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What makes us remember a character? Not what they're wearing, or the color of their hair, but "their quirks, their body language, their histories, their beliefs." How does a writer create vivid, memorable characters?
In "Tell Their Secrets" (NY Times, 7/13/13) Silas House gives examples of how to "shape your characters by revealing their deepest, darkest secrets. Show us what drives them, what makes them completely individual in this wide world. Tell us how they pine, how they tick."
A recipe for producing memorable characters? Perhaps.
Print it out. Reread often.
11 Comments on Creating Memorable Characters, last added: 9/17/2013
I will print it out. And it's funny -- in my writing, what makes me stop most often is description. I can't dash off description in a draft, because getting it right -- or close, at least -- is central to me getting to know a character.
"That’s the way we talk in real life, but fiction has to be more revealing, intriguing and eloquent.
This month, as a follow up to my March 14th post, "Making the Case for Magazines - Again," Joelle DuJardin, Senior Editor at Highlights, agreed to answer some questions.
1. How long have you been at Highlights? I've been at Highlights for nearly 9 years, which, now that I think about it, is as long as the lifetime I seemed to spend at my K-8 elementary school. These Highlights years have flown by a lot more quickly - and have fortunately been filled with a lot less angst!
2. What changes have you seen in the magazine world? In a tough marketplace, with so many exciting products competing for kids' time and attention, I think most kids' magazines are trying to clarify their vision and make their content more dynamic, which can ultimately be a good thing. As always, the best way for a writer to know the market is to read the actual magazines and get a feel for what they're trying to do. At Highlights, we're always trying to keep our brand fresh and engage readers in new ways, so in recent years we've become more open to considering new story formats and ideas as long as our mission isn't compromised.
3. Which genres do you edit at Highlights? I edit all the fiction in Highlights magazine, which includes rebus stories for beginning readers, 500-word count stories for less-advanced readers, and 750-word stories for more advanced readers. We'll do an occasional story that runs longer. I also acquire all the poetry for the magazine.
4. About how many submissions do you receive every month? We receive several hundred submissions a month.
5. What is the Highlights submission process? I'm the first reader on manuscripts sent directly to me. (We also have an outside reader who reviews some of the submissions addressed to Manuscript Coordinator, and she'll pass along certain ones for us to consider further.) If I think a manuscript has promise, I might ask for feedback from two or three other editors before making a decision on it. Once we purchase a manuscript, it goes into our inventory, where it waits until it fits with the overall balance of an issue. It's true that it can sometimes take a few years before a writer sees his or her story in print - but it's not that we've forgotten the piece. We remember vividly the stories we bought in past years!
6. How long can a writer expect to wait for news about their submission? We try to respond to submissions within two months, although it can sometimes take a little longer than that, depending on how busy we are.
7. What are you looking for now? I'm always looking for funny stories. Historical fiction, holiday stories, and mysteries are amoung our current needs.
Thank you, Joelle, for taking the time to answer my questions!
10 Comments on Interview with a Senior Editor, last added: 4/19/2013
Joelle -- thank you so much for this interview. it's particularly good to hear about your process with inventory -- and how much sense it makes. You get to buy what you love.
About half of the manuscripts submitted to our writers group for a critique are either storybooks or poems. I often suggest that the writer first write the material as a short story and then decide whether writing the material in verse helps. Often it does not.
Thanks for sharing your editorial process, especially as far as short stories are concerned. Perhaps you will see some more submissions from our group.
Joelle-- Thanks so much for this wonderful interview! We love Highlights around here! So much fun to read with my 6-year-old! And so much fun to see my Rosh Hashanah Treat poem appear in last September's issue! Definitely worth the wait! Thanks so much for sharing what you are currently looking for! So very helpful!
Joelle- Thanks for sharing all this helpful information on your submission process. I grew up on Highlights and remember reading so many fun stories! I look forward to checking out your latest issue.
As someone who has been published in Highlights quite a few times, I can say it's nice they pay you on acceptance, not on publication, because yes, you can wait a while before your piece appears!
Several hundred submissions a month!! YIKES!! Thanks, Joelle for sharing your process. I think well done short fiction is insanely difficult to write! I can't imagine having to mine for those gems in a slush pile - and even passing up stories that are well done but that might not be right for Highlights. I continue to be in awe of those who can write short fiction well!! Great interview, Gale!
Yes, many thanks for this most interesting interview and to understand Highlights' system.
Joelle, I will think of you and Highlights every time I go to the dentist's office and many other offices where there is always a current edition and I can see at a glance your choices of presentations and topics. You have a well read publication!
Most writers yearn to publish a book. No surprise! Writing conferences, blogs and professional journals are mostly aimed at book publication. Five years ago, I wrote about magazine publication as an option. Since then, the traditional book market (especially for picture books) is even tighter. And the digital/app market for picture books? Unless you are an author/illustrator, or your work is already illustrated, you're pretty much out of luck. Apps are expensive to make and developers usually look for established authors or a branded series.
So why not write for magazines? You'll get some rejection letters, but aren't they're always a part of the writing life? For non-fiction articles, you may have to write the dreaded query letter, but don't we all need practice with them? The only other disadvantages are smaller checks than a book advance and your moment of glory only lasts a month.
But consider the advantages:
1. You don't need an agent to submit. 2. Most magazine pieces are short - not as time consuming as producing a novel or picture book. 3. Using a different slant, you can often reuse your research for another piece. 4. You might see your name in print without waiting for years. 5. Often a wide audience sees your writing and you needn't spend hours on promotion. 6. You don't get wacky book reviews in professional journals. 7. Your magazine piece could earn additional money through reprint rights. 8. There are a bundle of contests and prizes to be won in the magazine world.
Magazines, anyone?
Next month I'll interview a senior editor at Highlights. Stay tuned.
6 Comments on Making the Case for Magazines - Again, last added: 3/16/2013
Gale, the only problem is that the writing in magazines seems to be so inferior to the majority of children's books. It tends to be simplistic and moralistic. At least that's my impression. But I will say that I would prefer to be published in a magazine than not to be published at all.
Gale- Thanks for the reminder that there's more than one way to skin a... I mean, there are many avenues to becoming a published author. I will definitely keep my mind open to the magazine option. I grew up on Highlights and Ranger Rick- I loved all their fun stories!
I completely agree with this post, Gale! Magazines are such a wonderful opportunity for writers!! I was so excited when I got my first short story acceptance from (online) magazine, Wee Ones! And I was thrilled when Cobblestone accepted my query and invited me to write the article I proposed. And when Highlights accepted three poems, I was through the moon! Thanks for the reminder! I've got some pieces to get out in the mail. Looking forward to your interview!
Sharon and Brianna, It takes a little re-jiggering to write for magazines if you've only thought about books, but you can tell I think it's worth the effort.
Mo Willems and his pigeon. Smile material. Masterful picture books! In 2011, Mo was invited to give the prestigious Zena Sutherland Lecture. He titled his talk "Why Books?" Here are some highlights:
"Always think of your audience; never think for your audience."
"If I re-read one of my manuscripts and I understand exactly what is happening, then the manuscript has too many words. And if I look at the images without the words and I can fully understand the story, there are too many drawings."
On enhanced digital books: ". . . after we turn them on, they don't need us. Turn it on and leave the room, and the book will read itself."
On real books: "But a real book is helpless. It needs us desperately. We have to pull it off the shelf. We have to open it up. We have to turn the pages, one by one. We even have to use our imagination to make it work. . . . So maybe books work because they make us work. Maybe we need them for needing us, just like we need real friends, not the digital imitations on Facebook."
Well said. Do you agree?
Photo credit: Marty Umans
6 Comments on Mo Willems - "Why Books?", last added: 2/19/2013
Love Mo Willems, of course, and thanks for this post! Also, real books are clearly superior for me, but Mo Willems describes WHY better than anything I've ever read.
Thanks for stopping by, CL. Yes, I think Mo gives us a great reason to favor "real" books. With digital books, we don't have the same connected relationship.
I completely agree. While I've been reading a bit more on my Kindle lately - I can throw in in a bag and travel easily, knowing I won't run out of anything to read -- I still prefer a real book. And a large part of it is the page turn. I look forward to turning a page.
The reasons for loving a good page turn when reading a PB are obvious, but I feel the same way about novels. I can't wait to see what the next page brings.
I miss that feeling on my Kindle. Maybe it's because the page turns are too frequent. Maybe a tap isn't as satisfying as a turn.
I too agree. Nothing compares to the feel of a real book, no matter what cool gadgets the future brings. I'm glad there are many who feel the same. And I love Mo Willems' take- it's nice to know books need us, too!
The Paper Waiters ended 2012 with a joyful bang - book contracts for Robin and Brianna! Their celebratory posts were delightful reading. Full of !!!!!.
Such stunning good news deserves a back story. Now that the confetti has been swept away, the band has packed up, and the fireworks are ash, I'd like to ask Robin and Brianna a few questions.
1. How long did it take you to write the manuscript that just sold?
2. Who/what influenced your revisions?
3. Anything else about this success story you'd like to share?
So . . . take it away, Robin and Brianna.
12 Comments on Triumph Times Two!!, last added: 1/18/2013
Thanks so much for asking these questions, Gale! Here are my answers:
How long did it take you to write the manuscript that just sold?
My picture book manuscript, Mystery at the Miss Dinosaur Pagaent was written and revised over the course of many years. I was excited to look back at our blog and discover a post I wrote about the many times I had revised this manuscript: “How Many Times Can I Revise 500 Words?”. Now I am thrilled to be able to share my happy ending to that long ago post.
When that blog post left off, I was attempting to turn my rhyming picture book into prose. I worked on that attempt for a while longer. Eventually though, I decided that this manuscript really did need to be written in rhyme. So I went back to my rhyming version and polished it up once more. Then I did at least one more substantive revision to add depth to (and several stanzas about) my protagonist.
Some time later, I signed with my wonderful agent and she loved my rhyming manuscript (Yay!). But she wanted me to polish it up further. She especially asked me to shorten up my ending. I went on for too many verses after my story was really over. At first it was hard to take away whole stanzas I loved, but soon I didn’t miss them.
And currently, my wonderful editor, loved the manuscript and brought it to acquisitions. (Hooray!) She too has requested revisions. (She has such a wonderful vision for the manuscript, and I am so thrilled to be working with her on these revisions!)
So, how many times CAN I revise 500 words?.... Obviously a lot!
Who / what influenced your revisions?
My revisions were influenced by so many wonderful critiquers including: my amazing critique group, The Paper Wait, my awesome agent, Teresa Kietlinski, super kidlit author, Cynthea Liu, and my wonderful new editor, Caroline Abbey.
Thanks so much to all my awesome critiquers! You have all helped me to move the story forward in amazing ways!
Anything else about this success story you’d like to share?
I guess I’d just like to share a word of encouragement with everyone out there who is working on a story. Don’t be afraid to be yourself in your writing! That is what will make your story special and unique. Write the story that only you can write. And don’t be afraid of revision. Some of my stories required less revision, some more. But the many revisions I went through with this story made it the story it is today (which is incredibly better than the story it was in the very first draft!). Those revisions made it the story I’m so excited that you’ll be seeing in bookstores. Hopefully in 2014! Yippee!
Thank you, Gale!! I'm still in the *pinch me* phase, not sure that ends...
How long did it take you to write the manuscript that just sold?
THE PROMISE OF AMAZING took me about a year and a half to write. There was some pre-planning, an outline, fooling around with scenes and a lot of staring off into space, but the serious nitty-gritty writing took about six months for the first draft and a year going back and forth revising with my agent until we thought it was just right.
Who/what influenced your revisions?
Hmmm...like Brianna I relied on my fab critique partners and my amazing agent, Tamar Rydzinski, to steer me on the right course! The characters also heavily influenced my revisions!! One character in particular evolved in a way I hadn't seen him evolving. I LOVE when that happens!! I also run things by my son, who is my pop culture reference guru...he's sick of me asking "Would you say this?" but he's invaluable!! I'm currently waiting for my editorial letter from my editor, Donna Bray. I'm so excited to be working with her!!
Anything else about this success story you'd like to share?
If someone had told me it would take me 15 years of working on my craft and subbing to get to this point, I might have run away screaming!! And if I'd done that, it would have been my loss. I LOVE being a writer. Get giddy walking into a book store. Adore meeting other writers and swapping war stories. ENJOY the process. Every so often take a deep breath and be thankful for all of it. I know that sounds airy fairy, but that can get you through the roughest times. And publication isn't a destination - it's a continuation of the journey! I'm excited that I can say "my book comes out next year" but I know between now and then, there will be a lot to do!!
And I'd like to give a shout out to my other 2014 debut authors!! You can check them out at http://onefourkidlit.wordpress.com
Do I think my book would have sold if I didn't have an agent?
No. I can't say enough about working with Tamar and I think in the current climate of publishing having an agent is truly important. When I first started subbing, way back when, when snail mail was still the way to go, editors were more accessible. That's not to say you CAN'T make a sale without an agent but I think it's more difficult.
Tamar was instrumental during every step of this process. I think it's important to note that my first manuscript which she subbed did not sell. As a newly agented writer, I was nervous this meant we'd part ways...on the contrary, she was incredibly helpful, encouraging me to write something new. From my first convoluted outline to our final edit before subbing, she was there to advise me along the way.
Agents do more than just sell your manuscript for you. They advise. They nurture. They deal with your neurotic questions. They are your liaison and help sort out confusing contract terms!!
I seriously could not imagine this happening without her!!
And Brianna - WOW - Picture books are so difficult!! I can't imagine how hard it must be to revise 500 words, again, and again, and again. Well, and to have a story with 500 words!! It sounds like such a fun project!!
Such an informative and inspiring blog! Thank you Brianna, Robin and Gale. So much good advice, I don't know what to say, except that... I'd better get back to my writing!
My agent was definitely critical to selling my book. Teresa worked with me to make sure the manuscript was as polished as possible before she sent it out. Then she sent it out into the world (something I was often reluctant to do on my own-- see my post on "submission indecision"). And because of her knowledge of editors and the industry, she was able to match my manuscript with the perfect editor!
And I completely agree with Robin-- editors do so much more than sell your manuscript for you. Teresa is such a wonderful advisor and supporter of me and my work! Having this relationship with her is incredible!
I definitely feel that I am very lucky as a picture book writer (who is not an illustrator) to have signed with an agent. And such an amazing agent as Teresa (who knows and loves picture books so very much!).
Sharon and Julie-- So glad these answers were helpful and encouraging!
Robin-- Loved reading your answers to Gale's awesome questions! And, oh my goodness, I think YA is sooooo difficult. I am so very impressed by what you do! (Believe it or not, I really do love revising 500 words over and over until I get them just right. :o) )
Thanks so much, Robin and Brianna. And thanks to Gale for asking the questions. It's so important to remember to enjoy the process. It makes the rewards that much sweeter!
One of my favorite blogs is Calling Caldecott. It's co-written by Robin Smith (a second grade teacher and reviewer for Kirkus and Horn Book) and Lolly Robinson (who teaches children's lit. at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and is designer/production manager for Horn Book.)
November was Picture Book Month at the Horn Book and two exceptional articles in that section of the blog are "Over and Over," an emotional tribute to Charlotte Zolotow written by her daughter, Crescent Dragonwagon; and Patricia Gauch's article "The Picture Book as an Act of Mischief."
Moving on to the reviews of possible Caldecott Medal candidates, here are a few of the books they've featured:
Bear Has a Story to Tell written by Philip Stead, illustrated by Erin Stead. A Home for Bird written and illustrated by Philip Stead andAnd Then It's Spring by Julie Fogliano, illus by Erin Stead. Could this be another "Stead" year?
Goldilocks and The Three Dinosaurs by Mo Willems. Could the committee go for a fractured fairy tale? Maybe an Honor book?
Penny and Her Song. Kevin Henkes. For the Geisel committee instead?
And my favorite: Z is For Moose by Kelly Bingham and Paul Zelinsky. A wacky romp through the alphabet. Amazing to me that Paul Zelinsky, of the rich, traditional oil paintings, illustrated this with such freedom and verve. You can read Roger Sutton's interview with him on the Horn Book website.
