholastic, is giving a workshop on "Getting Unstuck in Writing and in Life" that you will not want to miss; she is an amazing, amazing editor & writer. And that’s just a start. You can download the full list of workshops here.
3. The "workshop" after the workshops. At conferences like this, the workshops are great, but some of the most valuable conversations happen after the hour-long session has ended, in discussions with writer-illustrator colleagues over coffee and lunch.
2. Brownies. There are usually brownies on Saturday afternoon. Big, thick, chewy ones.
1. Where else can you spend time with hundreds of other people who will talk seriously, for hours, about made-up people as if they’re real? I laugh at this one, but it’s important to me. Writing for children is important, but sometimes people in our day-to-day, grocery-store, water-cooler, day-job lives don’t entirely get it. It’s refreshing and invigorating to spend time with a big group of people who do.
So I just have to say…I’m finding the TV news reports of the snowstorm in Washington D.C. this weekend a little eerie. The book I’ve been working on for the past six months — the scene I was revising Friday night, in particular — focuses on a record snowstorm that shuts down a D.C. airport.
From Chapter 9… "What you’re suggesting should be impossible. But…" He glanced out the window, where a million huge, feathery snowflakes swirled in the runway lights. It looked as if giants were having a pillow fight on the tarmac. Then he turned back to the terminal, where the only other person awake was a woman giving herself a manicure in the corner. “If ever there were a time when it might — just might — be possible, I’d say that time is right now.”
If anything else in this book comes true, I’m going to have to be very careful about what I write. I’ll also be taking orders for subplots (a Twitter friend has already asked that I write her a nice lottery-winning scene). In the mean time, if you’re looking for me, I’ll be online checking out photos of snowed-in airports. Now I don’t have to settle for just imagining the details any more.
I spent this past weekend at Kindling Words, a retreat for children’s writers, illlustrators, and editors. It was four blissful days of workshops, group meals, and talking with other people who discuss fictional characters with the same passion as if they were real family members or friends. And writing. Lots of writing.
I didn’t take many photos this year, but I came away from the long weekend with two picture book drafts that are now complete, a chapter one of a new maybe-project, and a middle grade mystery that is many hours closer to ready than it was before I checked into the inn. Thanks to my KW colleagues, I also came away with some new thoughts on writing goals, the future of the industry, and the vital role that imagination will play in that future. Good things, all.
Me, Laurie Halse Anderson, Kathryn Hulick, and Loree Griffin Burns
The Kindling Words Bonfire, in which rock-solid marshmallows were roasted (it was -3 that night!) and little slips of paper were burned, sending dreams up to the universe in smoke.
If you’re not an author, it may surprise you to know that sometimes, the title a writer originally gives a book doesn’t always stay the title of that book. A lot of people chime in along the way, from agents and editors, to the sales reps who will ultimately be making sure that your book is available in stores. THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z. for example, wasn’t always THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z. First it was SWINGER OF BIRCHES. Then it was MAPLE GIRL. Then there was a whole lot of brainstorming before we came up with the final title, which I love.
My new book, about a figure skater from a small-town maple farm who earns a scholarship to train with the elite in Lake Placid, was originally called SUGAR ON SNOW. Even though I like the way that sounds, there are concerns that it doesn’t make the ice skating element of the book clear enough, so we’re working on new titles right now. Brainstorming. I sent a list of ideas to my editor a week or so ago, but none of those seem to be sparking joy and agreement either, so we’re trying again.
I thought I’d share the process I used last night, since regular old brainstorming wasn’t helping me get at anything new. First, I brainstormed a list of all the skating words I could think of and jotted them down. SKATE, ICE, RINK, SPIRAL, SPIN, BLADES…and on and on. Then I wrote down other words that are important in the book. SUGAR, MUSIC, SEASONS, SONGS, SPARKLE…you get the idea. Then I did this…
Cutting up the list into little pieces allowed me to literally play with the words, move them around and try combinations that my brain might not have come up with on its own. Kind of like a magnetic poetry set, but more impromptu. It worked well, and I’ll try this again the next time I’m feeling title challenged. Sometimes, there is value in just seeing things in a new way. In play.
And I did send a new list of title ideas off to New York early this morning. I’ll keep you posted…
Have I mentioned how much I love the way Skype allows me to teach my own 7th grade students all day and still have time for a virtual author visit with kids halfway across the country before I make dinner?
Today’s crew of 6th graders, Mrs. Duff’s class in Oelwein, Iowa, read The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z. this fall and prepared some great questions for our virtual visit. Here’s a quick sampling: What was the inspiration for GIANNA Z? My students and their mandatory 7th grade leaf project.
How many drafts did you have to write before it was published? 18. Then we did copy edits. Are you going to write a sequel? Yes. I already did. Zig is the main character in that one. If you’d like to read it some day, please write a nice letter to my publisher to let them know!
What’s the last movie you saw?Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian, which was fun because I’d just been to the Smithsonian for research last spring. What’s your favorite book? It’s so hard to choose, but I have to say Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. And I loved When You Reach Me, too.
Hey! We’re reading that book now. Will you play $20,000 Pyramid with us? Sure!
Ready? Sleds. Shovels. Angels. Toboggans... THINGS YOU DO IN THE SNOW!!!!!!! **cheers and dances**
Turns out I didn’t actually win $20,000 but that’s okay. Chatting with such a fun, interesting group of kids was priceless. Thanks, 6th graders and Mrs. Duff!
1. We spent Saturday skiing with friends at Whiteface Mountain on what I’m convinced was the best ski day of the year so far. It was sunny and beautiful and full of fresh air. Just perfect.
