SCBWI 40th Anniversary Summer Conference Day Three - Gary Paulsen

Wearing a ball cap, suspenders, jeans and a long-sleeved navy blue shirt three time Newbery-honor winning author Gary Paulsen told us about a A Writer's Upside-Down Life. A life of poverty. A life growing up on the streets of Manila, Philippines. A life with two drunken parents who didn't give a rat's darn about a seven-year-old boy. A life trapping rabbits and beavers in the woods of Minnesota to survive. A life touched by a librarian who made a difference and died never knowing it. His life.

I sat in the Los Angeles ballroom hanging on every word Gary Paulsen said including his colorful adjectives which injected raw humor in places of graphic tragedy. A man who's lived more in a lifetime than I could possibly live or see in two lifetimes. A story of a boy who came into a library one day to seek shelter and warmth, and left with a book in hand and a library card. A card with his name on it. Spelled correctly. I was somebody he said.

A boy who could barely read but forced himself to read pages over and over again until he'd read the entire book. A boy who'd return to the library month after month to take a new book out until slowly he was there on a weekly basis and soon a daily basis. A boy who grew into a man and taught himself to read. Then write. A boy who, against all odds, should've died at the hands of his parents but instead survived and thrived because a librarian cared and put a book in his hand.

I don't have any notes to share with you from this session because I didn't write a single sentence except the name Gary Paulsen. I couldn't. I was hypnotized. I can't share all his stories with you because I could never do them justice like the storyteller that stood on that stage on Sunday. His honesty exposed. His laughter real. I'll never be the same after hearing his story. It's had a rippling effect. He's the most passionate man I've ever met. Passionate about writing. Passionate about honesty. About truth. Passionate about writing for young people. Writing for adults is just ---- he said. Give kids your best.

You never know who or what is going to make a difference in your life. A librarian. Or a writer who's completed the Iditarod Dog Sled Race in Alaska. Not once. But twice.

SCBWI 40th Anniversary Summer Conference Day Two - Libba Bray and Jon Scieszka

Having to present a keynote or workshop after the award-winning author Judy Blume has spoken could be construed as a daunting task but it seemed effortless for the authors I heard. Perhaps that's because Executive Director Lin Oliver and President Steven Mooser lined up an incredible team of talent for the SCBWI 40th Anniversary Summer Conference. Every presenter had something unique to offer and a different way of looking at things. Isn't that true of us all? What's inside of you? Are you making the most of your talent?

Young Adult novelist Libba Bray knocked it out of the park with her workshop Hello, My Name Is...Getting Past the First Date with Your Characters.  Don't make your characters blah. Mediocre sucks. Mediocre characters don't sell books. She asked us to question the assumptions and stereotypes of characters and to try subverting them. For example what if the pretty cheerleader isn't an all-knowing stuck-up snob. What might the opposite be? Play with the stereotypes? Do only good characters do good things? Do only bad characters do villainous things? Remember villainous characters don't think of themselves as evil. There's a motivation behind everything they do.

Is there a sociopath lurking in your subconscious? Would you like to explore realms of humanity that terrify you or confuse you? Do you want to look inside a character and reveal the unexpected? And if so, how do you get there? How do you get to know your character so deeply that you know them better than they know themselves? How do you get to the deeper cuts?

Libba Bray (lead singer) with band Tiger Beat (an exclusive band of Young Adult authors) in 2009.

She gave us several examples and exercises to try. But really the sky is the limit if you use your imagination. Use your own talents and interests to help you uncover things about your characters. For example, Libba listens to music when she writes. She loves music. So sometimes she makes a play list for her main character. What would they listen to on their mp3 player? What songs might another character make for the protagonist? What songs does your character refuse to listen to? What songs does the main character's parents listen to? Best friend? Antagonist? You get the picture.

Have you ever interviewed your main character? Wrote them a letter? Had them write you a letter? What would your main character say if they had a microphone and were speaking in front of peers? Adults? A football crowd? Try raiding the refrigerator one day and find all the foods your character loves and hates. There's all kinds of ways to get to know your character. Try keeping a spiral notebook and writing down their thoughts when they speak to you so you don't forget everything. The beginning of a novel and the end of a novel is a long process and you're bound to forget a few things along the journey so don't trust your brain to remember it all.

After lunch, author and National Ambassador Emeritus for Children's Literature Jon Scieszka treated us to dessert with his sense of humor. There really is no one like him. He's real. His opinions -- funny. The way he sees and interprets things -- authentic. His laughter contagious. He spoke to us about The Myriad Possibilities of Form, Style and Genre. His interpretation on the classic fairy tale is fresh. Hilarious. He uses his interests and childhood  to create magic on the page and he shows us that ANYTHING is possible. Don't be afraid to experiment people. But above all he knows his audience and who he's writing for. He spent time getting to know his readers before he created TruckTown illustrated by David Shannon, Loren Long and David Gordon. He spent time with kindergartners until he knew every kid in the classroom. He rolled play-doh into snakes. He got down to their level. He absorbed the details. And it shows in his stories.