Do you have a favorite Caldecott candidate?
6 Comments on The Caldecott Is Coming . . . Soon, Soon, last added: 12/21/2012
Gale, I loved Goldilocks and The Three Dinosaurs- it made me laugh out loud! I'm looking forward to checking out all of the books listed. Thanks for the link.
Thanks for all the great suggestions, Gale! I've got to get to reading these wonderful picture books! One picture book I loved this year is Little Dog Lost: The True Story of a Brave Dog Named Baltic by Monica Carnesi. Monica's illustrations are so very beautiful!
Actually, on the Caldecott Calling blog Little Dog Lost was listed as a contender for the medal - I didn't have room to list all the titles they reviewed favorably. I agree about the stunning illustrations!
J.A., One of the reasons I linked to the Calling Caldecott blog is that their reviews are so thorough you almost feel as though you've read the book - a sort of "cheat sheet" way to learn a lot fast.
NPR has polled it's audience and come up with a list of the Top 100 YA Novels. Now National Public Radio's audience may be skewed toward the literary and the liberal, and there's no breakdown of the ages of people who voted, but when I read the list, I found only a few surprises.
Does it say something about the age of the voters that the Anne of Green Gables series ranks so high - #14? I was interested to read the link within the NPR article to a blog about what the judges thought constitutes YA as opposed to middle grade. Don't you think the Anne of Green Gables books would be considered MG these days? Perhaps I'm not remembering the last book in the series correctly.
As you look down this list, what comments do you have?
5 Comments on The Top 100 Teen Novels, last added: 9/8/2012
It's an intriguing list - nice to see a mix of literary and commercial on there. Wonder the ages of who they polled. I wouldn't call Farenheit 451 or The Hitchhiker's Guide series YA the way I know it...same goes for Tolkien, but it goes to show you that there are no hard and fast rules for what constitutes a YA. (at least outside of publishing guidelines) I wouldn't categorize Tuck Everlasting as a YA either. High middle grade? Lots of John Green!
I agree with Robin about wondering about some of those books being classified as YA. Surprised 13 Reasons Why was not on the list, but it probably came close
Robin and Ann, Would agree about Tuck Everlasting - as a librarian I introduced Tuck to 5th graders. That prologue is a really fun lesson/introduction to teach!
Was 13 Reasons Why a close call? I would imagine so. Can't remember when it was published and wonder whether there have been other titles since that carried the same themes into deeper territory?
I definitely found some surprises on the list. I was familiar with more of the books than I would have guessed considering I am not a huge reader of current YA. Like Robin, I wonder about the ages of those who were polled.
Glad to see Thirteen Reasons Why and Speak on the list! These were both YAs I loved!
Seeing A Ring of Endless Light on the list brought back good memories! I loved that book when I was a YA.
Surprised to see Betsy-Tacy books on the list. I loved them as a kid, but I never would have thought to vote for them as YA.
it's a great list -- but there are many more great YAs than 100.
And if I had to pick my favorite 10 (or 100), I bet my list would be different every week. Reading is all about emotional connections, and how we connect changes every week, no?
In "My Life's Sentences" a brilliant article about writing, (New York Times, 3/18/12) Jhumpa Lahiri claims: "They (sentences) remain the test, whether or not to read something. The most compelling narrative, expressed in sentences with which I have no chemical reaction, or an adverse one, leaves me cold." So what sort of sentence keeps the reader hooked?
"Certain sentences breathe and shift about, like live matter in soil. The first sentence of a book is a handshake, perhaps an embrace. Style and personality are irrelevant. They can be formal or casual. They can be tall or short or fat or thin. But they need to contain a charge. A live current, which shocks and illuminates ... Sentences are the bricks as well as the mortar, the motor as well as the fuel. They are the cells, the individual stitches. Their nature is at once solitary and social. Sentences establish tone, and set the pace."
How does Jhumpa Lahiri create the sentences in her fiction? "After an initial phase of sitting patiently, not so patiently, . . . they begin arriving fully formed. . . I hear sentences as I'm staring out the window, or chopping vegetables. They are pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, handed to me in no particular order."
Later, they are "sorted, picked over, organized, changed. Most will be dispensed with. All the revision I do - and this process begins immediately, accompanying the gestation - occurs at the sentence level. It is by fussing with sentences that a character becomes clear to me, that a plot unfolds. . . As a book or story nears completion, I grow acutely, obsessively conscious of each sentence in the text. Each sentence is "confronted, inspected, turned inside out."
Does her writing process seem unusual? Or do you also work this way?
7 Comments on Sentences That Breathe, last added: 6/19/2012
...oops, sorry, I was staring out the window waiting for the right sentence to come to me.
Sigh.
That sort of effortless sentence building doesn't always happen for me. Sometimes I even feel like I'm birthing my sentences - minus the epidural. I "sort of" understand - some of the best thoughts come to me when I've allowed my brain to play while I focus on some other task. But it is rare that I receive complete sentences from some otherworldly source. Sounds like a really cool way to write though!
Gale, I might occasionally get a line for a character to speak, but that isn't something that comes until after I have fleshed out the character or plot in my head. I did write down a random sentence that came to me in a dream once, but I've never thought of a way to use it. Maybe that will be revealed in yet another dream. :)
Robin and Linda, Yes, her method of working from random sentences wouldn't agree with my organized mind. When I sit down to write, I like to have an idea about where I'm going before I start building sentences.
But it surely works well for her! I love Jhumpa Lahiri's fiction.
Sometimes images or phrases do float to the top of my consciousness, but I try not to get over-attached to them for that reason. You know what they say about editing: "kill your darlings!" generally the hardest part of writing a novel for me is keeping the whole thing in mind while I'm working on the parts.
Sometimes images or phrases do float to the top of my consciousness, but I try not to get over-attached to them for that reason. You know what they say about editing: "kill your darlings!" generally the hardest part of writing a novel for me is keeping the whole thing in mind while I'm working on the parts.
Wow! Her sentences about sentences are so very beautiful!
Every once in a while, I "hear" a sentence and think it should be part of a story. But for me, these sentences never seem to go anywhere. (They often sound to me like they should be part of a story for grown ups... and I rarely write stories for grown ups.)
For me, I think I often think in stanzas. Every once in a while, one will arrive fully formed, but more often I have to work hard to get them out. And when I am fussing, it is often with individual words to make sure those stanzas read as smoothly and as perfectly as possible.
Thanks for sharing! So very interesting to read about different writers processes!
I wish those fully formed sentences would float my way!
I did however, relate to the jigsaw puzzle metaphor. Often when a sentence doesn't work, I'll fiddle with it until it works and voila! I get the same rush as finding that perfect puzzle piece.
Chapter summary: 2011 - Chapter I. PB truck story finally gets written. (Aug. 11th post) Chapter II. PB truck story goes to a conference. PB truck story appeals to an editor and she takes it with her. (Sept. 28th post) Chapter III - PB truck story is revised twice (based on editorial suggestions) and resubmitted in November. Email from editor saying "looking forward to reading it over the long weekend." (Thanksgiving) 2012 - Chapter III, con't. Email from editor on 1/20, "looking over it now . . . more thorough response soon." (Feb. 16th post)
Last Thursday, tired of waiting for a response, I called the editor and left a message. Two hours later, I received an email
REJECTION . . "most likely not going to work . . . the plot has become too complex . . . the sweetness and charm of the first draft has been obscured. One thing I regret about our earlier revision talks is that I think I may have been too forthcoming with my own ideas. I would be happy to see another draft, but you know what my hesitations are so it's up to you whether you want to put in more work." She wrote a long and thoughtful rejection letter and I agree with some of her comments.
For months I felt disassociated from this story. It belonged to the editor and she controlled its fate. The worst part about a rejection? Now the story's mine again. I'm forced to face the fact that my first draft needed work, but the changes I made last November damaged the tone of the story.
Revision is a tricky! But that won't stop me.
9 Comments on Inspiration . . . Frustration, Chapter IV, last added: 4/20/2012
How frustrating. I recently read a blurb where an agent described the pace of publishing as 'glacial.' And to be rejected after all that time. I can relate to what you're going through- so many maybes - and so much waiting for a maybe to turn into a yes. (somebody wave her magic wand already!)I hope you find a way back to making this pb your own and finding a great publisher for it.
