It's National Writing Month!

Starting Nov. 1^st, it’s National Writing Month. This is when writers around the globe write furiously for one month with the goal to reach 50,000 words. It’s not an easy task and it’s not for everyone. But there is no doubt that NaNoWriMo encourages writing and bonding among writers.

If you are a writer, you can sign up for NaNoWriMo here. You can keep track of your daily word counts on their site, buddy up with other writers, join forums to get encouragement and help when you’re stuck. There are even threads on suggested music to listen to as you write.

If you’re a student or a teacher, check out NaNoWriMo for young writers here. There are tips on how to bring NaNo into the classroom and getting student’s work published here.

I’m going to be attempting NaNoWriMo myself. I’m a little terrified, but mostly excited to tackle a new project. I’ll be videoing my experiences throughout the month, including how I deal with each part of the process as I come to it.

Here’s my first video for you to check out!

Christina Farley's debut YA, GILDED, releases March 1, 2014 by Skyscape/ Amazon Children's Publishing. She is represented by Jeff Ourvan of the Jennifer Lyons Literary Agency, LLC. She blogs and vlogs about writing and traveling, and is often found procrastinating on Twitter
 

Summary and a few takeaways from SCBWI Canada East "The Art Of Story" Fall Conference in Montreal - by Debbie Ridpath Ohi

With Laurent Linn, my art director from Simon & Schuster Books For
Young Readers, at Montreal children's bookstore, Babar-En-Villes.

Just came back from SCBWI Canada East's "The Art Of Story" convention in Montreal, where I was on the faculty (my first SCBWI faculty position!).

Giving my keynote! Photo: Urve Tamberg.

For my full convention report with lots of photos, read my 3-part blog post series: Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3.

The lightning rod analogy I used in my keynote seems to be popular (yay), so I want to make sure that it gets properly attributed. As I mentioned in my keynote, my Torkidlit friend and YA author Maureen McGowan came up with it, not me (in an interview for my Inkygirl blog). And it's so true!

For those who weren't at my keynote, Maureen compares success in the publishing industry to being hit by lightning. While you can't control WHEN lightning will strike, you CAN make bigger and better lightning rods.

Penguin Random House editors Jill Santopolo & Bonnie Bader with
Caldecott-winning illustrator David Diaz.

As I mentioned in my reports, SCBWI regional conferences are a great opportunity for aspiring children's/YA book writers and illustrators who find the national conferences too intimidating. So often at the bigger conferences, faculty tend to get mobbed at the end of their sessions. :-)

At SCBWI Canada East's event, you were much more likely to find yourself in situations where you could chat with faculty.

Casual socializing Saturday night for attendees included Linda Pratt (of
Wernick & Pratt Agency), editors Jill Santolopolo and Bonnie Bader
(Penguin Random House) and art director Laurent Linn (Simon & Schuster BFYR).

Here are just a few takeaways from the convention:

- Both Jill Santopolo and Bonnie Bader mentioned the importance of a having a unique cast of supporting characters in novels for young people.

- Illustrators: Before approaching a possible agent, Linda Pratt advises that you check the portfolios of the agency's current clients to see if any of the art is similar to yours. If it is, then they're less likely to take you on as a client. (From Debbie: Writers can also benefit from this advice as well.)

- Know the rules before deciding to break them. - Laurent Linn.

- Embrace your process. - David Diaz.

Jill Santopolo, Linda Pratt, Bonnie Bader and Laurent Linn during Sunday's Q&A.

For those out there wondering why publishers usually keep picture book authors from interacting with the illustrators during the process, Laurent had some great insights.

He points out that authors often feel ownership over their stories, and some don't realize that creating a picture is a 50:50 collaboration with the illustrator. If authors had input during the illustration process, they'd be more likely to pressure the illustrator over details. And as a writer, how would YOU feel if the illustrator standing over your shoulder as you wrote your story? 

Anyway, it was a wonderful event and I strongly encourage you to check out the SCBWI Canada East website for more info about their members and upcoming events, as well as your own regional conference.