SCBWI 40th Anniversary Summer Conference Day One

Over a thousand writers and illustrators, 1, 342 attendees to be exact, picked up their schedules for the sold-out SCBWI 40th Anniversary Summer Conference in the early hours on Friday morning. They were like a bunch of eager hunters on opening day of hunting season, with their book bags slung across their shoulders and their eyes dancing with anticipation of what they'd be going home with after a day of key note addresses and break-out sessions.

This was one of my favorite parts of the day, greeting people and handing out their registration packets. When I asked people if this was their first conference and they told me it was, I gave them extra tips and reassurances like breathe, soak it all in, editors and agents are just normal people, have a great conference and most importantly the bathrooms are located on the East and West side of the California level.

In past years, Executive Director Lin Oliver has asked faculty members to say an inspirational word when introducing themselves to the audience but in honor of the 40th anniversary, the faculty delighted conference goers with a sentence containing the word "forty" in it as they paraded across the stage. Literary agent Jill Corcoran "gets 40 queries a day," award winning author Bruce Hale joked saying he had "40 Margaritas" with his brother last night but he wanted to leave people with a word and it was "inspiration" and award winning author Libba Bray rapped for listeners, it would not be the first time she had the audience in stitches laughing that day.

The opening keynote address Ripples in the Pond: Why What we do Matters... and Matters...and Continues to Matter was delivered by none other than the award winning author Bruce Coville and it left ripples of goosebumps running up and down my arms and a few tears at the corners of my eyes.

He said children are worth our best efforts and even though we may tell children they are our most important resource for the next generation, we're having a problem collectively showing it to them as he referenced the slashes in education and loss of educators and librarians in the work force. But we have a powerful capability to impact children through our storytelling and reach hundreds of thousands of kids with our books, and we owe them our best and to do so we must master and improve our craft. If we do this, we can go home and drop some pebbles into the pond and watch the ripples -- effect the world.

Caldecott award winner Jerry Pinkney took the stage next and talked similarly about the importance of craft and how we need to continue to hone our skills. To look past our characters and over their shoulders. To envision more than what we first see and to appreciate and cultivate our tools from our toolboxes. I couldn't catch his entire presentation as I had ARA duties to fulfill and I quietly ducked out to introduce a speaker in a break out session.

In the Contract Basics break out session Jan Constantine, Esq delivered a knowledgeable and eye-opening session for writers and illustrators and implored the audience to read their contracts whether you had an agent or not. She's General Counsel with the Author's Guild and one of the benefits to belonging to this organization, $90 membership fee, is that members receive contract reviews -- a steal of a deal when we're talking about your life and the life and rights for your book. Most of us aren't going to marry rich and therefore we need to take care of ourselves and treat our writing like a business. We need to make sure we're not signing away all of our subsidiary rights to publishers and negotiating clauses for fair out of print, next book and special consideration to grant author consultation on book title, design and promotion. She crammed 7 weeks of instruction, an instructor at New York University, into one hour. No easy feat but than she was a pro.

At this point in the day, my grumbling stomach reminded me that it was time to grab some lunch and I met up with the other Texas SCBWI chapters to share a bite and to meet the other members who'd left the blistering Texas heat behind in favor of the cooler California climate. I devoured a turkey avocado wrap and chatted with writers Mike Giles, Laura Pashley, RA Vicki Sansum, ARA Millie Martin and RA Debbie Gonzales. We sat outside under sunny blue skies and and before we knew it we had to leave to catch our next session.

Award winning author Libba Bray didn't disappoint us. In fact, her keynote Writing it All Wrong: A Survival Manual was side-splitting funny. I mean roll-on-the-floor, clutching your sides hilarious. Another highlight of my day!

She said she turned in a young adult novel to her editor that was so terrible that she actually had to call a friend and ask her to "help me fake my death." And when she received the single-space 12 page editorial revision letter, her worst fears were confirmed. She told us to "embrace the suck." That getting it wrong is necessary to getting it right. That writing is freaking scary. We're putting ourselves and our DNA on the page and trust in the reader. And many of our first drafts and the revisions that follow are a form of self protection so that no one sees our raw truth. Our insides opened for the world to dissect, reject and ridicule. But when we're ready to be brave. To face our pain. To write what is intolerable for us to bear. Then we will get it right.

