Dinner and Perseverance

The Richmond Children's Writers and friends had dinner with a visiting author: Lynda Mullaly Hunt, author of One for the Murphys. She was in Richmond doing some author visits, and we had the good fortune of spending an evening with her.

First of all, have you read One for the Murphys? If not, put it on your to-be-read pile right away. And make sure you have tissues handy. One for the Murphys is an honest look at a girl who finds herself living with a foster family for the first time while her mother is hospitalized. Good stuff!

Lynda told us an interesting story. She had been working on her manuscript (the original title was "Clip") for many months and was beginning to feel discouraged. She had escaped to a Dunkin Donuts shop to write, and it wasn't a good writing day. She had to struggle to get the words out, and what did come out wasn't that great. She was seriously considering scrapping the whole project.

As she walked out to the parking lot on her way out, she passed a car with the a customized license plate. It read, simply, "CLIP." She took it as a sign that she needed to persevere, which is exactly what she did. Her book was published by Penguin in 2012, and it has done very well.

Every writer I know has felt like giving up. I was about two-thirds of the way through Freakling when seriously questioned the worth of going on. I had convinced myself that the story was too strange, that no one would ever "get" this story, and that it wasn't marketable. I was ready to forget about the whole thing. Then I read Patrick Ness's The Knife of Never Letting Go--the strangest book I'd ever read, but I loved it. If that book is marketable, then maybe my story has a chance, I thought. It was a slim chance, but enough to keep me going. I finished writing the book and by the following year, an agent found the book not strange but original, and signed me as a client. Soon, I had a book contract for Freakling, and--interestingly enough--it was with the same publisher and the same editor as The Knife of Never Letting Go. Crazy!

Our message to you is to keep writing! Keep trying new things. If one thing doesn't work, try it a different way.  If one project stalls, put it on the back burner and start something else. Must. Keep. Writing!

To show how serious we are about this, we're hosting a giveaway. The prize is two books, both signed by the authors. The winner will receive One for the Murphys and Freakling (newly available in paperback!).  Login below to Rafflecopter and enter by following us on Twitter/Facebook and/or sharing the giveaway with your friends! (NOTE: Login information is used to verify valid entries and to contact winners. Your personal email WILL NOT be shared or stored).

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Giveaway!!! Go to the James River Writers Conference for FREE!

We are pleased to announce a giveaway for one lucky RCW reader to win

a free conference registration for both days of the James River Writers Conference in Richmond, VA.

The James River Writer's Conference is in its 11th year and continues to set the standard for providing information, feedback, and networking to writers in the Richmond area.  Publishers, editors, and agents from all over the country come to help writers hone their craft.  For more information about this year's conference, please visit: www.jamesriverwriters.org.

Many of the Richmond Children's Writers members will be at the JRW conference, and we hope to see you there.

To enter, you MUST leave a comment of 100 words or less explaining why you want to attend the conference this year (and then make sure you login to Rafflecopter below and check that item off the list). You may obtain additional entries into the contest by completing other tasks listed on the Rafflecopter tool: spread the word on FaceBook, Twitter, and other formats. The more items you complete, the better your chance of winning!

The giveaway will run from Friday September 13th until Friday, September 27th. Spread the word!

We're excited to read all the responses!  Good luck!

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A Fly on the Wall

Highlights from the Richmond Children's Writers September Meeting

Our September meeting was fantastic! Everyone is back from vacation and ready to rock and roll. Here are a few of the more interesting things we discussed:

We all like wacky picture books, but how wacky is too wacky? Can a picture book be too far out? Take this book for example: Dinosaurs Love Underpants. Dinosaurs are a perennial kid favorite, true. And underpants, as discussed in our August meeting, can work for a kids' book. Having said that, Dinosaurs Love Underpants, for me, was just too wacky. But . . . it is a published book, which is nothing to sneeze at. Just goes to show that one person's too-wacky-for-me is another person's book deal. We had some wacky submissions this month, and predictably, those stories drew a variety of reactions from the group.