And if you're not already a member of SCBWI, why not? :-)

For my full SCBWI-Montreal conference report: Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3.

----------

Debbie Ridpath Ohi writes and illustrates for young people. Her illustrations appear in I'M BORED, a picture book written by Michael Ian Black and published by Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers. For more info about her upcoming books with Simon & Schuster BFYR, HarperCollins Children's and Random House Children's, see her Books page.

On Twitter: @inkyelbows.

Revising for an Editor or Agent: Part 2

Revising your story for an agent or editor can be a little different than revising for yourself. Today, writer and editor Kate Fall and YA author Christina Farley talk about the revision process and how they handle editorial suggestions. [For perspectives from other MiG writers, see Revising for an Agent or Editor Part 1].

 

Kate says:

When I'm revising for myself, I usually have a mental list of "things that bug me about my manuscript." They may be things that nobody has mentioned. They may be things a critique partner told me that resonated. But I am out for me. These are things that bother me, my pet peeves. For example, I don't like disappearing objects. In one manuscript, my main character has a bracelet her boyfriend gave her, and it's stolen by someone she knows. And for my beta readers, that was enough. That made sense. But I would wake up in the middle of the night wondering where that bracelet was, and eventually I changed the ending so that my main character gets her bracelet back.

When I'm revising for an agent request for revisions, I'm listening to their input. Agents often have input like, "I see this a lot. Is it important?" And you know, maybe it's not. The classic example is the first day of school beginning to a novel. It makes sense from a narrative standpoint. But agents see it so often, they know it's overused. It's not necessarily bad, it's just done to death. And that's the input I like from agents and editors. My critique partners can help me build a story, but industry professionals can tell me what parts of the story are too similar to the competition. And that can force me to think deeper, and get beyond my first ideas.

Kate Fall writes middle grade and young adult fiction and is an editor with Entangled Publishing.

Christina says:

My agent’s suggestions are always interesting because he sees my book as something to SELL rather than merely just a story. And this perspective is very important! My little story is getting ready to go out into the world. It has to be unique, perfect and enticing for an editor to want to buy it.

When I'm revising for my editor, I start seeing my book not just being MY book, but my READER’S book. There are moments I have to let go of a favorite line or favorite word because it just doesn’t make sense to the READERS, even if it makes sense to me.

Christina Farley is the author of the YA novel, GILDED, which will be published by Skyscape in Spring 2014.

We'd love to hear your thoughts on how revising for an agent or editor is different than revising for yourself! You can read what MiG Writers Debbie Ridpath Ohi, Andrea Mack and Carmella Van Vleet think about this in Revising for an Editor or Agent: Part 1.

Revising For an Editor or Agent: Part I

Revising your story for an agent or editor can be a little different than revising for yourself. Between the six of us MiG writers, we've had lots of experience with making big and small changes to strengthen our work and make it more saleable. Today's thoughts are from writer/illustrator Debbie Ridpath Ohi, MG author Carmella Van Vleet and children's writer Andrea Mack. And stay tuned for what editor Kate Fall and YA author Christina Farley have to say tomorrow [Revising for an Agent or Editor Part 2].

Debbie says:

When I'm revising for an editor (rather than for myself), I have a better overall picture of what needs to be changed. I'm also more confident that the changes are needed. My editor at Simon & Schuster BFYR always emphasizes that his suggestions for changes are always just that...suggestions. I believe there's a lot of trust in a good author-editor relationship.

I think I have a tendency to over-revise when revising for myself, plus I'm too close to the work to get an objective sense of the bigger picture. This is when having trusted writers critique my mss is so valuable…like the MiG Writers! :-) 

Debbie Ridpath Ohi illustrated I'M BORED, a picture book written by Michael Ian Black (Simon & Schuster BFYR). Her illustrations next appear in NAKED! by the same author, coming out from Simon & Schuster next May.

Andrea says:

Having an agent or editor's suggestions to think about while I'm revising gives me a whole different perspective on my writing. I love seeing the "big picture" view that someone else has on my story, especially when they get the essence of what I'm trying to say (even if I don't have the words to express it myself).

