How to use this Page

Here's a great way to connect children's authors and readers, and it's a WIN-WIN-WIN for schools, authors and school book fairs everywhere!

Author Spots are FREE mini-commercials created by children's authors which schools can broadcast to promote their book fair to kids and parents.

I'm not talking about anything fancy here - just a 30 second to 1 minute webcam, YouTube video of a children's author giving a shout-out about his/her books along with a personalized promotion for a school book fair. It might be something as simple as:

"Hi, I'm Jean Reidy, children's author! I'm super excited that TOO PURPLEY! is coming to the Abraham Lincoln Elementary book fair. (MAYBE ADD MORE ABOUT THE BOOK HERE) Don't forget to stop by and check out all the awesome books on sale. GO LIONS!"

Here are 2 sample Author Spots for you to view.  See what I'm talking about?

Author Spots could be shown in morning video announcements, during library time, in the classrooms, at PTO meetings, at the school entrance, or loaded on the school's website ... the possibilities are endless.

It's simple! Here's how it works:

Teachers, Principals, and Book Fair Volunteers: Review the authors and their books listed below and decide who might be a good fit for your school book fair. Authors who have books specifically at Scholastic Book Fairs are noted with an "S" after their name. Their names link you to their website. Choose a few options because not every author will be available at all times. Then contact one or more -- can you imagine a whole week of AuthorSpots? -- of the authors below, requesting a FREE AuthorSpot. If the author agrees, tell the author how you'd like it personalized - school name, school mascot, etc. And when the video is posted, the author will send you the link. It's as simple as that.

Children's Authors and  Illustrators:
If you're interested in recording Author Spots for Schools, e-mail me your name, your 5 most recent book titles, genres and your website link and I'll add you to the list. Send your information to reidy(dot)jean(at)gmail(dot)com. If you know that one or more of your books is offered specifically at Scholastic Book Fairs, please let me know, and I'll put an "S" after your name. Then, when a school contacts you, record your Author Spot, upload it to YouTube and send the link to the school. If you'd like to participate but you'd prefer to record only one generic book fair promotion video that ANY school can use, let me know. I'll start a separate list and link to your video. If we get enough authors participating, I'll even host a website specifically for Author Spots.

The following authors are interested in promoting your book fair! And here is just a sampling of their books. Please check their website for contact and other information.

FICTION PICTURE BOOKS:
Jean Reidy (S) -  TOO PURPLEY!, TOO PICKLEY!, TOO PRINCESSY,  LIGHT UP THE NIGHT, TIME OUT FOR MONSTERS!, ALL THROUGH MY TOWN
Mirka Breen - THERE'S A TURKEY AT THE DOOR 
Jean Gralley - HOGULA, DREAD PIG OF NIGHT, VERY BORING ALLIGATOR, YONDERFEL'S CASTLE, THE MOON CAME DOWN ON MILK STREET 
Tara Lazar -  THE MONSTORE, I THOUGHT THIS WAS A BEAR BOOK, LITTLE RED GLIDING HOOD
Tammi Sauer (S) - MR. DUCK MEANS BUSINESS, ME WANT PET!, BAWK & ROLL, OH, NUTS!, PRINCESS IN TRAINING
Liz Garton Scanlon (S) - ALL THE WORLD, THINK BIG, A SOCK IS A POCKET FOR YOUR TOES, NOODLE & LOU, HAPPY, BIRTHDAY BUNNY!
Judith Snyder - WHAT DO YOU SEE?, STINKY FEET 
Deborah Underwood - THE QUIET BOOK, THE LOUD BOOK, A BALLOON FOR ISABEL, PIRATE MOM
Audrey Vernick (S) - SO YOU WANT TO BE A ROCK STAR, IS YOUR BUFFALO READY FOR KINDERGARTEN?, TEACH YOUR BUFFALO TO PLAY DRUMS

NONFICTION PICTURE BOOKS:
Alison Ashley Formento (S) - THIS TREE COUNTS, THIS TREE 1-2-3, THESE BEES COUNT, THESE SEAS COUNT 
Audrey Vernick (S) - SHE LOVED BASEBALL, BROTHERS AT BAT