Oh, Gale! I was so hoping for a "happy ending" when I reached your "Read More!" link. I hope you can get your piece back to feeling like your own again and have fun polishing it up till it shines. Then it can find the super home it's meant to have!
Gale I too was hoping for a happy ending for your great story. But you do have it back and you now go back to your original feel and plot. Good luck with it.
Gale, I'm sorry this has been a long wait and that the outcome didn't result in a "Yes." My question is, would you be able to revise once again and resubmit to this editor? It sounds like the door is still open to me. I realize I didn't read the entire letter and of course the decision is yours.
Thanks for commenting. The day or two of bitter frustration and sadness have passed and I'm beginning to work on revisions (again!) Don't think I will submit to the same editor again. Her offer, I think, was just a polite gesture. But we'll see.
Ah Gale, I've been shaking my head all day about this -- what a frustrating situation. Glad to hear your back at it again. As the editor said, it is a 'sweet and charming' ms, so take it from there, and we're all rooting for you to help it find the right home.
But at least you see value in the editor's comments. I am totally confident that all will come together and we'll read a brand new Chapter 5 sometime soon!
Oh, rats. (Please insert much stronger word not appropriate for a family blog) Was hoping for a happy ending too, but hey, maybe this is just the "dark moment" of Inspiration, Frustration!! Keep at it, Gale!! It sounds as though you've found some new inspiration and you know what they say...one door closes...Hope this finds the right home soon!!
Author in a quandary - should I use past tense or present tense in my novel? Big decision. Big difference.
Deirdre F. Baker's thoughtful article about the effect of past or present tense in novels appeared in the January/February issue of Horn Book. "Present Tensions, or It's All Happening Now" is an interesting take on the relationship between tense and the author's role:
"The past tense shows the narrator, perhaps even the author, quietly admitting responsibility for the way the story is told, admitting that it's a product of looking back and seeing the threads of cause-and-effect. It's a silent declaration on the author's part: this is an act of interpretation, of art, with what I see as the meaningful bits included in the story."
So what about prose written in the present tense?
"Of course the story in the present tense is also shaped, but the present tense hides that influence. We don't have the past tense-tense assurance that the narrator has made sense of what's happening. . . In this way the present tense is a layer of concealment over the writer's influence on the way the story is told . . . The present tense is reportage or live drama."
Deirdre Baker also points out that present tense is the tense of Twitter, Facebook and the video culture of You Tube. "Re-viewing makes the past present." I never thought of it that way. Fascinating.
In addition to tense, of course, the author needs to choose a POV. I tend to prefer past tense no matter what the POV or subject.
Do you have a favorite combination of tense and POV? And how much does subject matter control these decisions?
6 Comments on Past Tense, Present Tense - Pros & Cons, last added: 3/19/2012
Your post on "Present Tensions" and the consequences of the author's choice of verb tense IS fascinating. Use of the present verb tense with the action happening "right now - live and in color!" to the characters (and to the engaged reader)is incredibly effective when done well - but so hard to do.
I agree with Eileen-- present tense is incredible when done well, but it seems like it can be very challenging to do well. I don't like it when I notice the tense a novel is written in. If I notice it, then something isn't working. I loved how I read The Hunger Games and didn't even notice it was written in present tense. But that present tense gave me an incredible sense of immediacy. Now that is present tense done well.
In my own writing, I often write in past tense-- but I noticed that most of my rhyming manuscripts are in present tense. It just seems to fit naturally in most of those manuscripts.
Tense decisions, for me, make themselves. When I begin a new manuscript, I let my fingers fly across the keyboard and see what happens. When I have a beginning, then I take a good, hard look at the tense I subconsciously chose and find it's always the right one. And I guess the reason is, is my choice to have the character live through the story, or to have the character tell the story.
But even if the story is told in past tense, it must be recent past. Once an adult sensibility is tied into the manuscript, it's no longer MG or YA. If an adult is telling the story, it's adult fiction.
Usually present tense annoys me by bring too noticeable. I want to melt into the world of the book, not worry about the tense. I hate dialect for the same reason. But sometimes it can be very effective. The first time I remember liking a book in present tense was Hugo and Josephine by Maria Gripe. There is a scene in which Josephine is being bullied and it's agonizingly close, partly because of the tense. I also liked the use of present tense in Emily Neville's It's Like This, Cat (Newbery Wnner, 1964) which has a kind of flat, laid back quality, like the first person narrator. Maybe what present tense does is to magnify the qualities of the narrator because it brings you closer? I didn't even remember that Hunger Games was present tense but that is part of its immediacy, its intimacy.
Usually present tense annoys me by bring too noticeable. I want to melt into the world of the book, not worry about the tense. I hate dialect for the same reason. But sometimes it can be very effective. The first time I remember liking a book in present tense was Hugo and Josephine by Maria Gripe. There is a scene in which Josephine is being bullied and it's agonizingly close, partly because of the tense. I also liked the use of present tense in Emily Neville's It's Like This, Cat (Newbery Wnner, 1964) which has a kind of flat, laid back quality, like the first person narrator. Maybe what present tense does is to magnify the qualities of the narrator because it brings you closer? I didn't even remember that Hunger Games was present tense but that is part of its immediacy, its intimacy.
Thanks for taking time to comment. Seems as though we all agree that present tense, when well done, is a plus. I liked Brianna's comment about how it's best when you don't even notice the tense.
Yes, Ariel, I've always thought highly of "It's Like This, Cat" - I think it was way ahead of its time.
I think I tend to prefer past tense because of my love of folktales. I like that storytelling feeling even in fiction.
(Chapters I and II appeared on August 11th and September 28th of last year.)
LAST YEAR - PB truck story finally gets written and goes to a conference, PB truck story appeals to an editor and she takes it with her, PB truck story is revised twice (based on editorial suggestions) and resubmitted in November. Email from editor saying "looking forward to reading it over the long weekend." (Thanksgiving)
THIS YEAR - Email from editor on January 20th, "looking over it now . . . more thorough response soon."
Okay, so what explains nearly a month of silence?
I figure there are three possibilities:
1. My story is circulating among the editors.
2. It's sitting at the bottom of a pile, buried by more urgent business.
3. I didn't hit the mark with revisions and the editor is putting off writing a rejection letter.
QUANDARY - Do I email her now, or do I wait, wait, wait some more?
18 Comments on Inspiration . . . Frustration, Chapter III, last added: 2/19/2012
Gale - oh the nail biting anguish!!! I'm going to vote Number1!! Hmmm...Since it seems you've had a fairly open dialogue with this editor, I think a friendly nudge would be fine. This business is so wacky. Hope Chapter 4 involves champagne!!!
Only another editor could begin to explain it. Maybe something about a heaping pile of TO-DOs? Perhaps waiting for the right moment when the publisher has a slot for this type of manuscript? Could it has just (gulp) slipped through the cracks while editor was thinking about something else entirely? Stay happy, and be encouraged that your clearly meritorious manuscript is in the queue. May this story have a great ending!
Robin, Ann, Mirka and Judy - Thanks for taking time to comment and for the good wishes. Yes, I guess I need to be patient a little longer. ARRGH! There will be a Chapter IV to this post - someday.
Hey there, Gale: I know I'm on leave -- the writerly equivalent of chopped liver -- but I have to agree with Robin. I don't think a gentle nudge would hurt. Whatever you do or don't do, good luck to you, my friend.
Oh, waiting is sooooo hard! I do think you might wait a bit longer though. To my mind, this hasn't been very long in "editor time". And the story could very possibly be circulating among editors! (I always try to sit on my hands and be a little more patient than feels comfortable before I send a follow up email. I just never want to feel like I'm pestering someone.:o))
I can never get used to the pace of publishing - took FOUR years from contract to publication with my Dutton picture book. If you count the weeks from the time I submitted the second revision, it's now 12 weeks. Guess that's only a blink in the editorial world. Thanks to all for comments. I'll sit on my hands a while longer.
I was at the same conference and I met with the same editor. She loved, loved my manuscript (a YA novel) and asked for a full. I sent the revisions to her on Thanksgiving weekend and she replied that she was looking forward to reading it. We chatted back and forth a couple of times and then that was it. I haven't heard back from her. So I'm in the same boat with you. Maybe she's just busy with other work and our stuff is in the queue?? I did ask a few of my writer friends what I should do and they recommended waiting too.
This morning one of them pointed out your blog post.
Sharon, Well, whadda 'ya know! I knew the editor had taken a YA she favored, and now I know who it was. Yes, by all means, we can be sisters-in-waiting! Keep in touch.
Gale, I would wait a little longer and not assume anything. There are so many reasons why people don't get back to you right away. Could be personal--her daughter got mono or her main sewer line at home has to be replaced. Could be professional-- she went to a whole bunch of other conferences or there's some kind of political situation brewing at her office, like her boss being replaced. I would say, give it one more week and then inquire.
Linda, Thanks for thinking it might be worth the wait - let's hope so!
Sharon Biggs Waller said, on 2/18/2012 3:20:00 PM
Hi Gale,
Yep, that's my YA! I'm the crazy girl who flew out from Chicago to get a critique from our fellow editor. I had so much fun I will be at the conference next year. We will have to meet.
Until then I will let you know when I hear from the editor.
Last week I didn't LOL - even once. Instead of being a Lady Of Laughter, I was an LOS - Lady Of Stress. I had finished a round of requested revisions on my current picture book, and was beating myself up for not starting something new. My idea bank was empty and every time I tried to make a deposit, my mind wandered to the family gift list, getting the house in order for three sets of Christmas staying-over guests, menu planning, wrapping, decorating, baking, etc. etc.
LOL? No, m'am.
Then one morning when I woke with yet another tension headache, I decided enough is enough! I gave myself a stern lecture: stop stewing about writing. Reassign your mental energy to Christmas.
This year my December WIP will be the Christmas cards. So be it.
Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas to everyone!
10 Comments on 'Tis the Season - LOL or LOS?, last added: 12/17/2011
Call me a silly loafer, but this is OFF TIME. My future stories will be better for it. But you sound positively industrious, with revisions etc. May all your stresses turn to eggnog.
Okay, I'm lol'ing now. GREAT post! You are so right. I'm doing a lot of "thinking" but getting frustrated because I can't put my butt in the chair to get any of it down...and I think I said the same thing to myself (although not quite that eloquent..and I think it contained an expletive or two...) I love this time of year, but always feel so guilty putting my writing aside...but I agree with Mirka - this is OFF TIME. A break, a time for reflection and family...and chocolate :) Merry Christmas!!!
Gale - I gave up feeling guilty about what I can and cannot accomplish at this time of year. I'm happy to let ideas percolate. By the time January rolls around, I am so ready for BIC!
You are so right - we regret losing time to write when preparing for Christmas!
The other day, after the cards were done and gone, and I should have been working on the Christmas To Do List, I kept suddenly hearing the strains of an old WIP from 10 years ago. You might remember it - set in Scotland where the MC dares to go into the forbidden glen. I sat down at the computer and rewrote it from memory (mostly). I was excited about the story and then realized that I had lost several hours of Christmas prep time! But I still like my story of the glen!
I got pretty sick of the Holiday madness a long time ago. When I started developing illnesses that were brought on by stress I said "forget it" The holidays aren't supposed to make us worse, they're supposed to make us better. So, now I do what I"m able to do. Some years I get cards out, some years I don't. Some years I have more decorations, some years I have less. As for gifts, I've cut down on who gets presents. I've made it about the kids and have decided not to put ourselves into debt for it. I"m much happier and healthier since I've learned to live with perspective and not get caught up in the hype.
However, I wish I could say I've been writing. I've been in a bit of a rut but it doesn't have anything to do with the holidays. Just my blocked mind. I have been reading a lot though and I think that counts because it's like research. :0)
A little break will give you a well deserved and probably very productive fresh start! Enjoy the holidays -- if you stress over writing and the holidays, you will enjoy neither. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Gale!
Just received copies of the December HIGHLIGHTS with my story "Why Bears Sleep All Winter: A Tale from Lapland." LAPLAND?
No, I have no ancestral family stories from Lapland. I found this charming story in a tattered second hand volume of Scandinavian folktales published decades ago. The moral of my discovery (ditto the folktale) is to do good works. I was volunteering at a church book sale when I pulled the volume from a dusty donation box.
I've always loved the how or why (pourquoi) stories. One of my favorites is the old African-American one called "Why Dogs Hate Cats." The story begins with dog and cat best of friends until the day they go to town and buy a big ham. On the hot, dusty road going home, they take turns carrying their prize dinner. When dog carries the ham, he always chants, "Our ham, our ham," but when cat carries the ham he always chants, "My ham, my ham." Well, you can see it coming - not far from home cat climbs a tree with the ham and eats it all. Dog declares, "I can't get you now, but when you come down out of that tree, I'm going to chase you 'til you drop."
What's your favorite folktale?
10 Comments on Why Bears Sleep All Winter, last added: 11/20/2011
Gale - I would have to say YOUR retellings are my favorite folktales! btw...Grace has a subscription to Highlights and I opened it up and said "Hey, my friend wrote that!" I love this story!
Linda, Robin and Marcia, Thank you all for the generous comments. Yes, I feel lucky to have been published twice in HIGHLIGHTS this year. Funny how stories can be held for years and then come out in quick succession.
Congratulations on another published Highlights story Gale! One of my favorites is the Musicians of Bremman, I think it's called. Old animals who are no longer useful leave their homes, and instead of finding new jobs, they find each other, and a new home. Irish folk stories are also interesting, but all depressing with dead heroes at the end. You've inspired me though - I might look into freshening one of those up (i.e., maybe the hero could live?)
J.A, Eileen, Julie and Meg, Thanks for taking time to comment with congratulations. Here's hoping J.A. had a good nap and Julie finds an Irish story she can lighten up. Yes, some of the Scandinavian tales are dreary also. Maybe the climate has something to do with it?
Chapter two of my August 16th post "Inspiration . . . Frustration." I struggled with my idea until one day, while vacationing in Maine, inspiration trumped frustration. I was off on a writing binge. In three days (and fairly sleepless nights) I had a first draft. In six days I had a story. The next week, things took a surprising turn.
Back story: a few months ago, I signed up for a writing conference and submitted a manuscript for critique with an editor. Conference day arrived and on a whim, I slipped a copy of the new truck story into my folder to take with me.
The critique session was cordial and useful. The editor said the manuscript I had submitted had a "fun, bouncy text perfect for toddlers," but was "a little slight" (that hated word) and needed more tension and depth. I agreed with her suggestions.
Five minutes left. I asked if she would be willing to scan my newest work and handed it over. Her expression changed as she read. Then she asked if she could take the story with her because she would like to take it to an acquisition meeting!
Have no idea when I will hear, but when I do, I'll write chapter three of "Inspiration . . . Frustration."
3 Comments on Inspiration . . . Frustration, Chapter II, last added: 9/29/2011
J.A. and Robin, Thanks for the comments. I had a reality check today - a rejection letter for a story I was pretty certain would make the cut with the Carus magazine group.
Just finished reading ROBERT McCLOSKEY: A PRIVATE LIFE IN WORDS AND PICTURES, by his younger daughter Jane. It’s an engaging read about the family, their pleasures, troubles and travels. The illustrations are not only from his books, but also his watercolors and paintings of family members and scenes of the various places they lived. Jane and her older sister, Sally (of Blueberries for Sal), spent childhood time on their Maine island, in New York, Mexico and at a private school in Switzerland.
I do wish Jane had written more about her father’s writing process – for example, how long did he work on some of the books? However, she points out he was a very “private and shy man,” and much of her “understanding” came from “detective work, watching him and thinking about him and what he said and didn’t say.”
Miscellaneous facts from the book:
1. The children called him Bob. He did not like to be called Dad. 2. McCloskey suffered with depression, had a nervous breakdown and spent time in a sanitarium. 3. There was a real Burt Dow and his tombstone reads: Burt Dow, Deep Water Man. 4. McCloskey worked a long time on puppets for a TV show, but they were never used. 5. There was a Robert J. McCloskey (State Department – Intelligence) who occasionally received fan mail for the author. The book has photocopies of a humorous exchange about this. 6. And finally: when people approached him saying they had a great idea for a children’s book they wanted to write, his reply was, “Don’t talk about it. Do it.”
