Happy New Year!

by Hazel Buys

 

All of us at Richmond Children’s Writers wish you and yours a happy, prosperous and creative 2015!

Lana, Hazel, Deb, Marianne, Stephanie, Brian, Troy, Dan and Chris

Bad Writing

by Hazel Buys

I came across the following from Ross and Kathryn Petras (Wretched Writing) over the holidays: “She threw her face over her apron.” By Charles Reade, The Cloister And The Hearth (1861).

This was actually published, folks.

So, here we are at New Year’s resolutions time, and I resolve not to commit bad writing. How? Edit, revise, get my work reviewed by my (wonderful!) writing group, send it out to (carefully selected) beta readers, read it out loud to myself, edit, revise and edit some more.

In other words, keep working at my craft, remember it’s never perfect but that with enough work, it might get to a state of ‘done.’

Repeat.

Happy New Year!

Deconstructing the 2014 JRW Conference

by Hazel Buys

“If speaking is silver, then listening is gold.” Turkish proverb

Wow! Another great James River Writers conference! This year, I only participated in a Friday master class and a critique session on Sunday. Those two events were praise-worthy and if they were any indication, the whole conference was a winner. Upbeat energy hummed throughout.

The new venue was attractive and busy with conference-goers and hotel guests. The coffee was hot, the staff friendly and the lobby was easy to navigate. Can’t do much better than that.

It was wonderful to catch up with writing friends, some of whom I see only occasionally during the year.

The pre-conference workshop presented advice and ideas on how to get your novel published. Even though I’ve heard a lot of the advice before, there were several excellent ideas that were worth the price of admission.

My critique session was especially good because the agent gave me specific ideas on how to make my novel better and encouraged me to take it to the next level. I have homework and I intend to do every bit of it.

Back to the advice I opened with: LISTEN! I overheard one agent/editor saying that some of the authors she’d met with rejected her advice and didn’t want to change their work. It’s important to not close your mind to ideas that differ from yours. If you ask for someone’s advice, take time to consider it carefully. It may be just what you need to rise to the top.

Countdown!

By Hazel Buys

There’s a list I check in the fall. It’s a bit like Santa’s run up to his big day.

But my list goes like this:

Register for James River Writer’s Conference                            check!

Register for Pre-conference workshop                                          check!

Prepare & pack all workshop materials                                         check!

Research agent/editor for pitch session                                       check!

Look up conference and workshop locations; plan route          check!

Like Santa, I check it twice and pack up the night before. I know I’ll be more relaxed and have a better experience at the workshop and conference if I’m well prepared.

Have you completed YOUR checklist? Only five more days to Christmas, I mean the 2014 James River Writers’ Fall Conference!

A Brave New World: Comic Books as School Textbook

by Hazel Buys


Imagine! Comics were all but outlawed in the classroom after World War II, but today, they have clearly gone mainstream.

Indeed, comics are explicitly recommended for use in the classroom if the content supports the state and national curriculum standards. Responding to this opportunity, Josh Elder has put together an anthology of comic-book style stories, Reading with Pictures, billed as “Comics that make kids smarter.”

Comic book style short stories address topics in a variety of subject areas such as Social Studies, Math, Language Arts and Science, preceded by a useful section at the front, “How to Read a Comic.”
 

The comic book format means the visuals change with the author so the reader is treated to a sampling of some of the best comic book art being produced today.

Some of the topics are straightforward (how to read Roman numerals) while others are abstract (probability theory). The biography of George Washington brings out little known facts (he required his valet to wear a turban) while embedding his journey to becoming the first President of the United States in the culture and mores of the times, making it easier for a young person to relate to him. The Language Arts section includes a story about the invention of the printing press, an accomplishment of the day that rivals the development of any modern computer technology. The variety of story-telling styles matches the wide range of illustration styles.

Is this an expanding opportunity for fiction or non-fiction author-illustrators? You bet. Josh Elder’s company, Reading With Pictures, is counting on it. Learn more at www.readingwithpictures.org.

Book Review

IN THE SHADOWS

By Kirsten White

Illustrations by Jim Di Bartolo
Reviewed by Hazel Buys

            Bartolo and White redefine the illustrated novel in this story of devil’s disciples that transcends genre. A little bit gothic, a little bit sci-fi and a whole lot fantasy, this layered story of romance, adventure and time travel covers a century in two slip-streams, one delivered in eloquent prose and the other in illustrations, boldly drawn and painted images of fear and flight, combat and pursuit. In the early years of the twentieth century, the lives of four teenagers converge at an inn in Maine. Two of them, Cora and Minnie, are the daughters of the innkeeper, a widow. The other two, Thom and his younger brother Charles, who is slowly dying, arrive in flight from an unnamed danger, sent by their father under the pretense of seeking respite from city life for the summer. Their story is told in the prose chapters, beginning with their witness of a hanging and the disappearance of the body which then reappears, unable to die. The fifth voyager is Arthur, kingpin and secret-keeper, who understands the danger that pursues them all. His story unfolds in the illustrations, comprising chapters that alternate with the prose. Much of the plot unfolds in predictable ways: parents disappear, bodies come back to life, a secret society of immortals, the Ladon Vitae, is revealed. These immortals have appropriated power from an imprisoned devil-child and use it to control people and events, always for evil ends. The two stories converge at the conclusion where the patience of true love is rewarded. This is not a novel for readers who prefer their stories in strictly linear form. But for those willing to read “outside the box,” it offers an intriguing and imaginative variation on the usual formula.

ISBN: 978-0-545-56144-0

Looking in on RCW

by Hazel Buys

For the past three to four years I have been working on mystery novels for middle grade.

Recently our fearless leader at the RCW set out a challenge: write short stories for middle grade.

Why do I find that scary? As I said, I write mystery NOVELS for middle grade. Uh, oh.

But I remembered an artist friend of mine complaining about an exhibition opportunity he’d offered to his painting friends. He needed small works (I’m talking inches here) for an exhibit in a small space.

‘I don’t work small,’ came the reply. My friend’s response was, ‘neither do I, but I’m going to give it a try.’

Give it a try. Powerful wisdom in those four words. I believe I will.

Is there something new and different you’ve dodged lately? Rethink that and give it a try.