Author Skype Visit

I recently attended an author Skype visit with Suzanne Slade for my daughter’s 5th grade class. And let me just say, that it was amazing. My daughter’s teacher was blown away, and the kids loved it. Suzanne did such a great job, and kept the kids engaged the entire time. I, too, had a wonderful time, and I was so glad that I could attend.

As an aspiring author, I want to learn more about author visits, and there is no better way than by attending one. It was such a great opportunity for me, and I learned so much. It was fun to see what really got the kids excited, and what interested them. I also got to observe how an author sets up her visit, and things she incorporated and did. It was very informative for me, and I enjoyed it immensely.

Now I’m off to find my next opportunity.

Cumulative Picture Books

I had the chance to go to my son’s classroom again this week, and teach more about writing and picture books. This time I taught them about the cumulative picture book structure. Cumulative stories add repeating elements as the story progresses. When a new event occurs in the story, the previous events are repeated. Basically, the plot builds on itself. These stories can rhyme, but they do not have to.

The kids really enjoyed the cumulative stories. We read: THERE WAS AN OLD LADY WHO SWALLOWED A FLY by Lucille Colandro, and THERE WAS AN OLD MONKEY WHO SWALLOWED A FROG by Jennifer Ward. We then had an activity where the kids created their own cumulative stories. It was so much fun, and the kids really enjoyed it. There were a lot of giggles and smiles. And they were so creative. They came up with many unique ideas. Leave it to a kid to come up with the silliest and most outrageous concepts. That is exactly why writers need to think like a kid. That’s when creativity is at its best.

I am so happy that I get this chance to teach these children. I love being around them. I love their energy and excitement. I love how much they love books and writing. I love their zest to learn anything new. And I love that they love picture books as much as I do.

Voice

I listened to a webinar yesterday about voice. It talked about how each of us have our own unique way of writing that no one can duplicate. Everything that we have experienced and done in our lives contributes to our writing voice. No two people can write the same story the exact same way.

I really enjoyed this webinar. I liked learning more about how each of us has our own voice. As writers, we each have to work on finding and developing that voice. I know I am constantly trying to develop mine. I am ever learning, growing, and developing my craft. I am happy that no one can write just like me. I want to write my own unique stories, in my own unique voice.

Mother's Day

Forget flowers, a new picture book is the perfect present from my children.

The Perfect Ending

Lately, I have been studying the ends of picture books. I have been trying to figure out what makes a perfect ending. It has been fun to analyze each book. I have come to find so many endings that I love and admire. And it is amazing to me that an ending can really make or break a book. The ending is the author’s last chance to make an impression on the reader. No author wants the reader to feel dissatisfied at the end of a book. In fact, an author wants the complete opposite. He or she wants the reader to feel completely satisfied when they turn the last page.

This rings true with me, because of an experience I had with my son a few years ago. We had gotten a book at the library that we were both really excited to read. We brought the book home, and started reading it right away. But when we got to the end of the book, the last page was missing. And of course, that was the page with the final punch line. Without this page, my son and I had no idea how the story ended. We felt dissatisfied and frustrated. It really bothered us to not know what happened. Later, we were able to get a hold of another book which contained the last page. Reading the end of the story, made such a difference in our feelings about the book.

This experience made me realize how important a good ending is. Without it, a book is just a book. But with it, a book becomes magic. And I, for one, want all of my stories to be magical.

First SCBWI Conference

I just signed up for my first SCBWI conference. Saying I am excited, would be an understatement. I signed up for everything I could—lunch with speakers, critique—so that I could get the most out of this conference. I want to learn all that I can, and find new ways to improve my craft. This conference is going to be so much fun, and I know I am going to learn a lot. And I will, of course, report back here on everything I learned, gained, and gleaned from attending my first conference.

Ignored

Today when I asked my son to please help me clean up a mess, he repeatedly ignored me. Then, when I asked my manuscript to please help me come up with the perfect ending, it repeatedly ignored me. Good thing I'm persistent.

You're Ugly, First Draft

First drafts are ugly. Good thing there is revision to make them beautiful. Just repeat until pretty.

You Never Know

The other day my husband was going to go to the driving range. I sweetly suggested that he take our 4-year-old son. He looked at me and said, “I don’t know how that’s going to go.”

“Well I don’t know how the grocery store with three kids is going to go half the time,” I said to him, “but I still do it.”

Needless to say, he took our son to the driving range, and our son loved it. Now my husband takes him as often as he can.

I share this example, because to me it is like writing. One never knows exactly how a story is going to go, but that is ok. Sometimes the story will practically write itself. Sometimes it won’t. Sometimes the ending is easy and the beginning is difficult. Sometimes the title is causing all of the problems. Sometimes you don’t even want to try. But you have to try—even if you don’t know how it is going to go. Because your story, like my son, might just surprise you.

Catching Fireflies

Ideas are like fireflies. They fly around in a magical glow, just waiting to be caught. And we, as writers, have the job of searching for and catching these fireflies.

This may seem easy enough, but often times it isn’t. It can be a tricky thing to capture a firefly. Sometimes they fly so close, but we can’t quite reach them. Sometimes they are too quick and fleeting, and we don’t have enough time to grab them. And sometimes we are not paying close enough attention to find them.

That is why there is PiBoIdMo. For the entire month of November, we get the chance to catch 30 fireflies. PiBoIdMo gives us the jar (notebook) and motivation (daily posts) that we need in order to catch our fireflies. PiBoIdMo gets us moving. It gets us thinking. And it gets us searching.

This will be my third year participating in Tara Lazar’s PiBoIdMo, and I am excited. Every year that I have participated, I have come out with more than 30 ideas (or fireflies if you will).

There is something about participating that really puts your mind into firefly-catching mode. From the daily posts, to the Facebook page, PiBoIdMo is the perfect place to seek out and find ideas.

So come join me for this year’s PiBoIdMo, and see how many fireflies you can catch.

Artwork is courtesy of my eight-year-old daughter.

Just Listen

Sometimes my characters, like my children, won’t listen to me. I try to make them listen. I tell them. I beg them. And sometimes I force them. But more times than not, it doesn’t work.

That is when I usually feel like screaming and pulling my hair out. But we all know how that turns out. So instead, I turn things around and listen to them. And more times than not, that is when I have my best writing and parenting moments.

So take the time to listen to your characters and your children. You never know what they might have to say.

Never. Give. Up.

We all need this reminder sometimes.

Overdue

I think I am doomed to always have an overdue library book. Not because I can’t remember when the book is due. Not because I don’t get to the library often enough. And not because I can’t find the book. The reason I seem to always have a library book overdue is: I have a hard time parting with a really good book.

I check out the book for as long as the library will let me, but it never seems long enough. I buy as many of my favorite books as I can, but I can’t buy them all. It is hard to say goodbye to a really good book. Even my children have a hard time saying goodbye. Just the other day, my son was helping me put our library books in the book slot, and he said, “What? We have to give these back?” I knew exactly how he felt.

And so, I think I will just come to terms with the fact that I will always have an overdue library book. There are worse things. Right?

The Do’s and Don’ts of Writing

Do sit and write

Don’t procrastinate

Do study your craft

Don’t assume you know everything

Do join an unbiased critique group

Don’t think your mom, dad, sister, brother, spouse, grandparents, or children will give you honest and helpful feedback

Do read books in the genre you wish to write

Don’t stop reading

Do write for yourself

Don’t write for trends

The Dos & Don’ts of a Query Letter

Do research each agent you send a manuscript to.

Don’t send out a mass email to as many agents as you can.

Do spell the agent's name correctly.

Don’t address your query with the heading, To Whom It May Concern or Dear Agent.

Do check your query for grammar mistakes.

Don’t send out an unedited letter.

Do follow submission guidelines.

Don’t use any crazy gimmicks.

Do tell the agent why you are sending your manuscript to them.

Don’t tell them that it is the next best seller.

Do study other successful query letters.

Don’t be arrogant.

Do put some personality into your letter.

Don’t be unprofessional.

Not Every Idea is a Good Idea—Unfortunately

When it comes to picture books, there are lots of story ideas. But as picture book writers, it is important to learn to discern between a good idea and a not so good idea. But how does one do this? Here are 5 authors and their tips on how to do just that.

1)Kate Messner says to write more. “Write something else. Something new. Write more. Because if you’re anything like me, you may have to skip a lot of stones before you get it just right.” Read more of her blog post here. I highly recommend it.

2)Josh Funk says that some ideas don’t work, and that’s ok. “Just grab your notebook and find another one.” Read his blog post here.

3)Tammi Sauer says to start with the title. “For me, the absolute hardest part about the picture book creating process is coming up with a good idea. A wow idea. An irresistible-to-editors idea. One approach that has worked for me is to brainstorm a list of potential titles before I even know a single word of a manuscript.” Read the entire article here.

4)Kelly DiPucchio says to relax. “One thing I have learned is that you can’t force inspiration. You need to relax, go about life, and trust that new ideas will emerge when the time is right.” Read her entire answer here.

5)Tom Litchenheld uses photographs of kids. “For inspiration, I have a bunch of photos of kids on my wall. Whenever I'm stuck for an idea, I look at one of those photographs and think to myself, ‘What would make THAT kid laugh?’” Read more here.

Looks like there are many different ways to find that good idea.