You know what -- she's right.

Henry Winkler and Award winning author Judy Blume

After Libba's session, I heard from co-authors Lin Oliver and Henry Winkler -- Writing with Humor and Heart. After I got over my initial star-struck shock of knowing I was in the same room as "The Fonz" from the TV sitcom Happy Days, I heard what I needed to hear. Create your own market by writing only what you can know. Writing from your heart. Your experiences. Your understanding. If you do this your emotional center will leap into the eyes of your reader and take them along on your emotional journey.

For me, I really connected when Henry said he and Lin abandon the outline because the book takes on a life of its own. Be open to the journey. Write the truth. And Lin said to vomit up your first draft. Barf it up. There was so much more I could share but that wouldn't be fair. But Henry closed with this, "If I can do it -- you can do it."

I think I can!

I'd like to go on and tell you more, but I'm afraid I've got to get out of my PJ's because there's more fabulous presentations to be heard and break out sessions to attend and I'm already running way behind.

I wish you were here with me but I hope in your absence you find a word or two in this post that inspires you to keep writing.

In closing here is a picture with award winning author/illustrator Paul Zelinsky and me at the autograph party. He is one of the nicest people in the world and I was lucky to be assisting him as he signed his gorgeous books.

Unwinding with Co-RA Monica Harris, RA Debbie Gonzales and me.

Check out SCBWI's blog posts at their official site. You'll get all the highlights there!

SCBWI 40th Anniversary Summer Conference Day Two - Judy Blume

I missed part of the morning blogging about Day One of the SCBWI 40th Summer Anniversary Conference so I made an executive decision and decided I'd put the recaps together after the conference not during it. My hat goes off to the SCBWI bloggers who've been sitting in sessions with their laptops banging out up-to-the-minute posts on conference activity. Well done! I for one have been taking copious notes but then it takes me longer to transpose them into blog posts. I can't read my own handwriting :) Maybe there's some doctor-like qualities in me after all, Mom?

Running a wee bit behind, I raced out of my hotel room on the 14th floor. RA Debbie Gonzales had just texted me "Are you going to make it?" She was talking about the surprise visitor who was about to take the stage in the Los Angeles Ballroom. I made it and sat on one of the tables at the back of the room. There wasn't a seat to be found. People sat cross-legged on the floor and stood in corners. The house was packed and who was surprised because relaxed and sitting in comfortable Oprah-like comfy chairs, Executive Director Lin Oliver was interviewing the extraordinary author Judy Blume.

I unzipped my binder as quietly as possible and listened as Judy spoke about finding herself as an author and how writing saved her. She loved taking care of her babies, her children, but there was a gaping hole missing in her life and the mundane tasks of keeping house everyday was literally sucking the life out of her. She needed something more. She found it when she started to write. It was like magic. However, editors didn't concur in those first few rhyming picture books that landed on their desks. They were awful Judy said, but she began to take writing classes. The classes made her accountable and she developed a consistent writing routine. She had goals and deadlines and a supportive teacher who believed in her. Everybody needs a support system she said. 

Remember that piece of advice writers. Who is your support system? Do you have one? If you don't, find one. And if you live in the Austin area visit one of the monthly Austin SCBWI meetings and your fellow writers will help you. That's what the community is there for -- to support you in your journey.

Judy then went on to talk about how she eventually found her groove in writing because she was such an ardent reader. Anyone who wants to be a writer must be a reader. She keeps a binder for each book and she writes everything in journals to get to know her characters before she starts the novel. Her first drafts are messy and writing is hard. It's still hard after 40 years she said, the anxiety doesn't go away. But she knows she can do it. She starts her novels on the day that is different, but sometimes she has to write many, many pages before she knows what that different day is for her characters. 

There's no one way to write she said. Find what works for you. Everybody's process is different. Judy writes to find out what's going to happen to her characters. And while I was sitting there, mouth gaping open, I whispered, "me too."

(My favorite Judy Blume book which I read when I was twelve or thirteen. I never forgot it. Because like Judy, Margaret was me.)

There were many profound things Judy said in that one hour but I want to leave you with this takeaway from her talk because I thought it was so true.

Attending a conference leaves you overwhelmed, bedazzled, stimulated, sometimes overstimulated and inspired. But when you go home, you need to forget it. Leave your notes in your drawer. It's inside you now. So just go ahead and write. Write what's inside of you. And it will find an audience.

Judy started out not knowing what she was doing. Not knowing how to write. The important thing is this -- she wrote! 

Giveaway Winner!! And 1st Night in L.A.

I'm happy to announce that 10-year-old Analise Flatt won the giveaway What Happened on Fox Street (Balzer & Bray, 2010) donated by author Tricia Springstubb. 



