Summer time is inevitably full of stops and starts in our writing. There are vacations, the pull of a sunny day, kids’ activities and much more. For me, I’m teaching several professional development classes this summer; local teachers must attend 60 hours of PD/year and often focus on this requirement during the summer. Great work for me, but more starts and stops. (In fact, I have 3 professional development classes scheduled for next week, so I may be scarce.)

Here are some strategies I try during the summer.

Think. Well, just because I’m outside at the lake doesn’t mean I can’t be thinking, daydreaming about my characters. While I’m driving to a PD class, I can do the same. Often, I’m considering details: should this character love red sports cars or black SUVs? Or, I’m just carrying on a conversation with the character about what I’m seeing or doing. That way, I get to know their inner workings.

Netbook. When I have to spend the night somewhere, I always take my netbook and try to work an hour before sleep. I love my netbook. If you’re looking for one, the June 2010 issue of Consumer Reports has a comparison of netbooks and laptops.

Scribble. I also love the Moleskin pocket notebooks to carry about to scribble notes in. Sometimes, I write a scene, other times, just make lists. It’s a simple tool, pencil and paper, but it works. Portable, easy.

What are your summer time challenges? And how do you deal with them?

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Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

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I’m going today to a high school English class and writing class to talk about my writing process. It may not come up, but I’ve been thinking about what advice I would give a teen about becoming a fiction writer.

Advice on Becoming a Fiction Writer

Essentials

First, be a reader. Read widely. Read everything you can get your hands on, regardless of genre. Put words, phrases, language into your head, banking it for the day you need it. Be voracious. Gulp down stories. Mystery, historical, sff, contemporary – genre almost doesn’t matter. In high school, I read a Harlequin romance a day. Trash reading, yes, but reading. And in between, I read everything else I could. Read.

Photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/danamarie593/3153514213/

Love story. Besides reading, learn to love storytelling and story. Learn the elements of story, enjoy stories, tell stories, listen to stories, write stories. Stories, they are the stuff of books.

Love language. Get the dictionary habit and don’t ever stop looking up words. Revel is an apt word or phrase. Read aloud whenever you can, so you develop an ear for a story well told.

Pencil and Paper. Buy a good pencil and a stack of paper and start writing.

Optional

Well, anything else is optional. However, I think these things are helpful, if you have the inclination, opportunity, funds, etc.

Computer skills. Today, almost everything in publishing is done on computer and the more comfortable you are with computers, the better. Word processing, those awful Adobe programs, video-editing, etc. Learn as much as you can.

Web skills. Likewise, any skills you can develop for the internet will help. Learn to do blogs, webpages, social media, upload pictures, upload videos, etc. Anything you can do will give you a way to boost marketing.

Accounting, marketing and basic business classes. Fiction writers are generally self-employed, so I’d recommend any business classes which will help you track income, market yourself and your work, negotiate contracts, etc.

Career-based training. Everyone has to eat. A job is a good thing, especially in the early years of your career. Get trained as a doctor (Michael Creighton), a lawyer (John Grisham), or a gemologist. Avoid teaching, because grading papers bleeds away your time to write.

Public speaking. Many writers earn a large portion of their income from public speaking. Take as many classes as you need to become comfortable in front of people.

OK, what skills or passions did I leave out? What else would you advise a teen who wants to be a successful fiction writer?

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

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by Joelle Anthony

The guest post today is by Joelle Anthony, whose first novel will debut in Summer, 2010: Restoring Harmony (Putnam)

It’s always sad to me when a writer tells me that they really need to finish their novel so they can get an agent because they’ve been at this for a couple of years and they “need to be making some money soon.” My answer is to tell them they should get a job. Not because you can’t make money selling books, you can, but because the time it takes will undoubtedly be longer than you think.

The Short Sixteen Years to Becoming a Published Author

Here is a timeline of how the last sixteen years have gone for me. And I hope that you will take this as encouragement and that it will instill in you the belief that IT WILL HAPPEN because I do believe this. I admit it, I am a naturally upbeat person and quite frankly, every time I got a rejection, I was surprised because I was sure “this was it” but it usually wasn’t. Unlike a lot of people, this didn’t bother me very much. I suppose you could read my timeline and want to throw in the towel, but I hope you will see it for what it is…a long process that will pay off in the end if you stay after it.