Sometimes, when I'm sitting at my desk spending hours revising, I can get lost in the small details. Re-reading an editorial letter reminds me to take a step or two back and look at the overall goals for my characters.

Andrea Mack writes middle grade fiction, picture books and beginning readers.

Carmella says:

Whether I’m revising for my own satisfaction or for an editor, my revision process is typically the same. That’s because the goal is always the same - to tell the best story possible. 

First, I typically read through something looking for “big picture” things that need addressing. For instance, are the characters engaging? Are they goals clear and relatable? Is the plot moving at a decent pace? Is it believable? Am I achieving the emotional tone I want? I’ll take notes and then make a list. Sometimes I’ll address these things one at a time but since I tend to be linear writer, I usually address them as they come up and I move through the manuscript. 

Next, I work on finer details. Things like chapter length or dialogue. I look for places where I can combine chapters or scenes to tighten the pace. Or places to cut dialogue or description that’s not progressing the story. 
Finally, I work on those line edits - overused words, wrong words, confusing or awkward phrasing, spelling errors. 

The only difference in my approach for an editor is that I’m considering someone else’s suggestions. That kind of feedback is incredibly valuable and I always try to keep an open mind. But, ultimately, I listen to my gut. If something an editor (or agent or critique partner) says resonates with me, then I make the change. If not, then I don’t. To keep my writing on track, I write first thing in the morning. Well, okay, maybe not FIRST thing. I do like to check my emails and Facebook. But I find that if I turn on the TV or start a project or running errands, I never really get back to writing. I think my inner critic sleeps in late, too. So working before she's fully awake really helps the creative flow as well.

 Carmella Van Vleet writes MG fiction and "hands-on" non-fiction. Her debut MG novel, ELISA BING IS (NOT) A BIG FAT QUITTER, will be released in Spring 2014 from Holiday House.

Share your thoughts and tips on revising for an editor vs. revising for yourself in the comments and check back tomorrow to see what author Christina Farley and editor Kate Fall have to say!

Sports in Novels

I'm not a sports fan, but somehow sports have found their way into almost all of my novels and stories. I even wrote a baseball story that was accepted into an anthology (that unfortunately the publisher never got off the ground). I'm not sure why I write about sports when I don't follow them, other than the Buffalo Bills, which isn't as much a fandom as a masochistic personality problem. Maybe it's because my brother was obsessed, so I've absorbed so much baseball and football and hockey information that I need an outlet for it. Also, my son is in love with baseball, so I know there are kids looking for sports in their books. But frankly I find it interesting in books for older teens, too, and adults. I think it's because sports players have definite goals and conflicts. (Other than the Bills, I don't know what they're trying to achieve because it's not winning games.)

There's also a nice regionalism about sports, a sense of place. Different countries have different definitions of football. In the US, Northerners care about hockey intensely while Southerners barely acknowledge its existence. A town where a lot of kids play lacrosse is a very different place than a town where a lot of kids play basketball. A girl who devotes hours a day to ice skating has an assumed income bracket (ice time is expensive) and we can assume she lives north of the Mason/Dixon line. Sports don't just reflect character, they reflect setting.

I've read three novels this year where a character was demonstrated to be an outsider because he or she wore a football jersey from a different town. I did it myself. My new kid wore a Red Sox cap in his new California school. That gave him the extra worry that someone would knock it off him or steal it. But he was the kind of person who wore it anyway, and I wanted a reader to know that.

Sports also make a great background for adventure plots. Your character who just fought off two assailants? It's a lot less improbable if he's been on the school football team, practicing for years. But a sports story can be a plot itself. Teams need to learn to work together, swallow jealousies, develop and overcome petty rivalries, fight prejudice, and tolerate others' shortcomings. There's a lot of meat there. Add in parental expectations and scholarships, and the stakes can be incredibly high.

If you're the type of person who fills in character sheets when building your character, why not add a line about sports? How does s/he feel about them, which ones does s/he identify with? Are you going deeper than the dumb jock/mean cheerleader/wimpy nerd stereotypes? If you're the "daydream about your characters" type of planner, imagine them at a baseball game. Are they trying to sneak beer from the concession stand or keeping track of every pitch on an iPhone app?