2. My students spent last week brainstorming and pulling together some quick fundraisers for Doctors Without Borders’ earthquake relief efforts in Haiti. On Friday after school, we ate pizza and did a final count…
I am so, so proud of their efforts!
3. I am reading CHARLES AND EMMA: THE DARWINS’ LEAP OF FAITH right now, and finding it just as amazing as the awards committees and everyone else says it is. I love the the way the story mixes science and religion and love, three things that fascinate me. Even if you don’t usually read nonfiction, I’d recommend giving this one a try.
4. I sent a new picture book manuscript off to my agent this week. If you are a writer, you know the mix of jitters and excitement that can bring. It’s one of those books that I could never work on without laughing. **fingers crossed that it makes agent laugh, too**
5. Speaking of picture books that make you laugh, I picked up an F & G (folded & gathered copy) of SHARK VS. TRAIN, written by Chris Barton and illustrated by Tom Lichtenheld. If you are interested in writing picture books, read it. It’s a shining example of a book that appeals to both kids and the adult readers who will no doubt be sharing this one aloud over and over and over again. So, so funny!
6. At the end of this week, I’ll be heading to Kindling Words, a writing retreat where I’m looking forward to workshops, time with author friends, and time to write. My goals: finish up a nonfiction picture book I’ve been working on, revise the middle grade mystery so it’s ready to share with my agent, and write at least one chapter of a new project that’s been keeping me up at night. It’s a fun, fast-paced mystery with a hint of magic, and my typing fingers are itching to get started.
I’m giving a lecture tomorrow night as part of a new series of talks at the Alice T. Miner Museum in Chazy. The concept, which I found irresistible, is to have two half-hour lectures presented on unrelated topics, followed by a joint Q and A session in which the audience can ask whatever they want and perhaps make connections between the two speakers. Here’s the event poster:
One correction: It’s not $5 to get in; it’s free (yay!), and though it’s a relatively small venue, I believe there’s still space if you’d like to come. Just call 846-7336 to reserve a seat.
So I heard a rumor today. Is it true that you told your teacher that real authors don’t use story webs or outlines or plan their writing? That real authors just write whatever comes into their heads and if they need to outline or do any prep work, they’re not real writers?
Hmm.
Your teacher dropped me a note to ask if I might be able to make you reconsider. She’s a friend of mine and knows that I’ve written eight books for kids — three that are out now and five that will be published in 2010 and 2011. And she has a pretty good idea what “real writing” looks like.
I told her I’d share some photos tonight, because I thought you might like to see this.
This is some of the pre-writing I’ve done for the book I’m writing right now. It’s a middle grade mystery called CAPTURE THE FLAG, and I’m finished with my draft, but I’ll be revising for a while now, trying to make it better. What you’re looking at in the photo includes:
A timeline showing where all the characters are throughout the story & what happens when (top left)
Page two of the timeline (top middle)
A list of things I needed to research (top right)
A character brainstorming chart with notes on the three kids’ personalities, interests, families, etc. (middle left)
A story web showing how the central mystery relates to the clues, villains, setting, etc. (middle right)
A plot diagram that I did to make sure the story gets more exciting as it goes along, right up to the climax (bottom left)
A chapter by chapter outline of characters, action, settings, plot threads, and theme connections (bottom center)
A chart listing secondary characters hanging around the airport where the story is set & their stories
And then there’s this…
It’s my revision to-do list, with jobs for each chapter. I’m on Chapter 13 right now.
So do I do all this stuff for EVERY novel I write? Nope. But I use a lot of it with each book.
And do I ALWAYS outline and plan before I write? Well, your teacher might not like this, but no. Sometimes I just plunge in and write for a little while. That kind of free-writing can help you get good ideas, but it’s also scattered and unorganized and hard for readers to follow, so even if I start a book by free-writing, I usually don’t make it all the way through. Once I have an idea where the story is going, I stop and…. you guessed it… make an outline, a road map that can get me to the end.
Having practice with a lot of different kinds of brainstorming, story mapping, and outlining helps me make sure I have the skills I need to write whatever I want to write. It’s like having a big toolbox. You might not need the hammer for every single project, but you’d sure be lost without it, and if you have one, you can pull it out whenever you need it.
So give the outline a try, okay? Real writers do use the tools your teacher is talking about, and we use them all the time.
I hope your fantasy story turns out beautifully.
All the best,
~Kate Messner
P.S. I am sorry about this post. I used to hate it when my teachers were right about things like this…
I finished reading Susan Beth Pfeffer’s THIS WORLD WE LIVE IN tonight. Now I am in no mood to sleep and will likely be awake in bed plotting ways to store canned goods in my basement. I should know by now not to read post-apocalyptic fiction on school nights, but no…I’m a sucker for a great story. And this one is.
If you enjoyed the first two books in this series, LIFE AS WE KNEW IT and THE DEAD AND THE GONE, you’ll also love this latest (and final) installment. Set in a world turned upside down almost a year after an asteroid has hit the moon, upsetting everything from weather patterns to the tides, this book is dark, to be sure. But it’s not without its moments of hope and beauty. Reminiscent of Cormac McCarthy’s THE ROAD, it’s the story of those who remain…including some familiar characters from the first two books. It’s tough to say more without being spoilery, and I most definitely don’t want to do that; fans of Pfeffer have been waiting for this one, and they won’t be disappointed.
Reviewed from an ARC from ALA midwinter and due out in April 2010.
I finished reading Susan Beth Pfeffer’s THIS WORLD WE LIVE IN tonight. Now I am in no mood to sleep and will likely be awake in bed plotting ways to store canned goods in my basement. I should know by now not to read post-apocalyptic fiction on school nights, but no…I’m a sucker for a great story. And this one is.