Writing Workshop

Well, I am back from doing school visits in the Rio Grande Valley. I conducted several writing workshops for the fourth and fifth graders and their enthusiasm was great. I was amazed at the stories they came up with and the fascinating titles.  They are aspiring authors.

I also attended the Region One ESC conference in South Padre Island where I met librarians from so many different districts. After I got back, I did a Storyfest here in San Antonio for children and adults during a literacy event.

I am proud to have been included in an analogy in a book titled, Latina Authors and Their Muses. Around forty Latina authors were interviewed for this book by author Mayra Calvani and published by Twilight Times Books. It is available in the Kindle Edition at Amazon.com and will be out in paperback in December 2015.

Some of my poetry was also published in  Art Heals Hearts, The Power of Expression, sponsored by The Ecumenical Center, in San Antonio, Texas. So you see, I have been quite busy. Now back to work!

School Visit

It’s that time of year again. School visits! My schedule is filling up fast. I like doing school visits because the students’ reactions to my books and writing process energize me. These students inspire me to keep on writing. This is what it’s all about for me. Literacy and reading for pleasure as well. Reading is fun!

Do you sometimes struggle with your writing whether it’s just getting the novel done or dealing with rejections? Here’s an interesting article by author Jenny Martin. She was interviewed on the Writer’s Digest blog, Guide to Literary Agents, by Chuck Sambuchino. The title of the article is “4 Pieces of Advice for Struggling Writers.” Martin lists the four: if you’re struggling to succeed (1) you’re in good company, (2) write the next book, (3) you need to get back up, and (4) you’ll be prepared when you DO succeed.

” I think [a good book] all starts with passion—a subject the author is passionate about exploring, whether it’s fiction or nonfiction.”  — James Cross Giblin

Dialogue!  Do you struggle writing dialogue in your stories like I do? Then I recommend an article written by the author of “Under a Painted Sky,” Stacey Lee.  In “The Word on Dialogue,” written on the Adventures in YA Publishing blog, Stacey Lee mentions the five tips of the importance of dialogue: (1) Give information via dialogue, (2) Cut dialogue tags where possible, (3) Give every character his/her own way of speaking, (4) Make every word count, and (5) Sound natural. Visit the above site for detailed information.

Here’s an excellent article on the online The Horn Book written by Stephen Savage. It is titled, “The People in My Neighborhood: One Author/Illustrator’s Rambles Around Brooklyn.” He writes about the “Rise and Fall (Again) of Brooklyn” and the people living there … The Old Guard, The Power Couples, The Writers’ Groups, and so on. He mentions that “… the last ten years has seen an explosion in the number of book artists settling in the borough.” Amazing article.

A “LIVING” WALL OF PLANTS IN LA

Platform: A writer’s professional affiliations, speaking experience, interview skills, web site, and other abilities which help form a following of potential buyers for that author’s book. – Writer’s Digest Weekly Planner

Just returned from the fabulous SCBWI-Los Angeles (Society of Children’s Book  Writers & Illustrators) conference held from July 31 to August 3, 2015 – inspired and ready to work! Met former friends and made new ones. Wonderful time! Here is the TEXAS “delegation.” Almost 1200 writers and illustrators attended the conference.

TEXAS attendees

The keynote speakers were awesome and the many workshops offered were really helpful. I bought quite a few books at the conference that I had to get them shipped because they didn’t fit in my suitcase. Now back to work on those manuscripts that need revising.

If you’re interested in writers’ conferences or book festivals, you might want to link to Chris Barton’s blog, Bartography, for the comprehensive list.

Mural

What a treat! Attended the awesome poetry venue two nights ago (packed house) at the beautifully restored Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center in San Antonio. The poet was none other than Richard Blanco, the poet who read his poem at President Obama’s second inauguration two years ago.

I recently attended a three-day poetry workshop and now am ready to resurrect those poems that I wrote a long time ago. I was encouraged by the instructor to put together a collection. That got me excited so I’m going back and revisiting my poems and revising where needed. They have been dormant too long. I don’t know where this will lead, but I like this challenge.

This summer I plan to attend writing workshops and conferences before I start doing school visits again. And, of course, I plan to read as much as I can and write daily as well.

Santa Fe

Here’s an interesting post on the Writer’s Digest blog where author/counselor Cherilynn Veland, is interviewed by The Writer’s Dig blogger, Brian Klems. The topic? “5 Writing Challenges All Writers Face (And How to Deal With Them).

Have a fun day writing!!

Galleys – The first fully designed (but usually unproofed)) version of a book that has been divided into pages. – Writer’s Digest Weekly Planner

The following is from an Institute of Children’s Literature newsletter, dated March 2015. Excellent information for children’s writers who wish to write anything from board books to young adult stories. Visit their website.

__Board books can be tough to sell. They have fewer pages than a picture book and need a simple story or concept. They are usually under 300 words — often far under.

__Picture books must offer at least 12 exciting illustration opportunities with fairly even division of the text. It’s rare to see a picture book published over 1000 words and most are under 500.

__Long Picture Books, between 1000 to 2000 words, are more common in nonfiction than fiction, but a very few publishers actually specialize in them so if you have a longer picture book, seek out those few publishing them. Don’t just send them to anyone who accepts picture books. You’ll be wasting your time and effort and help make response times even slower.

__Easy Reader Books use short sentences and simple (but not boring) plots and vocabularies. They can be very short (a hundred words or less), but can run up to 5000 words depending upon the reader level. The page count for the published book is usually longer than for a picture book. This type of book is actually rarely bought through submissions since most of the publishers of them either assign books or use packagers.