After reading a chapter from a young adult novel, we discussed this concept:

"The wind howled" is stronger rather than "She heard the wind howling." This is due to fact that in the second sentence, the main character is inserted between the reader and the action. The first sentence makes the reader feel he is the one who is hearing the wind howl. That translates into a more engaging text, which is another way of saying the writing is stronger. Fiction writers would do well to take a good look at sentences phrased with "She saw" or "He felt" or "I heard" or any verb that tells what the main character is perceiving, and rewrite it in a way that allows the reader to experience the sensation as directly as possible.

A submission from a different young adult novel led us into a discussion about novel writing technique. Writing fiction is a complex task, and requires finding the right balance of a lot of moving pieces. Each scene has to move the story forward. It has to do at least one or two other things too, like develop character, set the scene, infuse a mood, build tension, and such. But the primary job of a scene is to move the plot forward. All those other things can be worked in. Each chapter, each scene, has to accomplish several different things at once.

If there were a goddess of multitasking, I imagine she would look something like this.

We will conclude with the September writing prompt:

Write a wacky action scence that weaves in two other elements (choose from character develoment, setting description, mood, or tension). Bonus points for including either dinosaurs or underpants.

Now, write away!

Author/Illustrator Interview: Kevin O'Malley

Some people have all the talent, and Kevin O'Malley is one of them. He's an amazing illustrator. He can illustrate other people's stories or he can write his own. He's even written books that other people illustrated. On top of that, he's a fantastic presenter  and a hit with the kids at school visits. He's funny. He's nice (as far as I can tell). You can't hate him because he's too much fun to be around. The only thing to do with people like that is hang out with them any time you have a chance.

Luckily, he's coming to the James River Writers Annual Conference this year, which gives us all a chance to do exactly that. And, I had got the opportunity to interview him for the RCW blog, so we can do some virtual hanging out with Kevin O'Malley (KO, awesomest initals ever). Read on!

RCW: In your experience, how does writing compare to illustrating? Is one more challenging? Is the creative process very different for writing and illustrating? Or are they similar?

KO: When I illustrate, I have tried to satisfy the needs of a lot of writers. Writers always imagine. Their imagination is not not mine. When I get a manuscript I always try to imagine what the writer wants. But the text leads me to something different. Most of the time the author understands, but I have run into... problems.  When I make my books I write for me, I imagine spaces for pictures and I see spaces for text. I'm a poor writer. I write to fill holes that I can't express in in illustration.Writing is far, far harder.

RCW: I'm not buying that poor writer bit. Not for a minute. When you're illustrating a book authored by someone else, how much interaction do you have with the author?

KO: I have done a lot of books. Sometimes the authors like what I have done. Sometimes they want to poke my eyes out with hot pokers. The truth is, illustrator and authors don't talk. I am left to see what I see in the text.

This idea makes authors crazy. But I can say that I've never called an author and asked them to change a bit of text that I find lousy. You have to let the artist have their space. On the flip side, I always offer a piece of art to any author who is kind enough to work with me. Most of the time, truth be told, the writer wants a bit of art. Not sure how I feel about being hit by a dart in a club room basement.

RCW: Bonus safety tip: stay away from darts. So how do you get feedback on your work? 

  

KO: I have lovely friends and relations. They love me. I visit a ton of schools. Kids like my work. That is feedback enough. Praise is wonderful. But being comfortably middle class in a brilliant industry is a joy. My first book got me banned and more 'news' than I was comfortable with. I quickly realized that what I want in kids books and what the biz wants are different.

RCW: How do you decide which project to work on next?

KO: I have been married for twenty plus years to a wonderful women. We have delightful children. When I'm offered a job I consider the pass and fail of the text. Most of the time I want the coin. I will bend over backwards to make everybody happy.

On the flip side... Many years ago my wife fell in love with The Police and the musician Sting. She said, "I would wash his dirty hair." I told her if, on the off chance Sting should want me to do a book, she could have at him. Ten years later I was offered a book by Sting. I took the call while the wife was in the room. It was fish or cut bait. I told them I would call them back and explained the situation to my wife.... She said, "Oh my god, I'm going to wash his dirty hair!" I called the publisher and said no deal. To this day I lay in bed with one eye open.