Lastly, I leave you with some recommendations for novels with sports subplots:

• Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock (YA): a young woman joins the school football team and falls in love with one of her teammates
• Theft of the Star Tracker by Lisa Tiffin (MG): a rivalry develops between two boys who want to be their team's quarterback that spills over into life off the field
• The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z by Kate Messner (MG): Gianna's love of running helps her through tough family times, even when she clashes with her track teammates
• Thaw by Monica Roe (YA): an injured teen ski champion stuck in physical therapy has to remake his self-image for a life off the slopes
• Mexican White Boy by Matt de la Pena (YA): a half-white, half-Mexican boy trying to find his place within his Mexican family finds friendship and acceptance through baseball games
• Eliza Bing is Not a Big, Fat Quitter by Carmella Van Vleet (MG): Eliza finds relief from the pressure of ADHD and her family's low expectations by sticking with tae kwon do
• Gilded by Christina Farley (YA): a young woman uses her championship archery skills to face a Korean mythological figure who has cursed her family

Car and Christy's novels aren't released yet, but you know you want them! Trust me, they're awesome. If you have any other recommendations, please let us know in the comments. Thanks!

-- Kate

Ideas and Old Ladies

Image via Pimthida on Flickr

The other night my daughter and I were catching up on “Project Runway.” I’d been looking forward to it all day. They were just about to start the critiques, when someone knocked on our door. I was very surprised to find my elderly neighbor on my front porch, wearing what appeared to be pajamas.

My neighbor is from Vietnam. She doesn’t speak English and, frankly, can be a bit crabby. (It wasn’t uncommon for her to yell at my three kids when they were younger or to scold our dogs from over the fence.) Clearly, something was amiss for her to come to our door at 9:00 at night. But she was smiling and nodding and motioning me outside.

The woman took my hand and led me to her house. I thought maybe someone was hurt. Several generations live at the house, perhaps one of the young girls who like to play on the sidewalk needed help.  But, again, the old lady didn’t seem frantic. She let go of my hand and twisted her doorknob. 

“Oh!” I said. “You’re locked out.” I’m sure she had no idea what I’d just said, but finally we were getting somewhere.

The old woman took my arm again and began leading me down the sidewalk. And pointing. Did someone in the neighborhood have a spare key? Did she need me to translate for her? 

Then she began pointing up the road and waving around. 

I still didn’t understand what she wanted from me. I pulled out my cellphone, hoping she just needed to make a call. But she waved it away. 

 All I could do was smile and shake my head in what was, hopefully, the universal sign for “I’m sorry. I don’t understand.”

She was locked out. She was alone. I obviously wasn’t going to leave her outside so I began heading the two of us back to my house and tried to ignore the voice in my head that asked, “What the hell are you going to do with a 90 year old Vietnamese woman all night?!”

But then my neighbor stopped me in the driveway, by husband’s car. She pointed to it, to me and then waved her hand again up the road. 

Aha! Now I got it. She wanted me to drive her somewhere! 

I got my keys, belted the woman in and took off down the road, all the while watching for her frail hand to point which way to go. It may seem selfish, but I hoped wherever she needed to go wasn’t too far. I was already feeling awkward. (I kept wondering what would happen if we were in an accident. I didn’t even know the woman’s name.) 

As luck would have it, she directed to me the next development over. We found the house she was looking for and - huge relief - someone was there. A young man who came out to tell me she could stay there while she waited for someone to bring a key. The woman smiled and said probably the only two English words she knows, “Thank you.” 

As I drove home, I started to think about how ideas are like that little old lady. Sometimes they show up at really inconvenient times and dressed inappropriately. They  desperately want to tell us something, show us something, or take us somewhere. And we stand there, utterly confused. But if we take their hands and trust that the desire to be understood or to understand often gives us great patience, then maybe they’ll take us on an adventure. 