__ Early Chapter Books use simpler vocabulary than a novel and lots of short chapters. The ones for youngest readers use vignette-type chapters rather than cliff-hanger endings. The ones for more confident readers will be structured like a novel but with shorter, simpler plots. They often focus on family and school. Word counts vary considerably with as few as 5000 and as much as 25000 (but most have less than 15000.)

__Middle Grade Novels are again somewhat variable. Usually the story dictates the length but most run between 25000 and 50000 (though some genre can run quite a bit longer, especially fantasy).

__Young Adult Novels are often as long as adult novels, though shorter, simpler hi-lo novels are increasing in popularity. Word counts for young adult novels run on average between 43700 and 70000. Novels in the fantasy genre may run longer — sometimes over 100 thousand.

__Magazine Articles for children are usually short and lively. Nonfiction is tightly focused and looks for the story within the facts. Word counts are more commonly toward the lower end of this scale — Young children: 10 – 50 (toddlers), 100 – 800 (preschoolers) Grade School: 400 – 2,300 Teen: 750 – 2,000

Happy writing day!!

AUSTIN

Lead time: The time between the acquisition of a manuscript by an editor and its actual publication. – Writer’s Digest Weekly Planner

If you write for children, you must visit the Rachelle Burk’s Resources for Children’s Writers blog. It is on the Writer’s Digest 101 Best Websites list for writers. Ms. Burk has helpful writing tips on the following: Improve your Writing, Get Published, Find an Agent, Join a Critique Group, Network. Wow! And the list goes on. She provides links to other articles that are very helpful to writers, whether you are just starting or are already an accomplished writer. This blog is extremely helpful for writers.

Serenity

Be sure to enter the latest Institute of Children’s Literature Early Reader Mystery writing contest. The deadline is July 18 so get that submission in soon. You can do it! I entered one of their contests last year and WON the Grand Prize!! See? So get to work. Visit the above link for the submission guidelines.

“You have to write your way to [your unique] voice, write past all the other writers you’ve read, absorbed, and loved. Write so much that you get them out of your system. Though there will be traces of them there. And once you’ve gotten past them, these silent teachers who inspired you, you may start to find your own true voice. — Bruce Coville (quote on ICL newsletter, June 2015)

You know what’s nice about keeping a journal? You can go back and reminisce. Here’s an excerpt from the journal I kept while traveling in Italy a while back.

Florence, Italy. The architecture of the buildings here is unbelievable. The streets are narrow – so narrow in some places that upon our arrival in Florence, the chartered bus could not maneuver its way through the street leading to our hotel. We all got off the bus several blocks away and pulled our luggage through the streets of Florence to our hotel. It was hilarious. A group of thirty-three people lugging their suitcases on the cobbled streets of Florence. We were quite a sight!

Florence

The hotel was a four-star one and elegant. We had a three-course dinner in the dining room where silver and china sparkled on the white-clothed tables. Of course, there was wine. Dessert was scrumptious. Some awesome pastry with strawberries and cream. My room had a balcony, although it was just for show. All night long until the wee hours of the morning, the streets below were filled with people talking and laughing as they walked by.

Florence

After breakfast the next day, we walked several blocks to a magnificent cathedral (one of many) where we celebrated Mass. It was raining and we tried to avoid puddles of water on the worn cobbled streets. We must have looked like little ducks waddling in line to some destination. Parts of the church were under renovation so we made our way through some scaffolding on the outside and inside. Some fading frescoes are still on the walls of the church. The pews and kneelers, of course, are not padded.

Later that afternoon, we visited a monastery along with hundreds of other tourists. It was cold, windy and rainy. I am glad I brought that woolen black shawl that makes me look like an old lady but shields me from the cold. Lucky for me that I brought my umbrella as well. Chinese girls (vendors) were all over the streets of Florence. They were selling silk scarves, some made in Rome, I guess because the word “Roma” was etched across the scarves. I wondered where these mostly young Chinese girls with the porcelain complexions lived in Florence. They looped the scarves over their arms, covering them with clear plastic to protect them from the rain. Dressed in loose silk pants and colorful quilted jackets, they looked like dolls. Mostly girls, but I did see some young Chinese men hawking umbrellas.

After dinner, we walked through St. Mark’s Square. It looked eerie at night, the giant statues of David, Hercules, Neptune and others looming over us as we walked by. Earlier that day, we had lunch in one of the cafeterias lining the square. We paid for everything in Euros.

Until next time, have a great writing day!

Do you have trouble coming up with words to describe emotion from your character? I know I do. On the blog, Writers Helping Writers, there’s a brief post on Showing Emotion: Moving Beyond The Face. The article by Angela Ackman poses the question: “The face is the first thing we notice in real life, and the focal point during any conversation. We connect to a person’s gaze, paying attention to how their eyes widen, squint, focus inward or dart. We also watch their mouth, noting lip presses, teeth flashes, frowns, smiles and pursed lips. Eyebrow lifts, the forehead crinkling and relaxing…each facial micro movement is a message, a clue to what the person is thinking and feeling. So if we focus on face-reading in real life, should we then center description on it when trying to convey our character’s emotion?”

Read on to find out.

I am currently attending a three-day poetry workshop, which I am really enjoying. I’m hoping to go back and revisit a collection of poems I’ve written over the years but haven’t really done anything with them. Sometimes we need to get out of our comfort zone and try something new. Wish me luck!

“One glance at a book and you hear the voice of another person, perhaps someone dead for 1,000 years.” To read is to voyage through time.” ~ Carl Sagan