More Editor Contacts, School Visits

I’m working this week! Really. But it’s that boring part where you just park in front of the computer and don’t get up until the job is done. Nothing much inspirational in that. I’m just standing my ground and refusing to yield even an inch of it.
So, we turn to interesting [...]

5 Problems with Reading for Revision

OK, so I recommend re-reading a mss as a revision strategy. And I practice what I preach, believe me. So, this week, I’ve been re-reading my WIP novel and struggling. Here are the problems I encountered.
5 Problems with Reading for Revision

Sleepy. Yes, my novel kept putting me to sleep. [...]

Spring Inspiration

Several writing organizations are hyping writing this spring.

Poem in a Pocket: April 17 is designated as Poem in a Pocket day by Poets.org. They encourage you to carry around a poem to share, hand out reprints of poems, arrange poetry events at schools, etc. Lots of ideas and resources here, including places to [...]

Reading It Again

Reading is a basic revision strategy. Here’s what I look for as I re-read.
Revision Strategy for Novels: Re-Read
I’m about 2/3 of the way through the current novel revision and before I get deep into Act 3, I am stopping to re-read the whole mss in one sitting. I think this is important. [...]

You, Me and That Character

Some recent blog entries of interest:

Act Green: Be Responsible with those old ink cartridges, computers, batteries, etc.
From the Quilting world (My other passion!), this humorous look at a funeral procession for a snowman.
Editor Stacy Whitman has a long posting on the differences in self-publishing and trade publishing and why self-publishing is so difficult for fiction.
And [...]

2010 Newbery Winner

The winner of the 2010 Newbery has probably just gotten that amazing call. The editor says, “We love this story and want to publish it.” The winner of the 2010 Caldecott has probably just put the finishing touches on the art for that book.
Delayed Recognition
There is a time lag between the time we produce [...]

Give Kindergartners the World

Here’s a chance to connect with a kindergarten class: The kindergarten class at Richardson-Taylor Elementary school in Taylor, North Dakota has sent Oliver K. Woodman traveling across North Dakota to celebrate Reading Month.
Write to Kindergarteners
At their website, teachers, Mrs. Haas and Mrs. Zich will track Oliver’s travels and post pictures. They have provided [...]

Arkansas SCBWI Spring Conference

FSG and National Geographic editors to speak
Arkansas SCBWI Spring Conference, April 11-12
If you’re anywhere close, you won’t want to miss the Arkansas SCBWI Spring Conference.
Editors include Lisa Graff of FSG and Jennifer Emmett of National Geographic.

Revising Scenes

I’m back in the trenches here, revising scenes.
I’m looking at a single-spaced page of my current WIP. I’ve done the Scene Box Test only to find that there are four boxes on this single page. That means four scenes.
Yes, a scene can be accomplished in a single sentence or single paragraph, but I [...]

Friday Ideas 2008

Where do you find your ideas? Every author gets this question, but I’m one of the few who has a straightforward answer. Go to www.illustrationfriday.com.
Friday Ideas 2008
Last year, in the midst of lots of family struggles, I asked several people to join me in trying to come up with more original picturebook ideas. [...]