Rude Awakening

July 29, 2009

Oh, I got a taste of what editors and agents must suffer every day.
Without divulging too many details of the actual event: here’s the scene. I contacted a publisher to see if I could book the publisher’s authors and/or illustrators at a well-known, respected venue. While we rarely pay for speakers, we do market the [...]

Read the full article →

Energy and Transformation

July 6, 2009

I’ve taken a hiatus from working with a fantastic art teacher because I’ve realized that I need a lot of practice to implement someone else’s teaching – as if my hands and body have to catch up with what my brain wants to do. I’m also realizing the importance of focus and why it can [...]

Read the full article →

Finding an Illustrator is Like Falling in Love

May 1, 2009

Well, maybe falling in love is pushing it. But I adore the thrill of finding someone’s visual voice that truly resonates with me. My new crush is British illustrator Wayne Anderson. First of all, he often works in colored pencil, which is not an easy illustration media in many respects, but it gives lovely textures. [...]

Read the full article →

When the Back Story is the Story

April 20, 2009

I’ve spent the last few weeks reorganizing my novel. My first chapter is now in the middle, and yet I just realized this morning that I need a new beginning chapter (my book seems to be “growing” at the beginning, not the end). I’ve decided that a paragraph–a big one–of back story is a big [...]

Read the full article →

Dear God, She’s Going to Make a Map

March 23, 2009

I admit it. Outlines make me sad. When I think of outlining my novel, something in me shrivels. So, I’m going to make a map. Doesn’t that sound like more fun? I’ve written “organically” enough to know that I can only get so far with that approach, and then I get stuck. The plot is [...]

Read the full article →

Pet Peeve: A Post

February 9, 2009

What’s the deal with book jackets showing the title followed by “A Novel”? It’s likely that I’m standing in near the fiction shelves of either the library or a book store, which would give a clue to the book’s identity. I am, one hopes, clever enough to look at the book and discern from the [...]

Read the full article →

The Artifice in Art

January 24, 2009

There’s a silly swirl of arguments floating in the Internet ethers right now. For a few links and summary, see this Publishers Weekly blog. As best I can determine, the crux of the discussion is that writers should not tackle subjects outside their personal culture, race, or gender because they are not qualified to do [...]

Read the full article →

Writing Tip of the Week: take a walk, take a nap, or daydream…and make lots of backups

January 23, 2009

I like to write in the morning, and just before bed, in order to stir up the voices of various characters. Characters often “speak” to me during the day or in dreams (which I like the most), but a good walk around the block can do wonders.
Try writing for about an hour, then take a [...]

Read the full article →

Creating Well-Rounded Characters

January 22, 2009

Full disclosure: I was given this tip at a conference and can’t recall who gave it to me (I think it may have been cadged from someone else’s notes. It’s not my idea, but it’s become super-handy).
I keep running notes on my characters as I write my novel, and the structure of the notes is [...]

Read the full article →

Late Bloomers

January 14, 2009

I’ve seen some theories floating around about what it takes to master a skill (the book Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell) and also why some talented people are prodigies, and others are late bloomers.
A few years ago, an economist at the University of Chicago named David Galenson decided to find out whether this assumption about creativity was [...]

Read the full article →

Kate DiCamillo: Inspiring Advice for Any Artist

January 11, 2009

I attended Kate DiCamillo’s presentation at the Kansas City Public Library this past Friday. She’s petite, has a wry sense of humor, and knocked my writerly socks off.
1. Her first book was rejected over 470 times and took six years to reach a willing publisher.
2. She writes two pages a day, a habit that she [...]

Read the full article →

Updated Illustrator Favorites

December 28, 2008

As a Christmas present to myself, I visited Kansas City’s local children’s bookstore, The Reading Reptile, and loaded up on new books with great illustrations.
Top of the pile: Franny’s Friends by Swedish artist Catarina Kruusaval. Her style is straightforward, but the characters feel developed and there’s a lot of movement in her simple lines. The [...]

Read the full article →

Illustrators to admire

December 10, 2008

I admit it. I’m picky when it comes to illustrators. I am unhappy with a lot of the U.S. styles right now–if I see one more picture book end in a hug, or going to bed, I may not be responsible for my actions. I’m all for happy endings, but I have to beg: stop [...]

Read the full article →

Raise your hand if you’re a British orphan

March 26, 2008

OK, just for my own edification. How many main characters in children’s books have dead or missing parents? It used to just be a missing mother and an evil stepmother, probably a common problem when many women died in childbirth. But these days, why so many kid-characters with absent moms and dads? (And not necessarily [...]

Read the full article →

When to Disregard Good Advice

March 17, 2008

I’m at a fork in the road with the novel. My main character lasted 90 pages, then seemed to drift away on a spiritual dream quest of some sort that bored even me. Not a good sign.
I kept seeing the plot as braided or plied threads, with four characters having a chapter with his or [...]

Read the full article →

Novel-Writing Woes

February 21, 2008

Well, woes might be overstating it, but it sounds more dramatic than “struggles.” I’ve been looking back at my drafts over the last two years and wondering what I’ve done right and wrong.

Lesson #1: Don’t critique too soon
This mistake cost me a lot of time. I was insecure both as a writer and with the [...]

Read the full article →

Critique Groups: the Dance of Failure

January 21, 2008

I tried my hand at my first short story for kids. Really short, 800 words. Highlights is having a contest, so, I figured, why not?
Yikes.
I knew my main character needed to have an epiphany, a shift in heart or head. Check. The setting had to be in the future. Check. I needed it [...]

Read the full article →

Crime in the Animal Kingdom

January 7, 2008

Is it possible for an animal to commit murder?
We eat the flesh of other creatures, like other carnivores. Most of us allow that killing in self-defense is justified, or in war. But we draw the line at murder, which my dictionary defines as:
murder |ˈmərdər| nounthe unlawful premeditated killing of one human being by another
Elephants as [...]

Read the full article →

First Fiction Publication

October 20, 2007

About four months ago, I wrote a mystery short story just for fun. I had a great time writing it because the main character was so despicable and lost (guilty pleasures, I know). I looked for good mystery magazines and liked both Ellery Queen and Alfred Hitchcock. I saw a variety of writing, types of [...]

Read the full article →

Illustrators to Watch

October 8, 2007

It’s amazing how much talent is out there…and how hard it can be to stumble upon. Are you looking for illustration inspiration? Consider this work when you’re looking for your next bolt from the blue.
I can’t say why many of these books are rare in the U.S., and why many are not translated into English. [...]

Read the full article →

What Keeps Artists from Improving

September 16, 2007

I’ve been chewing on this observation for years. Time to let the tabby out of the sack, as it were.
In many critique groups and conferences over the years, I’ve watched people get defensive and argue about their drafts, their desires for their books (choosing the illustrator, being the audio book narrator, etc.). They get mad [...]

Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →