Where do I start my story?

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Mission San Jose
Are you having trouble deciding where to start your story? As writers, we are told to have a good hook to entice our reader to want to pick up our book. We are told to start at the point where something happens. The blog Ingrid’s Notes, has a post dedicated to this topic – where to start. “Inciting incident” is mentioned. Ingrid writes in step 1 of 4 steps: Why is an inciting incident so important? It’s the kick off the game! It creates the initial energy of your project and starts the plot. Everyone is always waiting for that exciting moment when the game begins. If you wait too long, people might leave before the story even starts.
This post is worth looking into if you’re in doubt about where to start your story.

You might want to read Publisher’s Weekly article on Newbery-Medalist, (Tale of Despereaux) Kate DiCamillo, the next National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature.  

And here’s something cool on the thisiscolossalblog – visuals of paper books. You’ve got to take a look at these. Amazing!

Anthology – A collection of selected writings by various authors or gatherings of works by one author. — Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market.

Tracking Your Writing Time

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Are you like me? Trying to steal some time here and there to write? But sometimes we have the time but make up excuses and procrastinate because we dread sitting in front of the PC staring at a blank screen. I just finished reading the book, The Right to Write, by Julia Cameron, author of the million-seller book, The Artist’s Way. It’s an excellent, inspirational read for writers. About daily writing, she writes: “… writing is nonnegotiable. Writing is the art of motion. Progress, even if that progress is in baby steps, is what writing is about. Daily writing … is like keeping a pot of soup on the back of the stove… like soup, your daily writing doesn’t have to be fancy. A few simple ingredients are enough.”
 
Here’s a pretty good way to keep track of your writing time. A post on the blog, Ingrid’s Notes, suggests a writer create a writing timesheet (spreadsheet). She writes: “ … what if the year it took to write a novel only seems large because we worked on it in small pieces? What if we actually kept track of the time we spent on it?” For more on this topic and to see a sample of the worksheet, click here.  
 
If you have a manuscript ready for submission, you might want to visit the Children’s Book Council (CBC) for a list of publishers and addresses. Many do not accept unsolicited manuscripts, but some do. Best of luck!


“No matter how much formal education you’ve had, it’s best to read as many classics as possible and keep abreast of today’s popular reading especially in the area to which you hope to contribute.” — Writer’s Digest Weekly Planner

More Writing Tips & Illustrator Award

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I have more writing tips for you. These are from a Publishers Weekly post by Pulitzer Prize winner author Paul Harding (2010 Pulitzer for his novel Tinkers). He writes: “…But a huge part of being a writer is discovering your own intellectual and aesthetic autonomy, and how you best get the best words onto the page. …Outside of writing workshops and seminars, no one cares if you sit facing the blank page for six hours every day beginning at sunrise, or if you loaf around frittering away most days like a bum, or if you write your book one line at a time on the sly in between typing your boss’s business letters at the office. What’s important is that your reader holds a thrilling, amazing work of art in her hands.” Read the entire article here. 
 
And great news for our SCBWI-SWTX chapter here in San Antonio, Texas. One of our members, Illustrator Akiko White,just won the prestigious first prize in the Tomie dePaola 2014 Award. There were over 200 entries and Akiko White took the top prize. Congratulations, Akiko! We are proud of you.  
 
Roughs: Prelimiary sketches or drawings. — Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market
 

Writing Tips

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Whew! The holidays are over. Hope you enjoyed your family as much as I did mine. Now back to writing and all the possibilities that 2014 will bring. And to get you started, here is a post by Brian Klems on the Writer’s Digestblog listing “62 of the top writing articles from 2013 (that can help you in 2014).” Listed are articles on grammar, writing better fiction, writing better characters, query letters, freelance writing, inspiration for writers, publishing, and many, many more. Be sure to take a look at some of these. 
 
Already my schedule is filling up with school visits, author panels, and presentations. Plus SCBWI writers’ conferences and workshops in San Antonio, Austin, Houston, and Dallas, are just around the corner. But the most important thing is to focus and make time for writing.
 
I went through some of my notes from the 2013 summer SCBWI conference in Los Angeles. Here are some reminders. I wish you the best in 2014! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Write every single day.
Kill the committee (boogy man).
Writing is rewriting.
Less is more.
Short is good. (5-8 pages on first chapter)
Be vulnerable – willing to go there.
Go to PAIN.
Don’t think about your writing – JUST WRITE!
Have fun!

“Good writing is clear thinking made visible.” – Bill Wheeler

Writing Biographies

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Do you like to write biographies? In one of my critique groups, one of our writers writes biographies. The rest of us in the group are amazed at the amount of research she does for each book. Of course she doesn’t use the entire volume of research notes, but what she does use makes for a fascinating story.  
 
Here is a very brief discussion on writing biographies by Dr. Alma Bond, author and guest blogger on the Writer’s Digestblog. On her article, “How to Write a Biography: Writing from the Heart,” she writes: “As you do your research, select details to write about that you find particularly interesting. It is far more important to write in an engaging manner than to dwell upon historical dates and facts. Your readers will remember the former, and not the latter. That is not to say that research is not important.” 
 
And here’s another interesting post on the Concord Monitor blog. The article, “Like Strega Nona, Tomie dePaola’s stories endure,” children’s author and illustrator Tomie dePaola is interviewed in his studio amid the tools of his trade. You’ll enjoy the photos.
 