MIDDLE GRADE FICTION:  
Ruth McNally Barshaw (S) - THE ELLIE MCDOODLE SERIES 
Mary Bartek -  FUNERALS AND FLY FISHING 
Hélène Boudreau (S)- REAL MERMAIDS DON'T WEAR TOE RINGS, REAL MERMAIDS DON'T HOLD THEIR BREATH, REAL MERMAIDS DON'T NEED HIGH HEELS (SPRING 2013), REAL MERMAIDS DON'T SELL SEA SHELLS (FALL 2013) 
Mirka Breen -THE VOICE OF THUNDER 
Danette Haworth (S) - VIOLET RAINES ALMOST GOT STRUCK BY LIGHTNING, THE SUMMER OF MOONLIGHT SECRETS, ME & JACK, A WHOLE LOT OF LUCKY
Lynda Mullaly Hunt - ONE FOR THE MURPHYS 
Natalie Lorenzi - FLYING THE DRAGON 
Michaela Maccoll (S) - PROMISE THE NIGHT 
Jennifer Nielsen (S) - THE FALSE PRINCE, THE RUNAWAY KING 
Audrey Vernick (S) - WATER BALLOON 
Danette Vigilante - THE TROUBLE WITH HALF A MOON 
Diane Zahler - THE THIRTEENTH PRINCESS, A TRUE PRINCESS, PRINCESS OF THE WILD SWANS

MIDDLE GRADE NONFICTION
Cynthia Levinson - WE'VE GOT A JOB
Sarah Albee (S) - POOP HAPPENED! A HISTORY OF THE WORLD FROM THE BOTTOM UP

YOUNG ADULT
Penny Blubaugh - BLOOD AND FLOWERS, SERENDIPITY MARKET 
J. Anderson Coats - THE WICKED AND THE JUST
Michaela Maccoll (S) - PRISONERS IN THE PALACE
Peter Salomon - HENRY FRANKS

And if an Author Spot is not enough ... So many authors, including me (see my Time Out for Teachers page), do free 15-30 minute virtual visits with schools.  And that's FANTASTIC! You can find that list right here on Kate Messner's blog or check out Skype in the Classroom and the Skype an Author Network.

Wishing you a VERY successful book fair!
Jean 

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When I read Conrad Wesselhoeft's DIRT BIKES, DRONES AND OTHER WAYS TO FLY - if you haven't read it, do it NOW - I had to know how my friend, fellow author, and Seattle dweller was able to pull off a New Mexico setting so spectacular, I felt like I was riding on the back of his bike racing over those dusty trails. So I asked. His answer inspired me and taught me a great lesson on what makes a setting work. It's sure to inspire you. Thank you, Conrad! Got an extra helmet? Let's go for a ride.

In Praise of Place: Why fiction writers should light out for personal territory

By Conrad Wesselhoeft

In my mid-twenties, I fell in love with northeast New Mexico—the high plains, broken mesas, torn shadows, and rich, drifting light. I lived for two years in the town of Raton, working as a journalist for the local newspaper.

Working for a small-town paper meant doing every job in the newsroom: writing and editing stories; laying out the paper on a composing table; and taking and developing photos.

I took thousands of photos, criss-crossing the county with my sturdy Pentax K1000 camera—later moving on to a more nimble Canon AE-1.

The vistas of northeast New Mexico enthralled me. Much of the time, they looked flat and dull, but at certain times of day, under certain light, they exploded with beauty.

I’d reach for my camera, and all would go quiet.

Several years ago, when I started writing my young-adult novel Dirt Bikes, Drones, and Other Ways to Fly, I wanted to re-capture that special landscape—both the look and feel.

I started by creating a fictional town and calling it Clay Allison, after the 19th Century gunfighter who had lived in that area. I jotted these notes:

“Clay Allison is a town in northeast New Mexico located in the high desert snug up against Colorado’s mountainous ass. ‘Clay’ has a rusty, shoddy, past-its-prime look and feel. In reality, it has never experienced a prime.”

The surrounding landscape, I noted, “is a hundred muted shades. Nearby are Eagle Tail and Burro mesas, and to the north, the Sangre de Cristo (Blood of Christ) Mountains. Many small mesas are carved with dirt-bike tracks, an insult to Mother Nature, but a playground for Arlo Santiago and his friends.”

Arlo is the novel’s 17-year-old adrenaline-junkie narrator. He loves to blast across the mesas on his Yamaha 250 dirt bike, hitting the bumps and flying high.

I stretched my vocabulary when I wrote:

“The story unfolds under the cerulean emptiness of New Mexico’s slow-fuse sky.”

My goal was to have Arlo fit organically into this landscape. I wanted him to respond—consciously and otherwise—to the monotonous-one-minute, staggering-the-next horizons, just as I had. If he could do this, then maybe readers could, too. That was my hope anyway.

Whether I pulled it off is not for me to say. What I did learn, however, is how important setting can be to a story—so important, in fact, that it can become a galvanizing character in its own right, one filled with moods and fancies, passions and mysteries.

Writers often overlook setting in favor of more obvious characterization tools— for example, action or dialogue.

The result is that New York City appears no different in the mind’s eye than Portland, Oregon, and the Grand Canyon exudes all the gravitas of a touched-up postcard. Hasty writers like to locate Denver in the Rocky Mountains when, in fact, “the Queen City of the Plains” is located just east of the Rockies.

It’s as if the writer had carelessly stuck a pin on a map and said, “I think I’ll set my story here.”

But when setting works—when a writer taps into emotions associated with a place—it can be glorious, as in Huckleberry Finn (the Mississippi River), The Old Man and the Sea (the Caribbean), or To Kill a Mockingbird (small-town Alabama).

It’s no coincidence that Twain, Hemingway, and Harper Lee lived and worked where they set their stories, or that they acquired far more than an eyeful of land or water. By the time they embarked on writing their novels, they had mingled their souls with those places.

And therein lies the beauty of “place” or “setting” in fiction.

When a writer dips into his or her own life and bares emotions connected with a place the result can exalt a story and illuminate the characters.

Scott O’Dell’s love for California’s coastal islands shimmers on every page of Island of the Blue Dolphins, his 1960 young-adult novel about a girl left on a remote island to fend for herself. You more than hear the gulls cry, waves crash, and wind blow. The island on which Karana lives seems alive. You hear it mourn for all that is missing from her life, just as it rejoices in her victories over storms, hunger, and wild dogs.

Lois Lowry’s ambivalent memories of growing up on military bases darken the stark, regimented world of her 1993 dystopian novel The Giver.

C.S. Lewis based his sweeping Narnia vistas on the Mountains of Mourne in Northern Ireland. About them, he wrote: "I have seen landscapes . . . which, under a particular light, make me feel that at any moment a giant might raise his head over the next ridge.”

In every case the writer traversed a personal geography to inform a fictional one. His or her emotional connection to a real place grounded the reader in an imagined place.

Contemporary young-adult fiction writers traversing this personal geography include Molly Blaisdell, whose Plumb Crazy makes small-town Texas taste like a sweet-potato pie glazed with dust and peppered with grit; Louise Spiegler, whose historical novels capture the damp majesty of Puget Sound country; and Holly Cupala, whose Don’t Breathe a Word gives the midnight alleys of homeless America a heartbeat.

When a writer soaks up the spirit of a place—whether it’s a town, city, mesa, or just about anywhere else—that place can inspire a profound fictional setting.

A great story puts you there, so that you see and feel the landscape around you. Writers get there by digging into their personal geography—and listening for the heartbeat.

Conrad Wesselhoeft worked as a tugboat hand in Singapore and Peace Corps Volunteer in Polynesia before embarking on a career in journalism. He has served on the editorial staffs of five newspapers, including The New York Times. He is the author of the young adult novels ADIOS, NIRVANA (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010) and DIRT BIKES, DRONES, AND OTHER WAYS TO FLY (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014). His ancestors were doctors to Emily Dickinson, Louisa May Alcott, and Harriet Beecher Stowe. His three children are in various stages of university study or job searching. He lives in West Seattle with a poodle named Django (the "D" is silent). Druid Circle cookies (from Trader Joe’s) are his weakness.

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Between the Lines – Jessica Page Morrell
http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781582973920
"An epiphany, the luminous moment when a character, usually the protagonist, realizes something she has not know previously, can be a powerful and electrifying pinnacle of character development." (p.64)

"Find ways to insert subtext – the unspoken, the innuendo, the nuanced moments that are not directly represented, and the actions that speak of feelings that are too volatile to express out loud. Also, look for times in your story to pull back, to allow the reader to bring her own understanding of human nature into your story." (p.222)

Writing For Children & Teenagers - Lee Wyndham
http://www.amazon.com/Writing-Children-Teenagers-Lee-Wyndham/dp/0898793475
"The best method for resolving this kind of ending is to have something happen to your main character to make him or her 'come to realize.' It should be some powerful personal experience that shocks, rocks, even floors him or her... Then you should have a quiet scene, for the change in the main character must in no way resemble instant magic. The hero should think over what has happened and realize the impact and implications, and resolve to change course or mend his or her ways ... Next comes the clincher for this kind of ending: you must devise a scene in which the hero or heroine can prove that he or she has indeed changed."

The Writer's Journey Mythic Structure for Writers – Christopher Vogler
http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780941188708
"The trick for writers is to make the change visible in appearance or action. It's not enough to have people around a hero notice that she's changed; it's not enough to have her talk about change. The audience must be able to see it in her dress, behavior, attitude, and actions." (p.210)

The Plot Whisper - Martha Aldermon
"Character Motivation: What is Her True Journey?"
http://plotwhisperer.blogspot.com/2014/03/character-motivation-what-is-her-true.html
"What happens throughout the story makes it impossible for the protagonist to remain unconscious. The Crisis in the Middle forces the protagonist to consciousness."

Writing Irresistable KIDLIT – Mary Kole (p. 163)
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/writing-irresistible-kidlit-mary-kole/1111307026?ean=9781599635767
"This is when he decides that he will risk everything that's important to him – including his core identity and life, if necessary. This decision must be very meaningful. This moment usually happens as Internal Conflict and leads very quickly to the Climax, which is usually External Conflict."

Also VERY helpful were:
The "Practical Tools" Donald Maass offers for "Turning Points" in The Fire in Fiction on p.77.
The Epiphany Mistakes Darcy Pattison offers on pp. 41-41 of Novel Metamorphosis.
Just about everything in the "Transformation" chapter of Martha Alderson's The Plot Whisperer.

What are your favorite tools and techniques for revising or writing epiphanies?

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Every once in a while, one of my editors throws me a bone. Not just any old bone, but a big beautiful "our kids' list needs a book about 'community'" hambone. When that happens, all other Milk-Bones – I mean, ideas, are pushed aside and I chase after that hambone idea with the gusto of a golden retriever. That's how my latest picture book ALL THROUGH MY TOWN came to be.

But that's only every once in a while.

Most often, I'm juggling 5-6 or 11-12 of my "own" picture book ideas. Ideas that come to me on a daily basis from any number of encounters – real or imaginary. Ideas that have survived their initial honeymoon period of inspiration during which I spew thoughts onto scrap paper as recklessly as an unobstructed sneeze.

Even though I have a dreamy cast of critique buddies, rarely do they say, "Jean, work on this project NOW!" or "Shelve this for a while – like forever." So there I am, bouncing from project to project, wondering which, if any, will earn an editor's love.

It can be hard to do the hard work without knowing if a particular idea could sell. So how do I decide which idea deserves more attention? How do I choose which manuscript rises to the top of the heap and warrants more focus?

I've developed a checklist - a simple list of "yes/no" questions - to test the strength of my picture book ideas. While I've used the tool as a quick assessment of an individual idea, I've also used it for comparing several ideas across the board, sorting the strong from the weak, if you will. I don't claim this as the one-and-only, use-this-or-fail-in-the-worst-possible-way, definitive checklist, but it's one that's worked for me.

Since the tool involves evaluating my own work, honesty is the key. The questions are not meant to cause argument or critique of the questions themselves. But they are meant to trigger thought, brainstorming and, perhaps, discussion. And when I find myself challenging the importance or validity of one of the answers to these questions, it's often a sign that I'm getting defensive of a picture book idea that won't yet cut it in the market.

Certainly the list could be maneuvered and complicated with weights applied to questions based on current market preferences. Or if you're really into analytics and need a way to further procrastinate, rate your answers 1 through 5 rather than "yes" or "no" and see where that leads you.