I began writing sixteen years ago, and about four years ago, an editor at FSG took an interest in one of my manuscripts. Eventually we met, and over tea, she told me she thought I should start looking seriously for an agent, and so I did. I consider that the moment I really “turned professional” even though prior to that, I definitely considered myself a pro.

• Agents queried: 40+
• Requests for partials/fulls: 10 or so
• Agent offers: 3
• Time from first agent query: 15 months
• What happened: Chose an agent, signed with her, didn’t work out.
• Left after 7 months.
• Time it took to find a new agent: 3 months (2 offers)
• Time from signing with new agent until book went out on submission (revision required): 4 months
• Time from signing with my agent until my book Restoring Harmony sold: 6 months
• Time between acquisition and publication: Just under two years (acquired Fall 2008, will come out Summer 2010)

Novel Contracts: Talking Money

For those of you wondering about money, I will say this. I received the first half of my advance a few months after they offered, and I’ll get my second half when we’re finished editing (which is soon, but not yet). So you can see that if I had said to myself, “Oh, boy! I’ve got an agent…things are going to happen now!” I would’ve been right, but they happen at the glacial speed of publishing.

7 Ways to Keep the Publication Dream Alive

Now, there are a few more things I want to share about the process. These are the things I did over the last four years that I believe made the difference between not even having an agent and now having a book coming out.

• I kept writing. – My debut novel is a novel I wrote DURING all the agent searches. I hadn’t even thought of it when I started querying. I also wrote two other novels during these years, and have begun a third. Writing is the most important thing.
• I kept querying. – I always had at least 5 queries out, usually 10, no matter how “interested” an agent claimed to be and I turned down a request for an exclusive from a very ‘top dog’ agent because I would’ve had to withdraw it from other agents, and I wasn’t willing to do that.
• I wrote articles. – I wrote articles for SCBWI about the things I learned looking for an agent. Also, I wrote articles about writing and reading.
• I kept reading. – I read over 150 novels in my preferred genre per year for 3 years (now I read about 100 and I mix it up a little with adult and nonfiction)
• I set up a website. – I hired a pro to put up a website 2 years ago and I blog regularly. This has made me a lot of friends, contacts, and given me some exposure. When I posted on there that I had sold my book, I received more than 75 congratulations emails, about 60% from people I’d never heard of who read my blog.
• I participated in the community of writers. – I left a lot of comments on other people’s blogs (not so much anymore) but people know my name now.
• I studied. – I think that this and reading are the two factors that really made the difference. I continued to study the craft of writing. I read articles, I read books on writing. I tried exercises. And most importantly, I took Darcy Pattison’s Novel Revision workshop (which I can’t recommend highly enough!!!). If you can’t take her workshop, buy her book, Novel Metamorphosis: Uncommon Ways to Revise.

It’s a long, slow process to publication and people with a book coming out every year make it look like it moves fast, but it really doesn’t. There were 5 months between the time my editor took on my book and we even STARTED the editorial process. Yeah…5 months. But do you know what? I wrote other things during all that time and by the time we began, I was a better writer than when she bought the book. Stay after it, but most importantly, know that you can’t rush it, so enjoy it. Read, have a life, love what you do…

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Craft Challenges for the Writing Life

Whatever you write – novels, poetry, picture books, nonfiction – it’s important to keep your craft growing and improving. I take this seriously and find ways to challenge myself.

One way has been the Friday Ideas group, which has kept me searching for viable picture book ideas.

This year, I’m taking the Sky Challenge.

(click to enlarge)

When I went to New York City for the SCBWI Mid-Winter conference, one day, I visited the JP Morgan Library, where they had an exhibit of landscape paintings. One was a painting of sky by John Constable. The label beside it said that Constable had spent a year studying sky and clouds, so he could improve his landscapes.

So, I decided to take Constable’s Sky Challenge and write something about the sky every day. Study the sky, find ways to describe it, without repeating or being boring. After a month, here are some things I’ve learned.

• It’s fun. Focusing my attention on something like the sky has been fun. It is, of course, always changing, so there’s always something to notice, a habit that writers should always cultivate.
• It’s challenging. OK, how many ways can you write blue? Or grey clouds? I’m finding that the verbs are very important; but that comes with challenges, too, because how many times can you write that the wind sculpted the clouds? The wind becomes a major character in this challenge and it’s hard to find another agent of action. Hard, but I’m finding hints here and there.
• I’m better at metaphors than I thought. I don’t use many metaphors in my writing, but I’m finding that I watch the sky, then mull over what I’ve seen and try to think of some fresh way to describe it. Again, how many times can you write that yellow light spread over the grey clouds?
• Examples:
  Torn clouds blew across the wind-chapped face of the sky.
  Someone had poured melted butter over the grey clouds.
  Wisps of clouds were frayed by the last sigh of winter giving way to spring.

Join me! Take the sky challenge. Even if you only do it for a month, instead of a year! I think it will help me to portray how weather affects a character in a story.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Creative writing tips, courtesy of the season:

• Peppermints! When you add sensory details to a story, the most common is visual details. The two most neglected are olfactory (smell) and gustatory (taste). Flavors of the season are peppermint, cinnamon and cloves.
• Gifts! Give your character something to hold in his/her hands. It’s one of the easiest and best ways to characterize someone, while providing you, the writer, with great verbs. Put an iron skillet in Grandma’s hands and watch her rustle up a meal for the 30-odd relatives coming by tomorrow.
• Trees! The setting of a story can add to the mood, if you choose the right details. A pathetic, sad tree is aluminum, thin, sparse, leaning. A cheerful tree is straight, full, soft fir needles, well-lit, glowing, radiant. Be precise in the details you use and you’ll evoke a mood to support (or contrast) with your character’s inner life.
• Worship! Just as the Wise Men, shepherds and angels worshiped the birth of the Christ, so we should remember to keep life in perspective. Writing is fun and consuming, but there’s more to life than just writing. Take time off to enjoy your family, attend a madrigal feast (I’m going Thursday night!), go caroling with friends, and ponder the Deep Magic of this special child.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

For the last few years, I’ve posted writing tips from Winter Holiday personalities. For example, Frosty the Snowman has 6 Top Writing Tips. This year, as our Christmas gift to you, we’ve collected these into one downloadable pdf.

Winter Writing with Kids

FREE download. 34 Writing Skills addressed. Celebrate the Season while Teaching Kids to Write.

DOWNLOAD NOW from the FICTION NOTES STORE

Two years ago, I got an email from the North Pole! Wow! It had Santa’s Top 5 Writing Tips and the next day, I got an email with Rudolph’s Top 5 Writing Tips. I’m still in contact with the North Pole and this is the 2008 Writing Tips, this time courtesy of the classic carol, The 12 Days of Christmas. Enjoy!

Previous Holiday Writing Tips

Frosty the Snowman’s Top 6 Writing Tips
Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer’s Top 5 Writing Tips
Santa Claus’s Top 5 Writing Tips
The Gingerbread Man’s Top 5 Writing Tips
12 Days of Christmas Writing Tips

The Twelve Days of Christmas Writing Tips

Writing tips for this song are all about structure and language.

1. On the first day of Christmas,
   my true love sent to me
   A partridge in a pear tree.

   Play with alliteration, the repetition of initial sounds such as the p in partridge and pear.

2. On the second day of Christmas,
   my true love sent to me
   Two turtle doves,
   And a partridge in a pear tree.

   This stanza is very important because it sets up the pattern: we now know that this is a cumulative story, a story that adds a line each time and repeats all the other lines. Some cumulative stories keep going and take off a line each time. Study other cumulative stories, then try writing one.

3. On the third day of Christmas,
   my true love sent to me
   Three French hens,
   Two turtle doves,
   And a partridge in a pear tree.

   Good writing is about communicating. This video shows how a different audience might interpret this story. Why do those sea turtles have wings? Five gold rings are onion rings? And why are those ten lords sky-diving? Word choice does matter. And always keep in mind your audience and their point of view.
   