RCW: So glad to hear your priorities are in order. So, tell us what your typical work day is like.

KO: I get up early and and finish the list of work I mapped out the day before. The muse is bull.

RCW: I'll won't tell the muse you said that. Your books cover a lot of different topics and genres. Is this true for you as a reader as well? What kinds of books do you like to read?

KO: I tend to read non fiction. I've tried so many other ways but true to the guy in me I want information not introspection.

RCW: What kinds of research do you do for your work?

KO: I write what amuses me. Research? Only when I need it. But if you don't love going to a library and hitting the stacks and finding interesting stuff, you don't know what good quality time is all about.

I have wanted to do kid's books since I was in the fourth grade. But the truth is, I got lucky. I dreamed of this and by happenstance, it happened. My friends think it's a hoot that it happened. And they are right.

RCW: One last question. What’s your favorite weapon for fighting off zombies? Just kidding, but we still want to know!

KO: Easy. "Shawn of the Dead." I'd throw my lesser ancient records at them. Heck, they're slower than me! 

But don't touch my first pressing 'Gentle Giant' albums man!

RCW: Wouldn't dream of it! Thanks so much, Kevin for the interview. 

If you'd like to join Kevin at the JRW conference, click over and register right now. Many of us at Richmond Children's Writers will be there too, and we'd love to meet up. Look for us there!

Fly On the Wall

Highlights from the Richmond Children's Writers August Meeting

The first manuscript we critiqued this month was a resubmission after significant rewrites. We all noted how much stronger the story was now. This time around, the comments were much different. They had to do with very minor things like formatting issues, tightening a little here and a little there, and whether there might be a better choice for the main character's name. When a manuscript is close to being ready to submit, the type of feedback from readers will begin to change. The suggestions become very nit-picky, very micro. This can be frustrating, but it is a good sign. It means the big story elements are strong and there is nothing left to suggest but very minor changes.

The next manuscript is an excerpt from a young-adult novel that is set in a fantasy version of the Middle Ages. Many of us felt that the emotions and the tension in this section of the novel were well written and very compelling. One comment was that the story needed to be more grounded in the setting. That is, the vocabulary, the clothing, and the details should anchor the story soundly in its setting. This requires extra thought and research, but in a story like this one, it is absolutely necessary.

Next topic: Underwear. Some members of our group think this is a super fun topic for a picture book. Others are not so sure. It's a matter of personal taste. The world is made up of all kinds of people, including some who will enjoy a brief story about undies, and some who would rather read a story about frogs. 

The mixed reaction from the group can be a learning point in itself. It doesn't mean the manuscript is not marketable, but you might have to work a little harder to find the right editor or agent to send it to. Moral of the story: It's important to find just the right fit for underpants. 

The next submission is not really a critique, but a discussion. One of our members has a great idea for a nonfiction children's book, but she is looking for a way to present it in a kid-friendly way. She brought some examples of how this topic has been treated in other books for kids. She floated a few ideas and we discussed the possibilities. This is an area in which she is very knowledgeable and passionate. We all agreed that if she can find a way to capture that passion, young readers will respond to that.

Lastly, we discussed another excerpt from a novel. Parts of the scene were very visual, and we liked that. However, there was one thing in particular, a certain reaction by the protagonist, that seemed out of character. Given his background and his family situation, would he really react that way? These kinds of inconsistencies are hard for the writer to see, but once pointed out, they become glaringly obvious. That's why we need writing buddies!

For your writing pleasure, we offer a fun little writing prompt made up of elements taken from our manuscripts this month:

Write a scene in which a character in a historical setting makes a choice of underwear that is inconsistent with what he or she would normally choose. What motivates that choice?

Now, write away!

To edit a line.

Warning to non-writers: If you get bored with nuts-and-bolts stuff, this one’s not for you.