Great advice.
3 Comments on Robert McCloskey, last added: 9/15/2011
Interesting! I'll always have a soft spot for Blueberries for Sal- my daughter's favorite book for awhile. I remember one of the first time I went out and left her with a friend, I came home and my friend said (looking exhausted) "we read Blueberries for Sal six times."
CL and J.A. Thanks for the comments. I guess if I had to choose a McCloskey favorite it would be Time of Wonder. I know it's a little long for the kids these days, but the writing is so beautiful and for anyone who loves Maine, it's got everything - including a hurricane like the one we lived through a few weeks ago when we were there.
My retold English folktale "Five Foolish Brothers" appears in the August issue of HIGHLIGHTS.
I enjoyed finding a new way to portray the problems of these thickheaded siblings. Love those noodlehead stories! No wonder they've lasted for centuries.
3 Comments on Five Fools Revealed, last added: 8/28/2011
Congratulations Gale. I plan to look for your story at the library. Is this similar to the book you have called Falling Leaves and Foolish Brothers? If so, perhaps you'd share how you got more milage out of your ideas in another blog post. I'd love to hear and I think other readers would too. Thanks for considering it.
Actually, the HIGHLIGHTS story is a retelling of an old, classic tale. The FALLING LEAVES AND FOOLISH BROTHERS is an original story. I have written four stories about those foolish brothers, one for every season.
Judy, Yes, I love both retelling and devising foolishness.
Here's my mental picture prompt: a three-year-old boy's bed so loaded with toy trucks ( scads more than six ) there's no room for a child. Yet somehow he manages to sleep in that bed every night. What happens at night with the boy and the trucks on that bed/highway lit by a nightlight?
There must be a story there.
But where and what? I've been struggling with this story idea for two weeks. I've made a list of different kinds of trucks and given each a number of adjectives and sounds. I've jotted down possible relationships between them. I've tried to create a plot with a problem that's solved by the boy and the trucks working together.
And my results so far? A couple of weak, pedestrian stanzas. I'm stuck! (And I doubt changing my venue, as J.L. suggested in the previous post, would help.)
This was to have been a submission to the current Children's Writer contest for poetry or a verse story. I'm about to toss out hours of thought. On to the next idea.
Don't you hate it when this happens?
9 Comments on Inspiration . . . Frustration!, last added: 8/18/2011
How about the premise of a boy who nightly gets buried under the blankets and the trucks need to "dig" him out before morning. Every night this happens.
Have you ever tried to remember someone's name but it escapes you. Maybe you can remember the first letter of their name but you don't know how. Once you stop dwelling on it, the name almost pops out of your mouth.
Linda, Yes, I guess I should forget it for a while, go on to something else. Maybe that will provoke a solution?
Corey, I, too, have ideas I've struggled with for years! For seven or so, I've been sporadically working on a story about a "big helper" who isn't a help.
In a word...yes. I hate it when that happens...but it happens. One of the hardest lessons in this business is learning not every idea is a viable one, no matter how many hours (or years) you've spent on it.
That said...I'd like to believe that no time spent working on something is wasted. Maybe this idea needs to germinate for awhile and could morph into something else entirely. I seem to remember a chair story you were having similar struggles with...and now it's on our sidebar!!
There's only one solution to this problem: Keep on truckin'! Seriously, Gale, I have no doubt something great will come to you, probably right after you've pegged this idea as unworkable. Good luck.
Last month, Bill Keller, executive editor of the NY TIMES, published an opinion piece about social media. His article, "The Twitter Trap," taking the long view, also traced some steps in the history of communication.
"Until the 15th century, people were taught to remember vast quantities of information." Some even memorized whole books. Then with the invention of the printing press, Gutenberg changed the world. People no longer had to memorize, they could depend on reading the printed page and refreshing their memory by rereading. Did books create a decline in studious memorization?
Fast forward to . . .
Facebook and Twitter. Keller argues they do have promotional uses, but they are also "displacing real rapport and real conversation, just as Gutenberg's device displaced remembering." Do you agree?
I've often wondered if Facebook promotes quantity friendship, rather than quality friendship. If so, what effect does this have on the millions of users?
Keller writes that Twitter conversation is "more often than not, reductive and redundant." True? Does it contribute to a decline in complex, thoughtful conversation?
Some consider both Facebook and Twitter essential to a writer's career.
Do you use either one? If so, is it a thumbs up experience? Do you agree with any of the thumbs down thoughts?
8 Comments on Facebook. Twitter. Thumbs Up or Down?, last added: 6/15/2011
I use both Facebook and Twitter. I use Facebook more, because it lets me keep in touch with distant friends and relatives in an easy way. (Especially with photos. Why send 100 Christmas cards once a year when you can share your family experiences with 250 people every week on Facebook?)
I think there's some validity to the statement about people relying too much on false relationships online, and not developing real relationships in person. But I don't think we'll ever devolve to the point where people ONLY rely on social media for their relationships. As long as children still need to go to school and adults need to go to work (or to the store, or out into society in general), people will maintain the necessary skills to continue to interact with more depth.
Even with my online writing buddies, we get a lot more out of lengthy emails than we do out of our brief twitter conversations.
This is a great post. I can't wait to read some of the other comments
I definitely see the value in both - especially if you have something to promote. I have friends who've won agent critiques on Twitter and one who even saw that her (now) agent was open to accepting picture book manuscripts. Both can be a wealth of information as well.
That said...
They can also be a time suck. And building up followers, unless you are an *expert* at something, or a published author (since we're talking about writing here)or celebrity can take a lot of time. Also coming up with quips - while good practice, I suppose - might also seem daunting.
For instance - I follow Neil Gaiman and once he mentioned going out to his garden to get something for breakfast (I forget the vegetable, but the fact that it was a vegetable was interesting to me...) - him saying that is interesting. If I wrote it? Um, yeah, so what? But if I was a celebrity writing that...yeah, I just shared a glimpse of my life with my adoring public.
And that said... I use both, probably not to the capacity I could be using them, but I do promote the blog and I do keep in touch with friends. And hopefully one day I'll be promoting my books. As I said, I see the value, but I'm not sure it's a necessity.
"But my inner worrywart wonders whether the new technologies overtaking us may be eroding characteristics that are essentially human: our ability to reflect, our pursuit of meaning, genuine empathy, a sense of community connected by something deeper than snark or political affinity."
I think he's absolutely right. There's a good Guardian article from a couple of years back that shows networking sites are changing kids brains for the worse:
I'm a newbie on Twitter. I'm not on Facebook. I see FB as nice for keeping up with people you'd otherwise lose touch with, but I also hear people with genuine in-person relationships say, "I'll just Facebook you." So real-time talk can easily be cast aside for Facebooking. If I were going on FB for pro reasons, I'd create a fan page. I don't need a personal page for that, and don't like the idea of mixing the two.
I chose Twitter because I thought the time-suck aspects would be easier to manage. Get in and get out. I've gotten links to neat stuff, but I agree that an awful lot of writers tweet about the mundane, and a lot of tweets I can't even decipher. But I've got stuff to learn yet.
Changing our brains? Yep. What and how we do, practice, and think is what we become.
I have to work hard to tune out the chatter in my brain, and Facebook and Twitter don't help at that end. I'm sure I'm missing out on some valuable tidbits by avoiding the social networking sites, but it takes me too much time to sift through all the dross to get to the gold. I don't have enough time to write as it is.
I agree about the amount of time you can spend online instead of writing. Lately, I've spent way too much time reading blogs - all the controversy about that Wall St. Journal article on dark YA, for example.
I can see how Twitter could become one more thing to check a couple of times a day . . . another half hour gone. Though if I had a book to promote, I guess I wouldn't begrudge the time.
My first app has been published! Or could I say my first app book has been published? Look, Ma, no paper, but it's still a book.
Why did I go this route?
TEN KINDS OF CHAIRS TO COUNT has a humorous, rhyming text aimed at toddlers. I wrote the story years ago and tried to peddle it as a board book, but individual board books (from decidedly less-than-famous authors) are a hard sell. So when the app market opened, I started investigating companies. The first app publisher I submitted to loved the story, but they wanted it already illustrated. Then I discovered Okenko Books and learned they would supply illustrators. They bought TEN KINDS OF CHAIRS, a second manuscript called FALLING LEAVES AND FOOLISH BROTHERS, and plan to schedule a third.
As their website explains, Okenko Books works on a subscription basis - pay for six months, or for a year, and you receive one new title each month automatically downloaded to your reading device. Interesting concept. Some Okenko titles will become available as single purchases. They plan to give my TEN CHAIRS a voice over and eventually sell it as a standalone title - then I will get royalties.
I'll never get rich, and no publishing company is perfect, but it's an alternative for manuscripts dwelling in a dark drawer. I have favorites I've never been able to sell. My foolish brothers stories (in spite of numerous revisions for different big six editors) weren't bought as either picture books or easy-to-reads. Does the traditional publishing world have higher standards than the app world? Maybe, but I think each world publishes excellent, as well as mediocre material.
Has anyone else who writes for the 3-8 crowd considered entering the app market? What do you see as the pros and cons?
12 Comments on An App Debut, last added: 4/11/2011
I have! For the same reasons you did. I have stories that are probably not "big" enough to interest a publisher, but that I think have great potential as an interactive app. I'll have to look into Okenko books.
Congratulations, by the way, on getting your first app published. Exciting!
Good for you! I've considered this, and have even submitted a story (to another company). Apps are certainly part of the changing world of publishing, so you might as well jump in.
Robin and Meg, Yes, you both probably remember this story - and the number of times I had it critiqued!
J.L. You could even get it on an iphone - though it might look a little cramped. :)
Smoki2, I didn't have to be involved in any of the technical process. Okenko Books, in that sense, is akin to a traditional publisher. They took care of production.
How do you know whether what you've written is worth anything? Brianna raises this question in her previous post "When You Can't Tell Anymore." At what point do doubts overcome your hopes? When do you kill your words and abandon a manuscript?
In "Burn Before Reading," (NY Times Book Review, 3/6) Dan Kois gets answers from a few famous authors. Chang-rae Lee threw out two year's work on an unfinished novel he now calls "bombastic" and "unfunny." Is this unusual? No. After over five years of work, Michael Chabon abandoned his second novel. (Can't imagine the despair and frustration!) John Updike, Truman Capote, Harper Lee, Saul Bellow, Richard Price, Stephenie Meyer - all killed novels for various reasons. Ironically, Harper Lee abandoned a second novel after the success of TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD.
Most often, however, the killing takes place because the writer realizes the book just isn't working. That's when what Chabon calls the "Hand of Dread" should be heeded.
Yes, I've killed manuscripts. We all have. It takes courage to grasp the "Hand of Dread" and abandon our idea. But is it total disaster city? Maybe not. Perhaps there's something - a description, a figure of speech, a character quirk - that can be recycled. Waste not! Have you ever been lucky enough to reuse material from an abandoned manuscript?
The male MC in my latest wip began as a secondary character in a novel I was a hundred pages into then abandoned. While I was writing that other novel he kept monopolizing the scenes, I found I wanted to know more about him - in that other novel I'd sort of cast him as a bit of a throw-away jerk, but when I really got to know him, I realized I kinda/sorta liked him a lot and wanted to give him his own novel...weird!
And yes, I've taken things from abandoned (and collecting dust) novels...I'd call that recycling!
I've abandoned projects - a certain YA set on a mesa top in New Mexico in 1944 should ring familiar to the Paper Waiters. It's hard when, as Brianna noted in her last post, a similar, well-done book hits the market while you're still in the midst of creation. It took the wind out of my sails for sure. That's not to say that just because a project has been done before it can't be done again - as the vampire craze proves. But sometimes, the situation is too unique, to be done again without a gap of several years.
I've also got all those completed stories that never went anywhere that I need to pull out of the drawer and start anew.
I have such a hard time killing manuscripts, and there are a couple that fit that category. I keep them in a drawer and pull them out occasionally to do some tweaking. I do not know when to pull the plug.
I abandoned my very first attempt at a chapter book. I worked at it slowly forever before I abandoned it and moved on. I had learned so much by that point that it was much easier to start fresh with a new manuscript than to try to correct all the problems in my earliest efforts.
Then a few years later, I started an easy reader (which I just turned into a picture book manuscript). The premise is the same as that original manuscript, and it even has one of my favorite scenes. But the main character is completely different-- which I hope makes it a lot more intriguing. And, of course, it's a lot shorter. (One of the faults of my original draft was that it was way too wordy. :o) )
J. A.'s previous post about apps got me to thinking about how to evaluate them. My first thought was that reviews are one method of separating the good apps from the garbage, a traditional way of bringing selectivity to the marketplace. In addition to professional journals, there are general audience websites that review apps for children - including Best Kids Apps. But will parents pay attention to reviews? Apps are an inexpensive and instant purchase. No more driving to the bookstore or the library. Is it just easier to purchase quickly and take a chance on quality?
Then wondering whether reviews will be heeded, led me to a more basic question: how do you judge an app?
My husband has an iPhone and an iPad, and our three-year-old loves them both. (He calls the iPhone, "Daddy's smallest phone," and the iPad, "Daddy's biggest phone.")
There are a lot of crap apps out there. We have one that's supposed to teach the alphabet, along with a word. Like "A. A is for apple." Then you see a picture of an apple.
Well, when you get to C, there's a picture of a rooster. You can guess what the accompanying dialogue is. There are other letters using similar euphemistic words, which makes me think it's intentional, and not just someone using an old children's book.
But there are some truly delightful apps. We have a few books from Disney, which are very interactive, with animation and learning tools. My son loves the Dr. Seuss books on the iPad, and sometimes when we put him to bed and try to sit down with a book, he'd rather have the electronic version.
There's definitely a market out there. The problem is that the reputable people are dragging their feet, trying to figure out how to do it, and how to make as much money as possible.
The amateurs are already making a lot of money throwing out a substandard product.
I kind of wish the big guys would get their act together. Because, really, for quality, I'm ready to hand over my cash.
Great series of posts! I'm so glad to hear people talking more about this. :-)
Thanks for the thoughtful comment. Yes,I guess the big guys held back a little on this new market and at first were just re-issuing back list pb's in the new format without adding much to them.
Thanks for the link to that article, Gale. I'm still a print gal, but I think I'm finally starting to understand what kid lit apps are all about. It's going to be interesting to see how the market develops.
After reading what Elizabeth Bird has to say about apps, all I can think about is how important librarians are. And a huge concern is that as budgets get slashed just as books go more and more toward digital, the public could lose incredibly valuable expertise.
Well I've gone to the dark side and love my bright shiny iPad but call me old fashioned - it won't ever replace the wonderful tactile experience of a book.
I agree with Brigid -there are some definite crap apps out there. We have a few my daughter can appreciate, and yes I do feel somewhat better if she's reading a book than playing Angry Birds or Fruit Ninja. But it's more like a novelty for us.
So much of the magic of reading happens in your own mind...even when there are pictures. Having bells and whistles is fun, for sure, but I wonder if it does dull a child's imagination after awhile? Or maybe it enhances it?
I think apps are a great tool to use in conjuction with books, but I'm not sure they will ever really replace them.
Thanks for sharing the link, Gale. I'm ignorant when it comes to apps. All I think of is Angry Birds and Fruit Ninjas which my husband has on his iPad. Guess he'll be a little surprised when he finds he's now got "Scruffy Kitty" and "Emma Loves Pink" on there too.
My other caveat with apps is that the iTunes store remembers your password for 15 minutes after you've bought something. So if you have a clever preschooler who knows how to go into the app store, it's easy (too easy!!) for them to download a new game before you're aware of it.
We learned this the hard way when our son downloaded the $8.99 Sonic the Hedgehog because he thought it was a kitty game.
I love the apps, but I agree with Robin, that they won't ever replace the books themselves. There's definitely something about using your imagination as a child.
Gale - yes - thanks for sharing this link. What a thorough review of the app market - and how fascinating some of the better apps are - the excellently rated app of Peter Rabbit with the child touching a tab and hearing the grass rustle - or maybe Mr McGregor pounding after poor Peter in the cabbages! The good ones are very neat - and the bad - are - well, bad. Some type of sorting of the market will soon, I'm sure, take place in what the author calls the untamed wilderness.
Hmm...what do I use it for most...I purchased it with the intention of...reading books, lol. I wanted a Kindle, but my hubby talked me into an iPad because I could do more with it. I've watched movies, checked e-mail,played Fruit Ninja (and kicked a**!) but I've only read a little bit. There's a word processing app, but I haven't dabbled in that, I'm a WORD gal for now. My daughter is writing a novel on the iPad PAGES app - My Bloody Vampire Girl...lol. Hey, she's onto something, right :) I'm sure there's a lot more one can do with it, I just have to take the time to investigate!
Robin, Someday I'll probably get one and I'm sure I'll spend hours fooling with all the options. You're good for not letting it suck time from your writing!
Newbery Award: Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool. (See previous post by J.L.)
Caldecott Award: A Sick Day for Amos McGee, illustrated by Erin Stead. Philip Stead, author.
These 2011 awards, taken together, make medal history. Why?
The Newbery has been won by a first-time author AND the Caldecott has been won by a first-time illustrator. Has never happened before.
In addition, since Erin Stead is 28 years old, she beats Robert McCloskey (by a few months) as the youngest artist to win the Caldecott.
When her world settles down, Erin Stead promises more posts about her award. For now, it's fun browsing Erin's blog to get a sense of her life in Ann Arbor, MI. with author/illustrator husband, Philip. What a talented couple!
Don't you wonder how it would feel to hit the top of your profession on the first try? Would you worry about your long term career?
3 Comments on History-Making Duo, last added: 1/19/2011
Yes, that's what I was thinking, J.L., but I'm not so sure I would consider it a "nice" problem. It could stifle creativity because the bar is so high.
To win this coveted award must bring joy and confidence to any age illustrator(or author) and provide the enthousiasm to keep painting beautiful and sensitive pictres.
What gifts are under the tree for these nursery rhyme characters?
1. Wee Willie Winkie. 2. The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe. 3. Little Miss Muffet. 4. Little Boy Blue. 5. Jack and Jill. 6. Humpty Dumpty. 7. Doctor Foster. 8. Bobby Shafto and his girl friend.
Give up?
1. A Razor scooter. 2. The Pill. 3. A can of Raid. 4. A watch with an alarm. 5. A bottle of Percocet. 6. A parachute. 7. Waist high waders. 8. Skype.
Can you think of more characters and gifts?
10 Comments on Guess the Christmas Gifts, last added: 12/16/2010
In honor of PiBoIdMo, I give you Tomie dePaola. You're not an artist? Well, writers, listen to his definition of a picture book. Illustrations are as important as the words that spring from your ideas!
So who has the best deal in this author/illustrator collaboration - the making (baking) of a picture book (cake)?
Is it the author who writes a recipe, lights the oven, gathers the ingredients, and whips up the batter; or is it the illustrator who bakes and decorates the cake?
Is it harder for the writer to worry about whether the cake will be perfectly baked and beautiful, or is it harder for the illustrator to worry about whether the recipe is pleasing and the ingredients have been measured correctly enough to produce a delicious cake?
Authors? Illustrators? How do you see it?
5 Comments on dePaola, Picture Books, & Cake, last added: 11/14/2010
This was very interesting! I plan to pass it on to some other writer/illustrator friends. Thank you! I think getting a picture book published would be my greatest accomplishment. I keep trying. I know illustrator and writer are both important, but the picture book depends on great illustrations that expand and enhance the story. My hat's off to artists.
I see picture books as a true partnership. The words inspire the illustrator and the illustrations inspire the writer. Each should compliment the other. To use your analogy, a plain cake can be delicious and a bowl of just icing can be a joy, but put them together and it's heaven.
Linda, Yes, having a picture book published (especially these days) is a great accomplishment. Don't stop trying.
Meg, Thanks for the comment. I think you're a little idealistic about the illustrations inspiring the writer. Since the text is set before the artist starts working, the author has nothing to say about the illustrations. How the words are going to be illustrated is an author's worry. We've both been lucky with our illustrators.
Great clip and post, Gale. The pb authors I know work their butts off to get their words just right, but seeing an illustrator bring those words to visual life seems like the best possible reward for their efforts.
"So, what to choose when a family truly of 'all ages' wants to read a book together? What can satisfy a six-year-old, a ten-year-old, and their eccentric middle-aged uncle and formidable grandma all at once?"
His question is answered with seventeen recommendations from ten H.B. reviewers. The variety of the suggested titles surprised me: from classics like Kipling's "Just So Stories," to "Dying to Meet You: 43 Cemetery Road," by Kate and M. Sarah Klise, published in 2009; from Hoban's "The Mouse and His Child," to "Burt Dow, Deep-Water Man," by McCloskey; from Peterson and Audubon field guides for birds and trees, to Steig's "Sylvester and the Magic Pebble."
One reviewer concentrated on books about families, mentioning (among others) : "The Watsons Go to Birmingham-1963," by Curtis, "A Long Way From Chicago," by Peck, and "Harris and Me," by Paulsen.
I wonder how many extended families read aloud together these days. I suspect it's a lucky minority.
Has anyone had this experience?
What title(s) did you read?
8 Comments on Listen Up, Everyone. It's Read Aloud Time!, last added: 10/21/2010
My kids (8 and 10) and I love to read aloud poetry. Among our favorites are Shel Silverstein, Ogden Nash, and any other poetry that has a funny twist at the end. When I was a kid, my dad read aloud poetry to me, too. His favorite was The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Hmm. It wasn't as kid-centric, but I remember loving the sound of the words, though I probably had no idea what most of them meant!
In my family, we range from 5 to 47 and we all love A.A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh!
Linda A. said, on 10/17/2010 5:29:00 PM
Riddles, jokes, poems, and ghost stories come to mind. Storytelling about family experiences would be great for all ages. Writing family stories down would make them available as long as they are preserved.
When I was a child my father used to read WINNIE-THE-POOH to my sister and me. I just re-read it and I could hear my father's voice.
To my own children we read the one of the Harry Potters while we were vacationing in London. We also read ANNE FRANK: DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL as a family. That was a good read aloud since it was such a difficult subject, and my kids were only 3 and 7 at the time. It provoked a lot of conversations.
We also read a bunch of goofy poetry. The sillier the better!
The only book that has been read aloud in my family to 3 generations would have been a Cajun Night Before Christmas. The younger kids recognize the style and cadence of the Clement Moore book and the other generations enjoyed the new twist to an old story. We did this for a few years when we had huge get-togethers for Christmas.
I am currently reading "Yes! You can Learn How to Write Children's Books, Get Them Published and Build a Successful Writing Career" by Nancy Sanders. I am blogging my reaction and results. If you would like to hear about the results in action, here is where you can read more... http://TheWriteChris.blogspot.com
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Thank you, Gale. I printed this out and will re-read often!
Great article! I've a quote from it that I want to put on my corkboard for inspiration. Thanks!
Glad you enjoyed it and found it useful. No more "blue-eyed blondes in red dresses."!
I liked his wanting "characters who resonate because they epitomize our own hopes and struggles and stories."
Excellent. Very well put and memorable. I love the 'heart gone to seed' quote. Thanks Gale. Read, printed, and pinned, to be reread soon.
Excellent. Very well put and memorable. I love the 'heart gone to seed' quote. Thanks Gale. Read, printed, and pinned, to be reread soon.
Happy. Happy. That you liked it. That you liked it. :)
Awesome article! Thanks for sharing! So many great quotes. I will be rereading many times!
I will print it out. And it's funny -- in my writing, what makes me stop most often is description. I can't dash off description in a draft, because getting it right -- or close, at least -- is central to me getting to know a character.
"That’s the way we talk in real life, but fiction has to be more revealing, intriguing and eloquent.
Indeed.
And I so admire anyone who can produce characters and dialogue that rise above real life!
Even though this article is basically for fiction writers, I think we PB people can learn from it also.