I’m taking a short break from my blog during the upcoming holidays. But here’s wishing you blessings during this holiday season. Happy Holidays!


“Nothing one ever experiences or feels is wasted.” – Lynne Reid Banks 

HI THERE!!

Christmas Cookie Exchange

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Today I baked twelve (yes – 12!) dozen cookies for our annual  Christmas Cookie Exchange Party. It’s a time when we gather together as family and enjoy conversation, music, and goodies. It’s a nice time to just relax and enjoy each other’s company. Here are pictures of the “before” and “after” of my cooking-baking day. My cookies are now ready to go in pretty Christmas bags. Yum. Yum. 

 
And here are some treats for you: A list of the “The 13 Best Children’s, Illustrated, and Picture Books of 2013” on the online Publishers Weekly from the source brainpickings.org.
 
Here’ an online guest blog interview with Nikki Grimes on the Teaching Books website.
 
For both writers and illustrators, here’s a video on the School Library Journal blog by Caldecott Honor author and illustrator Peter Brown on his creative process.

Happy Holidays!

Multicultural Books

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Latin@s in Kid Lit is a website listing multicultural books and much more. Their Mission/Vision:

·       engage with works about, for, and/or by Latin@s;

·       offer a broad forum on Latin@ children’s, MG, and YA books;

·       promote literacy and the love of books within the Latin@ community;

·       examine the historical and contemporary state of Latin@ characters;

·       encourage interest in Latin@ children’s, MG, and YA literature among non-Latin@ readers;

·       share perspectives and resources that can be of use to writers, authors, illustrators, librarians, parents, teachers, scholars, and other stakeholders in literacy and publishing.

Here’s an interesting interview by NPR on “How Cynthia Rylant Discovered The Poetry Of Storytelling.” The award-winning author talks about her life growing up in a West Virginia coal mining town and then she addresses the topic of writing and the creative process. 
 
SCHMOOZE
Yesterday the Southwest SCBWI chapter held its annual Holiday Schmooze. We all had a fun time, snacking and talking about books, what else? One of our members was kind enough to host the party at her lovely home. If you are a writer or an illustrator and haven’t yet joined the SCBWI in your area, you should. There are so many benefits to being part of this great organization. Find out what SCBWI can do for you.
 
 
Reprint rights: Permission to print an already published work whose first rights have been sold to another magazine or book publisher. — Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market

Conflict in Your Story

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Does your story have enough conflict to keep the tension up and the reader interested?
 
“Try stuff. See what happens. Let the justification come later. Just continue to think trouble, trouble, trouble. Make it worse. Turn up the heat. That’s conflict, your best friend as a writer.” That is what Brian Klems’ post on the Writer’s Digest blog, “5 Tools for Building Conflict in Your Novel,”addresses.
 
He assigns five tools to help the writer who is struggling with conflict in the story. They are: “The

New Mexico

Novel Journal, Questions to be Answered, Dreams, Ongoing Mystery, and Guy with a Gun.” You might want to read this article if your story is lacking conflict.

 
And here’s some awesome stuff. Reading nooks. Do you have a favorite reading nook? I do. A very comfortable armchair by the fireplace. What’s yours? Take a look at these creative reading nooks on the Book Riot blog. Like I said – awesome!


“Good writing is clear thinking made visible.” – Bill Wheeler

Picture Book Month

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Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving Day. I just returned from a trip to San Jose, California. Spent the Thanksgiving holiday there. Beautiful weather, lovely place.
 
Before the month of November is over, I’d like to share this post on the Picture Book Month blog. It’s about interviews with famous authors on the subject of why picture books are important. Make sure you read it if you’re into writing picture books or even if you’re not. The discussion is super interesting.
 
One of the interviewees, author April Pulley Sayer, writes: “A picture book is a delicious form. There’s just enough time for a journey, a concept, a bit of push and pull of language. A picture book can refresh you, teach you, comfort you, and help you set sail into real life with inspiration…” Visit the blog above for more.

Never try to chase trends. Write what you love, and write the best book you can, and worry about publication later. – Writer’s Digest Weekly Planner

Make Every Word Count

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Words have power. As writers, we know that. So when writing, we need to make sure we use our words wisely. On the Highights Foundation Workshop blog, Writers on the Move, Patti Lee Gauch, former editorial director at Philomel, posted  some rich details such as “ … to write with simplicity we must use concrete words; concrete nouns. Be specific. Use words wisely. Understand what particular means. Objects have great value, such as a woman wearing the same hat.”
 
And on the same post, Newbery award-winning author, Linda Sue Park, writes about “… analyzing each and every word. Every word has to work hard. A noun that appears in the first part of the book is not a force unless it is repeated at the end.” 
 
On the Publishers Weekly blog, this post, “Inside Stories About Memorable Books” is about interviews conducted with twenty prominent editors talking about their memory of a “personally meaningful children’s book project” they worked on. It’s an insightful read. 
 
Note: The Bookshelf Muse blog has moved to Writers Helping Writers.
 
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
 

F&Gs;: Folded and gathered sheets. An early, not-yet-bound copy of a picture book.—Children’s Writer’s & Illustrator’s Market