But for now, I like to keep it simple and just tally up my "Yeses." You can bet, when a "No" answer pops up, I explore what it would take in my picture book to turn it around. So far, my little list has steered me in the right direction. I hope it will help you too.

So without further ado ...

10 POWER PREMISE QUESTIONS

1. Will a kid like it? (Is it part of a kid's world - real or imaginary? Is it relatable?)
2. Is it a completely fresh idea OR a new twist on an evergreen topic?
3. Is it a story book or a concept book or something in between? (LIGHT UP THE NIGHT is something in between. It's a cumulative verse about earth, space and a kid's sense of place. Which brings me to my next question ...)
4. Can it be summarized in 1-2 sentences? (Try starting with "What happens when ...?" or by answering "What's the point?")
5. Does it have a commercial hook? (We're talking "high concept" or out of the ordinary. Does your premise take a risk? Not all picture books have a strong hook, but it's something I'm always aware of. One of my newer ideas recently jumped to the top of my "to-write" list largely because of its hook.)
6. Is it highly visual? (Can you imagine 14 + scenes coming from your story?)
7. Does it convey an emotional truth? (Chris Crutcher calls this that "head nod" moment. Does your premise have that?)
8. Has it been done before? (Did you research your premise in the market? How is yours different?)
9. Does the idea lend itself to fun, imaginative or innovative use of language?
10. Does it have a compelling title? (Yes, titles often change during the publication process, but why pass up your first opportunity to catch an editor's eye?)

By honestly running each of my ideas through this gauntlet of questions, I not only find the one idea that deserves my time and attention, but I clearly see red flags where my other ideas might be weak or need fleshing out. Then pointed in the right direction, I'm ready to take that giant step into writing a brand new picture book.

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Think about your favorite picture books. Lyrical text. Gorgeous or whimsical art. Endings that make you smile, sigh or shriek with delight. And something else – satisfaction. A satisfaction that makes you want to read them again and again and again. 
 
But a brilliant rhythm won't guarantee satisfaction. Nor will page after page of laugh-out-loud humor. And, as much as I revere illustrators, I doubt that even gallery-worthy, award-winning art alone would generate that "read it again, please" feeling ... without the story and its reader making an emotional connection.

As kidlit agent Ammi-Joan Paquette says:

"It’s not enough to have a wild and wacky premise. There also has to be some deeper core to the story that connects with readers on its most basic level. I’ve heard them described as the “universal child emotions” that need to be represented for the story to fully hit its mark.

Now, please note we’re not talking about morals or lessons or message here. What we are talking about is theme, subtly underlaid, weaving throughout the text and supplementing the story.

The list of universals is endless: love, friendship, overcoming fears, trying new things, getting along with others, sibling rivalry, leaving someone or something you love, sickness, loss. It’s as long as life itself, and honestly? The simpler the better."  -  (From Tara Lazar's "Writing for Kids While Raising Them" Blog at http://taralazar.com/tag/a-j-paquette/)

Simple and "subtly underlaid" – for writers, that's the hard part. Especially if your main characters are a little girl and a squash. Perhaps no one would understand the hard work better than my guest today, Pat Zeitlow Miller. 
 
Pat is the author of the highly acclaimed picture book – just released this week – Sophie's Squash.


This season-spanning turn with high-spirited Sophie offers endearing lessons about nurture and regeneration. – Kirkus

Miller’s easygoing storytelling taps into the familiar scenario of children making fierce attachments to favorite objects. – Publishers Weekly

Countless stories exist about girls’ exploits with their dolls or stuffed animals. Few, if any, feature healthy produce. But the tale of Sophie and Bernice is charming and even suspenseful as the title character reluctantly realizes that her squash will not last forever. – School Library Journal

This is a paean to love and friendship, which can come in all species, shapes, and sizes. -- Booklist
Today Pat stopped by to share with us her journey to creating the emotional connection – that made us love Sophie, love her squash and love their story. Welcome, Pat!

I have three things to say in response to Ammi-Joan Paquette's insightful quote:

1. I think she is absolutely, positively right. As she usually is.

2. The best picture books do have a universal truth. It’s that feeling or memory that tugs at your heart and doesn’t let go. The thing that makes you want to read them again and again and again.