My method of writing is not the usual draft-it-all-first approach. I’ve tried that and it doesn’t work for me. If I don’t get it the way I want it, early on, there’s no sense in continuing. Because what comes first influences what follows. I take my idea and start expanding it. While mentally (and sometimes on paper) exploring its potential, I begin to perfect it.

I do this with every line. One line builds from another, until there’s unity within the whole.

Here’s an example of the progression of a sentence in a work in progress, my middle grade* novel, Hans Andersen’s Ghost. The scene: Skim, a boy of twelve, is left standing in the dark on a hilltop far from home. One of the motifs in the story is shoes (he keeps a key in his left shoe).

I'll start with the first version of the sentence. I would include the sentence before it, but this is the beginning of a new paragraph.

» There’s a rumble again; he feels it through the soles of his shoes. (I’m thinking: Hmm … “the soles of his shoes” —echoes of Paul Simon … a distraction, too sing-song for this moment.)


» There’s a rumble again; he feels it through his shoes. (Better, but it does not convey the immediacy of the feeling, because it’s telling us what he feels rather than sending us the feeling.)

» There’s a rumble again, rumbling right through his shoes. (Now we can feel what he feels. But I'll try an even closer description.)

» There’s a rumble again, rumbling up through his shoes. (There. It gives a sense of the vibration and its direction, from the ground up. I considered reinserting “the soles of”—it sounds good, but that added detail might compete with the rumble.)

Now for the next line, to see how it fits.

There’s a rumble again, rumbling up through his shoes. Louder it grows, and stronger, like a mammoth mole tunneling under his feet.

I like the alliteration of the uh sound (rumble, rumbling, up, tunneling, under ... there are actually nine uh sounds in these two lines)—it enhances the uh-oh—something’s-about-to-happen sense I want to convey. But I have a problem with the prosody the word tunneling creates. It has too many syllables that make the sentence drag at the end. So I consider some synonyms and come up with a few possibilities: burrow, grub, and bore. Bore is a little odd and calls attention to itself (besides lacking the uh sound), and burrow/ing is no better than tunneling. So, grub it is. Grubbing—two syllables. And I like the scariness of it.

There’s a rumble again, rumbling up through his shoes. Louder it grows, and stronger, like a mammoth mole grubbing under his feet.

But, being a finicky writer, I think it still drags. So, I do as they say: I’m killing that darling grub.

There’s a rumble again, rumbling up through his shoes. Louder it grows, and stronger, like a mammoth mole under his feet.

I think that says it. It might be even scarier.

—Troy Howell

*middle grade defines fiction specifically suited for readers ages 8-12

Writing for Young Readers

"I have a great idea for a book." 

Great ideas are wonderfully exciting! The hard part is knowing what to do with it. How does one become a writer? There are many answers to that question, and one of them is to get involved in the writing opportunities in your community. There are writers who live right here in Richmond who have had great ideas for books and figured out how to get them published. 

On April 27th, the Mid-Atlantic Region of the Society of Children’s Book
Writers and Illustrators is hosting their Spring Mingle and New Member Welcome. This local event is perfect for anyone interested in learning to write for young readers. Best of all: It's free! 

WRITING FOR YOUNG READERS:

Changing the World One Reader at a Time

Featured Speaker: Louise Hawes

Author of Black Pearls, Rosey in the Present Tense, Anteaters Don’t Dream, and other books for young readers. Co-author of the graphic novel, A Flight of Angel. Co-founder of the MFA program in writing for children and young
adults at Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Meet and greet

Break-out groups for writing exercises

Book sales and signing

Refreshments

Saturday, April 27, 2013

1:00 - 4:30 p.m.

Richmond Public Library

101 East Franklin Street

FREE

Please pre-register by April 25, and bring pen & paper for writing exercises. To pre-register, email your name and break-out group preference to
SCBWISpringMingle@gmail.com

Break-out groups:

picture book (PB)

middle grade (MG)

young adult (YA) 

illustrators (IL)

nonfiction (NF)

Facilitators for break-out groups: Gigi Amateau, Ellen Braaf, Ginjer Clarke, Troy Howell, Erica Kirov, Lana Krumwiede, Meg Medina, Anne Marie Pace, Brian Rock, and A. B. Westrick.