4. On the fourth day of Christmas,
   my true love sent to me
   Four calling birds,
   Three French hens,
   Two turtle doves,
   And a partridge in a pear tree.

   Parodies of this song are popular — as in this Geek’s version from TeacherTube. Study parodies and write one of your own.
   

5. On the fifth day of Christmas,
   my true love sent to me
   Five golden rings,
   Four calling birds,
   Three French hens,
   Two turtle doves,
   And a partridge in a pear tree.

   You gotta LOVE Miss Piggy singing 5 golden rings. When you do a long story, try to find places where the language can slow down the rhythm. Here, it also becomes a place where the singers can ham it up a bit. (Get it?)

6. On the sixth day of Christmas,
   my true love sent to me
   Six geese a-laying,
   Five golden rings,
   Four calling birds,
   Three French hens,
   Two turtle doves,
   And a partridge in a pear tree.

   Variety within a pattern is established here. We’re still adding a line each time, but now the verb at the end becomes important. For longer pieces like this be sure to add variety to keep the interest.

7. On the seventh day of Christmas,
   my true love sent to me
   Seven swans a-swimming,
   Six geese a-laying,
   Five golden rings,
   Four calling birds,
   Three French hens,
   Two turtle doves,
   And a partridge in a pear tree.

   Numbers are often important to picturebooks, classic songs and our culture. For example, there are three little pigs and seven dwarves. Part of this fascination with numbers is cultural. In the Navajo culture, four is important: the four cardinal directions and the four sides of a hogan. Three and seven repetitions are generally in northern European stories. Nine is three-threes and twelve is four-threes (or three-fours). Watch for repetitions in stories and notice how many times something repeats. Try retelling stories with a different number of repeats and notice what it does for the story.

8. On the eighth day of Christmas,
   my true love sent to me
   Eight maids a-milking,
   Seven swans a-swimming,
   Six geese a-laying,
   Five golden rings,
   Four calling birds,
   Three French hens,
   Two turtle doves,
   And a partridge in a pear tree.

   Here’s the Straight No Chaser men’s accapella choir. By the time they get to the 8th day, things get very complicated — and wonderful. Don’t be afraid to play and have fun with language.

9. On the ninth day of Christmas,
   my true love sent to me
   Nine ladies dancing,
   Eight maids a-milking,
   Seven swans a-swimming,
   Six geese a-laying,
   Five golden rings,
   Four calling birds,
   Three French hens,
   Two turtle doves,
   And a partridge in a pear tree.

   Wikipedia has a great introduction to the history of this song. This article includes the lyrics, the music and links to parodies.

10. On the tenth day of Christmas,
    my true love sent to me
    Ten lords a-leaping,
    Nine ladies dancing,
    Eight maids a-milking,
    Seven swans a-swimming,
    Six geese a-laying,
    Five golden rings,
    Four calling birds,
    Three French hens,
    Two turtle doves,
    And a partridge in a pear tree.

    And yet another parody, this one from a Science Class in Australia.
    

11. On the eleventh day of Christmas,
    my true love sent to me
    Eleven pipers piping,
    Ten lords a-leaping,
    Nine ladies dancing,
    Eight maids a-milking,
    Seven swans a-swimming,
    Six geese a-laying,
    Five golden rings,
    Four calling birds,
    Three French hens,
    Two turtle doves,
    And a partridge in a pear tree.

    Take a deep breath — and finish what you started. Don’t give up before you finish a writing project. See it through to the end.

12. On the twelfth day of Christmas,
    my true love sent to me
    Twelve drummers drumming,
    Eleven pipers piping,
    Ten lords a-leaping,
    Nine ladies dancing,
    Eight maids a-milking,
    Seven swans a-swimming,
    Six geese a-laying,
    Five golden rings,
    Four calling birds,
    Three French hens,
    Two turtle doves,
    And a partridge in a pear tree!

    And you just have to end with Burl Ive’s version with its lush illustrations.
    

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

For the next four or five days, I won’t write. I won’t look at a novel manuscript or a picture book manuscript or even think the word, “Revise.”