3. And while the best universal truths are simple, incorporating them into your story can be tricky. It’s too easy to be sappy or corny or heavy-handed. Or to forget them altogether.

Here’s how things went down with Sophie’s Squash. I’d like to say that I was very thoughtful and, you know, literary, when I wrote the story. Or that I spent time wisely pondering how best to incorporate a universal childhood truth, but alas, I cannot.

Instead, things proceeded a little haphazardly. After all, it was early in my writing career. I don’t remember exactly, but the process went something like this:

My first draft was funny and sweet, but lacking a certain depth. Sophie met Bernice, became her best friend, and eventually, convinced her parents she needed even more squash as friends. It ended with a trip to the grocery store. Of course, I did not realize I was missing a universal truth at the time. I just knew I was getting rejections with the occasional “Cute, but not right for us” written in the margin.
 
Soon, I realized the story needed emotional weight. At least, that’s what I called it. So Sophie met Bernice and loved her and then was very sad when Bernice began to rot. It ended when Bernice expired and her seeds grew two new squash. The last line was something like, “Wait until the kids at story time see this!”
 
The breakthrough came when I focused more on the love that drove Sophie’s actions and less on the humor, although the story is still funny. I ended up with two universal truths. First, that everything is worthy of love – even something, like a squash, which others might not look at twice. (Think of the prince’s devotion to his rose in The Little Prince.) And, second, that the things we truly love often can return to us in unexpected ways. (Think of The Velveteen Rabbit or Charlotte’s Web.) The line in the book, which I used early on and then returned to again in the final ending, describes Bernice as “just the right size to love” which basically sums up the heart of the story.

My youngest daughter inspired the story by falling in love with a butternut squash of her own. She was also very devoted to a stuffed pig and a tattered blue blanket, and I used her dedication as a model for Sophie’s.

Even though I didn’t start out writing this story with my universal truths in mind, finding them helped the story be all it could be. Now that I’m smarter, I look at my stories in progress and ask:

· What feeling in this story could almost anyone relate to?
· What’s the main emotion this story is trying to convey?

Based on those answers, I sometimes create a list of words I refer to when I’m writing and stuck about where to go next. They help me remember my goal and make choices that support it. And I’m fairly certain they save me a lot of rewriting later on. 

I wouldn’t say I have many secret tactics as a writer, but those lists are probably one. If my list says “warmth, family, tradition, safety and love” I’m going to make different choices than if my list says “fear, anxiety, confusion and decisions.”

In the movie A Few Good Men, Jack Nicholson is famous for snarling, “You can’t handle the truth!” But if you want your picture book to succeed you need to know your truth and be able state it clearly.

Thanks for having me on your blog, Jean!
 
You can find out more about Pat, Sophie's Squash and her other upcoming books on her website at http://patzietlowmiller.com/
 
Here's a preview: 

SHARING THE BREAD – A lyrical celebration of food and family and togetherness as seen during one down-home Thanksgiving dinner. Jill McElmurry illustrates. (Schwartz & Wade, Fall 2015).

WHEREVER YOU GO – A poem about all the different paths you can take in life. Eliza Wheeler will illustrate. (Little Brown, Spring 2015).

THE QUICKEST KID IN CLARKSVILLE – The story of a little girl in 1960s Clarksville, Tennessee, who dreams of being the fastest girl in the world – just like her hero, sprinter Wilma Rudolph, who made history as the first woman from the United States to win three gold medals at one Olympics. (Chronicle Books. Release date TBD).

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Your story sings when your secondary character (SC) is on the scene. Your plot comes alive when your SC is around.Your readers beg to see more of your SC.

Uh oh!

SCs create conflict, throw out obstacles and cause trouble. Or they may offer loving support, friendship and wisdom. They poke at our main characters (MC) with snarky jabs or gentle advice and we LOVE them ... sometimes more than our main character. And when that happens, it's as annoying as a guest getting all the attention at YOUR birthday party.

So what do you do when an SC starts taking over your story? I'm looking for answers.  Here's what I've come up with so far.

1. Your MC may be too passive, simply reacting to everything happening around him. Unless passive behavior is his flaw, give him something proactive to do.