And if we’re really lucky, they’ll give us an opportunity to do something good, to write a book. Maybe for that one kid or teenager who can’t tell anyone what’s wrong. Or who feels locked out from “normal.” Or who is wandering around in their bare feet, needing somewhere safe to go for a while. 

Who knows? That one reader might just be the kid who lives next door. 

My Love-Hate (Ok, Mostly Hate) Relationship With Rejections, Plus What I've Learned Along The Way - by Debbie Ridpath Ohi

I've been getting rejections for many years. They started with form letter rejections that came via snailmail. Even after I started making money with nonfiction sales, I still continued to receive rejections....not just for some of my nonfiction, but also for my fiction.

Fast forward to SCBWI-LA in 2010, when a rejection made it possible for me to get my first children's book contract. I'll always be grateful to Justin Chanda and Simon & Schuster Children and Michael Ian Black for giving me a chance (see my post in defense of "celebrity books"). Illustrating I'm Bored has opened up so many opportunities for me, both as a writer and an illustrator.

It drives me a little crazy when people call me an overnight success, partly because of my many years of rejections but mostly because it sends the wrong message to others who are still struggling to get published. I believe there is no such thing as an overnight success. Whether it's through working hard on your craft, investing money and time to meet people in the industry, building up life experiences and your ability to convey the essence in writing and/or illustration...it's a gradual process.

There are so many things I wish I could tell my younger self about what I've learned (and will be sharing some of these in my keynote at SCBWI-Montreal this October), but here's my positive take on rejections.

Why I'm grateful for rejections:

I may not have been grateful at the time but in retrospect, I'm glad for those earlier rejections. And while rejections still hurt when I get them, I have a better understanding of why they can be useful. Some of the reasons:

- Rejections help make me more resilient and better able to handle criticism and feedback. The more rejections I received (and I've received MANY), the thicker my "sensitive and insecure creative type" skin became over the years. It hurt like crazy, of course, and there were times I felt like giving up. I took some breaks.  In order to have a successful longterm career, however, I needed to learn how to get past the immediate ego-hurt/defensiveness and take an objective look at the criticism and feedback. Plus one of the editors was kind enough to take the time to give me detailed feedback on how to make my mss stronger...although she still ended up rejecting it, I learned so much that I can use for my other writing projects.

- Looking back, I realize that if those rejected pieces/works had been published, it would not have been good for my longterm career. I am a much better writer now. I've also learned how important a debut book can be. It's not enough to just get published (at least not for me); I want to make a longterm career from writing and illustrating books for young people. This means ONLY sending out projects that I believe in 100%, that I'd be proud to see on the bookshelves, that I'd be excited to promote.

- Rejections make me better appreciate any successes that come my way. Yes, it would have been cool to have my first MG novel published by the first publisher that my agent and I chose for submission. Or my second.  I've actually written a third but never ended up sending it out because I realized it just wasn't strong enough. When I eventually start getting my novels published (yes, I said when), I will not only be a stronger writer but I'll also be soooo much more appreciative.

ADVICE ON WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU GET A REJECTION:

Give yourself one day to wallow in self-pity, max. But then put it behind you and move on.

ADVICE ON WHAT *NOT* TO DO WHEN YOU GET A REJECTION:

Be wary about how you post about your rejections online. If you want to post about it publicly, do so with grace. Posting in anger or whining self-pity helps no one, makes you look unprofessional and is self-destructive. Rejection is part of the business, before AND after you're published. Work on developing a thicker skin if your goal is a longterm career as a writer.

A better idea: to find a small group of writers you trust (like the MiGwriters!) and commiserate with them privately instead.

SUMMARY:

Rejections suck. Instead of letting them beat you down, make them work to your advantage. Think longterm, always look ahead.

------------------

Debbie Ridpath Ohi writes and illustrates for young people. Her illustrations appear in I'M BORED (NYTimes Notable Children's Book 2012, Simon & Schuster BFYR) and NAKED! (Simon & Schuster BFYR, 2014) written by Michael Ian Black. Other upcoming projects include books with Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins and Random House. Her blog for children's book writers/illustrators: http://Inkygirl.com. Twitter: @inkyelbows.