Author: hatfield13

A couple months ago, my teaching colleague Marjorie Light and I got talking.  Our creative writing class had just Skyped with author Lindsey Leavitt in a win-win situation. Our kids got to meet and ask writing questions of an author, and Lindsey got a chance to plug her upcoming YA novel to some enthusiastic readers.  Wouldn’t it be great, we thought, if there were an easy way for authors promoting a new book to connect with teachers & librarians who would love to have more virtual author visits in their schools?

So we’ve launched a new blog called  , where authors who want to do a limited number of free, no-strings-attached Skype chats to promote a book can list Skype Tours, and where teachers and librarians can search by theme, age level, and writing topics to find authors whose Skype chats will enhance what they’re working on in class. Everything’s free, and there’s no requirement that kids read the book ahead of time — this type of visit is designed to introduce kids to an author and a particular title and enhance classroom curriculum at the same time.  The listings will look like this:

Lindsey Leavitt agreed to be our first victim guinea pig author volunteer, and I have a spring Skype tour listed for SUGAR AND ICE, too. There are detailed directions on the blog for how to list a tour and how to book one.  And of course, it’s a LiveJournal site, so feel free to add   to your friends list or just bookmark us to keep up to date on who’s on tour.

We’re excited about this and curious to see how it works out.  Comments & suggestions are most welcome!

My Spring 2012 novel EYE OF THE STORM is on its way to copy edits.

Copy edit notes for REAL REVISION: AUTHORS’ STRATEGIES TO SHARE WITH STUDENT WRITERS are on a UPS truck somewhere, heading back to Stenhouse for the book’s release this May.

My mail from readers is answered. The email in-box is empty.

And my fingers are twitchy.

Does anyone else feel this way when it’s time to start a new project? 

Part of me wants to get on with it, to meet the new characters and get lost in the new setting.  But part of me also loves the feeling of not knowing. It reminds me of this photo I saw a while back…

from http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2011/02/03/the-museum-of-possibilities/

It’s Montreal’s "Museum of Possibilities," a one-day installation last spring that invited visitors to share their ideas for the Quartier des Spectacles public space by writing them on slips of paper and attaching them to colorful balloons.  Then other visitors could vote on them by putting stickers on their favorite. Lovely, no? In so many ways…

But of course, at some point, the balloon people had to choose one plan or there would never be anything in that public space. And at some point soon, I need to decide on a new book project. There are three that are looking particularly shiny, so I’ve sent those to my editor. I’ll let you know if she puts her sticker on one.

For now, though, I’m enjoying the bright rising maybes, the rainbow of ideas, and this feeling that that next book could be anything…anything at all.

About a year ago, my son started teaching himself how to write code for iPhone, iPod, and iPad applications. The endeavor has taken on a life of its own, to the point where he’s commandeered one of our basement rooms and dubbed it "Snowfire Software World Headquarters."

This summer, the boy’s first app, a custom-background calculator for the iPad, was released for sale in the iTunes app store, and he’s been working on some new applications since then.  His latest project is particularly exciting for Mom…

The SUGAR AND ICE Skating Checklist has a list of different moves, spins, and jumps at different levels so skaters can use it to practice at the rink, and of course, there’s a little about the book included, too. It’s a free download if you’d like to check it out – just click here, or do a search for "Sugar and Ice" in the app store on your device.

I’ve been reading Betsy Lerner’s book THE FOREST FOR THE TREES: AN EDITOR’S ADVICE TO WRITERS – it’s entertaining and thought-provoking, a great book for writers and people who want to write. 

Here’s what she has to say about our ritualized writing behaviors and excuses for not showing up at the keyboard:

If you are meant to write, if you are ready to write, if what you must do is write, then all you really need is paper and pencil…. the more you indulge any neurotic notions about a set of necessary conditions that will enable you to write, the colder the trail will get.

With that, I’m off to review copy edits on my teacher revision book.  Just as soon as I have my Post-It notes.  And some tea. And my very sharp blue pencil.

What about you?  What are your "necessary conditions" that you may not need to write but you sure do like?

Last year, I had an author visit with students at Highgate Elementary School in Vermont, and the kids told me all about the project they were working on — a book called Lake Champlain, A to Z, Past & Present.  They were in the research stages when we met to share writing stories, and they knew that there would be a whole lot of writing, revision, and editing ahead of them.

Fast forward now to a couple weeks ago, when I received an invitation in the mail.  The Highgate kids were planning a big celebration of the publication of their finished book!  I was scheduled to be away at a conference on that day, but thanks to the magic of Skype and some tech-savvy teachers, I was able to be a virtual guest so I could congratulate the kids on their accomplishment, author to author.  Their librarian also sent me a digital copy of the book, which is just gorgeous.  Here’s a sampling, shared with permission.

Pretty fantastic, huh?  I have a feeling we’ll be hearing a lot more from these authors.

Congratulations, Highgate Elementary students, on a job so very well done!

The Tiny Glass Tub Vial Jar : Why Revision Takes So Long

Picture the scene: I’m sitting in my writing room one recent afternoon, on deadline with the final revision for my 2012 Walker/Bloomsbury dystopian novel, EYE OF THE STORM.  And I’m staring at this line:

She pulls out a tiny round tub filled with some kind of fluid.

Next to the word “tub,” my editor has scribbled, “Tube?”

My editor obviously isn’t there with me, but that does not stop me from talking to her.  “No, Mary Kate…it’s not a tube, really. If I say that, people are going to picture a test tube, especially because they’re in a lab, and that’s not what this is. Know what I mean?”

Invisible Mary Kate does not answer.  So I keep talking.

“I said tub because this is like one of those little tubs of lip balm…the kind you use when Chapstick isn’t strong enough because your lips are really, super-chapped and you need something, like, medicinal. And it comes in this little blue tub. At least, mine does. That’s the kind of tub I mean here, only this one’s glass and you can see through it.  Okay?”

Again, there is no answer. But I know it’s not okay.  Because if Mary Kate saw the word “tub” and immediately thought I meant “tube,” then at least some readers are going to make that leap, too.  So what do I call that darn container?

Does it really matter that much? Yes.  It does.  Because this little tub/tube/vessel contains something that’s going to be the key to my main character’s success in getting what she needs. It’s a sneaky thing. And she needs to conceal the vial/jar/container/thing in her pocket through some tense situations during which she will fear discovery and feel it poking into her hip bone. It needs to be this exact size and shape that I am thinking of.

I turn to Twitter for help.

“You know the shallow little round type of container for lip balm or maybe contact lenses? What would you call that?”

A flood of friends reply. Tube? Vial? Carrying case? Compact? Pot?

Lip balm comes in jars or tins, depending on what the container is made of, says one Twitter friend.

I consider all of this.  Then I write:

She pulls out a shallow glass jar filled with some kind of fluid. It’s shaped like the tiny container where Mom used to keep her contact lenses before she got her eyes fixed. 

Risha lowers the tissue into it.  “Don’t take it out until you need it.”

Onward!

One page down.  232 to go…

     ***

In other EYE OF THE STORM news, I got to see a very early cover sketch this week, and it’s pretty amazing.  I adored both of my covers for THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z. and SUGAR AND ICE, but because this book is so different and darker, the team at Walker/Bloomsbury wanted a different look for the cover, and they found an artist I think is a perfect match for this story — Vincent Chong, who has done some cover art for Ray Bradbury and Stephen King books. I can’t share the cover sketch because it’s a long way from finished, but you can peek at Chong’s online portfolio here.

There is no school today. The temperature is -17…the wind chill -31.  Inside the house today, there will be reading aloud (we just finished Ellen Potter’s THE KNEEBONE BOY over breakfast, and wow! What an ending!)  There will be hot chocolate and Scrabble and chicken chili and some writing time. 

Outside, there is a very, very cold lake. I stepped onto the back deck just long enough to snap a couple photos of the frozen morning.

Stay warm!

For folks in the Plattburgh, NY – Burlington, VT region, I have a couple weeknight book events this week and would love to see you!

A Novel Evening for Literacy
Thursday, January 20
7:00 pm
Koffee Kat – 104 Margaret St. Plattsburgh

I’ll be reading from SUGAR AND ICE and giving a talk, along with local author Bonnie Shimko (THE PRIVATE THOUGHTS OF AMELIA E. RYE, FSG 2010) at this event, which is a fund raiser for Literacy Volunteers of Clinton County. Admission is a donation of $10 for adults, $5 for students, or $15 per family.  It should be a fun evening, and Koffee Kat makes a mighty good mocha latte.

"Teachers Who Write and Writers Who Teach"
Educator Appreciation Days Event
Friday, January 21
4:30-5:30 pm
Barnes and Noble – Dorset Street, South Burlington

On Friday after school at the South Burlington Barnes and Noble, I’ll be reading from SUGAR AND ICE and giving a special presentation for educators called "Teachers Who Write and Writers Who Teach" about how teaching & writing lives can inspire one another. It’s part of Educators Appreciation Days, so educators also receive a 25% discount on books at the event.

Hope to see some of you Thursday or Friday!

One of the things I’ve learned about revising a manuscript is that no matter how tight the deadline, I can’t just lock myself in a room and revise 24-7. Much of my rethinking happens away from the keyboard. Leaving my desk provides me with different lenses through which I can view the story — and often makes me consider ideas that wouldn’t have arrived had I stay put to wait for them.

So last weekend, I took my daughter and her friend to see TANGLED.  For those who aren’t familiar with it, it’s the Rapunzel story, spun into a swashbuckling Disney musical. Here are the notes I took out of the theater and back to my desk, along with a few leftover Junior Mints:

• Why are people evil?  They have reasons – seeds planted early that grow until they burst.
• Chase scenes are awesome. So are secrets, surprises,  unexpected discoveries, and treachery.
• Trying over and over and over – and failing over and over – makes success sweeter.
• Sometimes, friends are enemies, and enemies are friends.
• A ticking clocks increase tension.
• Tense, action-packed stories stories need humor, too.
• The best heroines need to have doubts and fears as well as courage.
• Take advantage of the power of slow-motion. When the horse was about to bite Rapunzel’s hair so she couldn’t get away, the scene shifted into slow motion (literally) so that there was a longer period of wondering. Will she make it?   Do my tense scenes need to be slowed down to enhance suspense?
• We love characters who make mistakes in life & find redemption.
• Villains often destroy themselves.

What does all this have to do with my story? Love ’em or hate ’em, you have to admit that the folks at Disney have figured out how to keep kids’ attention, and as writers, we can take those big ideas — ticking clocks, flawed heroines — and use them to reflect on magic in our own stories. 

One last reminder that may help with antagonists…

Thugs in taverns have dreams, too.