2. Your MC needs more voice. Hilarious first person narration can keep your MC center stage. But whether funny, sober, sassy, or something in between, your MC's distinctive voice should make readers stand to attention.

3. Your MC may not be "likeable" enough. What makes your MC relatable? Why do we want to spend time with him? The more relatable, sympathetic and likeable your MC, the more we'll stick with him.

4. Give your MC more. Make him funnier, smarter, kinder, wittier, more loyal, more loving, more sensitive - something - more than your SC

5. Finally, you may have to tone down your party guest. Just a little. And save some of that celebrity for your sequel. How do you think Ramona Quimby got her start?

Now it's your turn. How do you keep your secondary characters in their place?

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I'm enrolled in Katie Davis's Video Idiot Boot Camp. And while I haven't had time to dive into a larger project, I've had a little fun with some quick and easy tools introduced in her class.

Here's a little Animoto gem created in about 15 minutes for FREE.

For more information on Katie's fabulous online Video Idiot Boot Camp, check out
http://videoidiotbootcamp.com/

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So I'm revising a middle-grade manuscript and my critique group made some assumptions about my story based on my first chapter -- that were completely incorrect.

While the corrections seemed like easy fixes, I wanted to make sure I had indeed fixed the problems. However, my crit buddies were no longer fresh readers. They now had information from subsequent chapters and our discussions that would sway their perceptions. So even if they reread my pages I wouldn't REALLY know if I had fixed my opening chapter.

Enter my husband.

Now Mike isn't much of a fiction reader. And he rarely reads kidlit. But I figured with his fresh eyes, I could conduct a little experiment PLUS see if my fixes had indeed worked.

So I had him read my first chapter. I told him not to edit it or change it in any way or ask me any questions. But I did tell him that when he finished to immediately turn the manuscript face down.Then I asked him the following questions.

1. Who is the main character? What's his/her name? How old is he/she?

2. List 5 words that would describe the main character.

3. Now describe the main character in 3-5 sentences.

4. What is the time and place setting of the story? When was that absolutely clear?

5. Who are the most important secondary characters thus far? What are their names and ages?

6. For each secondary character named in 5 above, list 3 significant characteristics.

7. Does my main character have a problem yet? If so, what do you think it is?

8. Is there anything at all that's frustrating you in an annoying way rather than a "I want to read on to figure this out" sort of way?

Once we went through the questions, I compared Mike's answers to what I expected from my fresh reader. Did my expectations match his answers? Pretty much. But they left me with a little more work to do on setting.

Overall, it's a quick exercise. Bonus: It's pretty easy to ask anyone to do at any time. So after I make a few changes I'll put it out there again. And see if I can finally get a perfect match.

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... posted right here!

Congratulations to all!

And don't forget to explore all the ideas for some cabin-fever creativity!

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TOO PURPLEY! comes out in board book format on July 19th. It's purple. It's adorable. AND it's virtually indestructible. Now that's something to celebrate!

So in honor of its board book birthday I'm holding a

Sign up for a critique by entering your picture book WORKING TITLE in the comment section of this blog post anytime (midnight to midnight Mountain Time) on July 19th. Titles submitted before or after July 19th will not be considered.

I'll throw all titles into a hat and pick 1 for critique.

Keep in mind:
* Manuscripts must be 1000 words or less.

* I accept only fiction.

* Level of detail in the critique will vary based on my impression of the caliber of the writing.

* Please understand that I'm not an editor and will not be providing line-editing of your work. My critique will be comprised of suggestions for improving your manuscript. So please send me your most polished piece.

* The critique winner must e-mail me his/her manuscript as a Word attachment within 48 hours of the announcement . Manuscripts will be kept completely confidential. When I receive the manuscript, I'll let the author know when they can expect my critique.

* As with any art form, likes and dislikes are entirely subjective. Please understand that my critiques are only one reader's/writer's opinion. It's always wise to seek feedback from a few different readers. If my ideas resonate with you, they're yours to use. If you disagree, I encourage you to compare my comments with those of other readers. But in the end, it's your book. Stay true to your vision.


I look forward to reading your work.
Jean

P.S. And don't forget to check out the