Just Breathe

“How important it is to take the time to read literature, to look at art, to go to concerts. If all parts of your brain aren’t nourished, you become really limited — less sensitive. It’s like food. You’d get pretty strange if you at ice cream all the time.” — Kent Nagano, orchestra conductor.

I plan to shop for groceries, cook, ride bikes, visit the art center, cheer for a Razorback football game (Arkansas v. LSU), and talk and talk and talk to friends and family.

And re-read my two favorite children’s books about Thanksgiving:

Happy Thanksgiving!
See you on Monday!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Yesterday’s news was sad: PW has learned that Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has asked its editors to stop buying books.

NOTE: News has filtered down that the buying freeze applies to adult imprints, not the children’s imprints.

How Can Writers Survive in Slow Times

In light of our sluggish economy, how can writers still pay bills — make money? Of course, I’d like to become Famous Editor’s new best friend, sell five mss by January 1, receive calls asking me to write a great book on a fascinating topic (for a great advance), and so on. Not likely.

Instead, I will read Art and Fear yet again, and try these three ideas.

• Write Better. Emily van Beek, Kathi Appelt’s agent, said Appelt revised The Underneath eight times.

  Help is readily available. For example, my workbook on revision, Novel Metamorphosis, helps you diagnose problems, plan a revision in 8 strategic areas, and gives you tools to accomplish those revisions.

  Or take online classes, sign up for that MFA program you’ve been wanting to try, or give yourself an assignment to seek out information and learn learn new writing skills.

• Diversify. Look around for other writing opportunities such as writing newsletters and magazines: consider children’s magazines, parenting magazines, adult magazines. Publicize your public speaking to schools or organizations. Teach online, at a local community center, local university, or in your neighborhood.

  To find school visits, find resources such as Authors and Illustrators Who Visit Schools, and evaluate which meets your needs best.

  If you write fiction, try nonfiction. If you write nonfiction, look for new markets. Try writing a movie script.

• Maximize Your Writing Time. If you have to spend more time making money, consider maximizing your time for your own fiction/nonfiction by using things like Nanowrimo to keep you motivated to produce a lot in a short amount of time. Also check out their NanoFinMo (Finish Month) and other variations.
  (Of course, be sure to morph your fast writing into great writing with Novel Metamorphosis!)

Times are sluggish, but not desperate. I’m optimistic that books will be popular as Christmas gifts. I’m optimistic that the economy will turn around soon.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

I am almost sad and depressed today. Why? Because I’m looking at the wrong things. Writers of picture books or novels must remember to pay attention to their work, not the audience’s appraisal of their work.

The Audience is Always Late

The audience is always late to the party. When I sold The Journey of Oliver K. Woodman, it was three years before a reviewer ever saw the book. It received starred reviews from Kirkus and BCCB. It was an Irma S. and James H. Black Picture Book Award Honor Book. In fact, I have a file that lists the awards this book won. And it will be released in paperback in February!

In reality, when I sold the book in 2000, I was an “Award-Winning Author.” It’s just that no one knew it until 2003, when they saw the book.

The audience appreciation is always way later than the creative process.

Pay Attention to the Creative Process

On days like today, when I have a tendency to look at reviews, royalties, agents, awards, sales, speaking engagements, or any other outward measure of success, I have to pull myself back. They only speak about yesterday’s projects, not today’s.

The only thing that matters TODAY is the current project. And the writing went really well yesterday on my WIP, as I finally started figuring out the tricky POV. The writing is going well! And that is reason enough to throw off the stirrings of depression and rejoice. The writing went well yesterday and it will go well today. Rejoice.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

For fun, I put up a poll on Friday (and finally configured it correctly): how do you refer to yourself?

Here’s the result.

How Do You Refer to Yourself?

With 19 people voting, the results are clear:
10/17 – 53% Writer
4/17 – 21% Novelist
4/17 – 21% Author
1/17 – 5% Picturebook author
0/17 – 0% Wordsmith or other

The majority refer to themselves as writers.
It would be equally interesting to do a poll of readers and see how they refer to those to tell the stories in books. I wonder if the two opinions would match up? Any librarians around who want to run a complimentary poll?

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win