Many of us from Richmond Children's Writers will be there, and we would love to meet you!

Thinking Like a Writer, Part 1

Where do you get your ideas?

This is by far the most common question that authors get. Kids ask me this question at school visits. Adults ask this question when I visit book groups. Writers ask this question to other writers at conferences. While the universal answer is something along the lines of “ideas come from everywhere,” I believe there is a lot to learn from thinking about how ideas come to us and what we do with them when they show up. Here’s my first tip for thinking like a writer:

Writers observe.

Observing means paying attention to what is going on around you. Engage with the world. Notice new things. What can you see today that is unexpected? What breaks a stereotype? What is unexplained? What draws your interest and why? Question. Think. Muse.

Pay attention to random thoughts that your subconscious mind interjects into your awareness. Why did your brain make that connection at that moment?

Be a people watcher. Why do people do the things they do? What is body language conveying? What do actions during a tense moment reveal about a person’s character?

Become an ardent eavesdropper. Conversation is happening all around you. Listen. What does each person want from the conversation? What is the context? What is the subtext? Fill in the gaps with your imagination.

Ways to practice observing:

-          Challenge yourself to notice one new thing with each of your five senses in a 24-hour period.

-          Practice observing as you read. Try to notice an interesting turn of phrase, a fresh word choice, pleasing word flow or a catchy cadence. Aspiring fiction writers can take notice what the writer is doing with plot and characters. What is it about the writing that holds your interest? How did the writer do that?

-          Be aware of when you are feeling creative. Is there a certain time of day where your brain is open to creativity? In the shower? Just before you fall asleep? Taking a walk outside? As a writer, that is something you’ll want to know about yourself.

Visit Lana's website for Thinking Like a Writer, Part 2.

Spring Cleaning for a Writer

by Stephanie McPherson

     Scanning my bookshelves is an adventure. Most of my shelves are two books deep and interspersed with magazines, files, and plastic boxes full of Google articles on everything from Sicilian Easter customs to the Hubble Telescope. Like undergrowth in the jungle, my shelves have a way of spreading out slowly, but inexorably. Give me a foot or two of wall space, and I’ll find a way to squeeze books in.

     That can make it a real challenge when I’m looking for a particular item. Yesterday persistence finally paid off. I found the treasure I sought – a gem of a book coauthored by three people, two of them dear friends of mine: File…Don’t Pile! For People Who Write: Handling the Paper Flow in the Workspace or Home Office by Pat Dorff, Edith Fine, and Judith Josephson. Every few years, I try to reread that book. It was my cat Pablo who convinced me I was overdue. He jumped onto one of the taller piles on my desk, felt the pages slip under him, and slid to the floor in a landslide of papers.

     Edith, Judith, and Pat know the scenario. “Do you have an uncanny ability to misplace papers without leaving your desk chair?” they write in the first chapter. “Do you jam file folders until they bulge, clip piles of articles and save every draft? Is your side of the mountain poised for a paper avalanche?” Yes, yes, and yes.

     Armed with File … Don’t Pile, I began dividing my towering piles into sub-piles. I went through my cabinets and pulled out boxes, brimming with paper, from the closet. Needless to say, it was an all-day project. My sub-piles began to multiply like toadstools sprouting after a spring rain.  They took over my kitchen table and countertops, proving that old adage, “Things have to get worse before they get better.

     But they did get better. After a day of filing, I’m sitting at a clean desk. My countertops and kitchen table have become a paper-free zone. Well, at least temporarily I find that clearing out physical clutter helps clear out mental clutter too.  I feel energized, and my ideas flow more easily. My back doesn’t hurt from leaning against a lumpy folder on my chair. I feel so good that I think I’ll make spring housecleaning my papers an annual affair.  (Maybe -- gulp! -- I’ll even do it with my books too). Thanks, Edith, Judith, and Pat for reminding me to file – NOT pile.