Congratulations, Analise!! Enjoy Mo Wren and the cast of characters on Fox Street. Thanks, Tricia for your autographed copy! 



On another note, RA Debbie Gonzales and I made it to sunny L.A. where we're here to attend the 40th Anniversary SCBWI Summer Conference. We chatted with our friendly cab driver, a Houston native, on the ride from our airport to our hotel on Avenue of the Stars. One of the best treats since deplaning was the cooler California climate, and we promised ourselves we wouldn't complain about being cold once seeing as we left Austin scorched by the 100 degree temperatures.

We arrived in our room on the 14th floor and found an incredible view awaiting us. Out on our balcony the manicured lawns and pool below tempted us to visit their oasis, but the skyline set behind rolling hills and towering tree tops seized our attention. We soaked in the view and snacked on hummus, crackers, olives and a splash of white wine. Pure bliss! 

 
 

Then it was onto an evening with RA friends at the home of SCBWI President Steve Mooser and wife Sally Crock. After a short bus ride, we arrived at our hosts abode where we dined on a buffet of pastas, salad, bread, wine and fellowship. We ate outside surrounded by a private courtyard, vines scaling brick walls and citrus trees ripe with oranges and lemons. The occasional jet flew over our heads but did little to distract us as we chatted about our writing projects and the work and the opportunities being accomplished in our chapters. It was a wonderful start to our week in L.A. 

 

Stay tuned as I share highlights as the conference gets underway on Friday and don't forget to visit the page. Keep writing.

 

Book Talk: Reviews by Young Readers

Today in BookTalk: Reviews by Young Readers, I’m thrilled to have Nate Davis with us to talk about Susan Fletcher’s Middle Grade novel Ancient, Strange, and Lovely (The Dragon Chronicles). Welcome, Nate! 

I’m Nate Davis and I like sports. In the summer, I especially like to wake board and wake surf. I also like playing my drums and reading. I like to read some autobiographies and some fiction stories. Some of my recent favorites are Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer by John Grisham and Hatchet by Gary Paulsen.

Review - Ancient, Strange, and Lovely (The Dragon Chronicles) by Susan Fletcher (Atheneum, 2010)

This book is full of action and adventure. It’s about a young girl trying to run away from poachers who are trying to get her baby dragon. Her mom went missing, and her dad went looking for her and disappeared. It’s a gripping story about how the girl tries to find her parents, and protect the baby dragon. It’s set in a world that’s been horribly polluted with chemicals. Saving the dragon could mean saving the world.

I liked it because the story kept moving forward and there was never a slow part. I was impressed by how much creativity and imagination went into the story. The world has its own music bands, and at the beginning of some of the chapters you see lyrics from those bands. There are some made up words, and even a new sort of clique, called “tants.” They are kids who have added webbing, maybe between their fingers or toes. Some even have it from an ear to their shoulder, or webs that make them look like flying squirrels. They do this because of the mutant children who were born deformed because of pollution.

Thanks for the review, Nate!! 

Applying and Analyzing Constructive Criticism with the Texas Sweethearts

This past Saturday, eighteen attendees met at the REI in Round Rock (outskirts of Austin) for an intensive workshop Beyond the Basics: Applying and Analyzing Constructive Criticism with the Texas Sweethearts hosted by our Austin SCBWI chapter. 

After formal introductions by RA Debbie Gonzales, Jessica Anderson, PJ (Tricia) Hoover and Kari Anne Holt presented the Art of the Effective Critique. They discussed logistics like guidelines, rules and protocol and delivering a constructive critique using the “Hamburger” analogy.

Then the five sweethearts (Jeanette Larson, Tricia, Kari, Jessica and Jo Whittemore) engaged in role playing. They showed us exaggerated critique scenarios using the various archetypes (Shy Guy, Jealous Person, The Pusher, Overbearing, Defensive, Bitchy, Stagnant Stalwart, to name a few). This portion of the program had attendees laughing at the ruses but also left the writers with an understanding of how to deal with challenging situations within the dynamics of a critique group.

                                            Texas Sweethearts Role Playing

Before guests broke for lunch, Jo presented writers with tools to use in their manuscript critiques and cheat sheets on what to look for as it relates to content (initial hook, conflict, plot and character development, motivation , turning point and much more) and style (voice, point-of-view, word choice, imagery and believability). She then modeled through open review for SCBWI members using a donated manuscript by Jessica Anderson. Attendees could easily see how her cheat sheet became the perfect dissecting tool to analyze manuscripts.

In the afternoon, two break-out sessions engaged attendees in critiques with peers led by the Texas Sweethearts as moderators and everyone gained feedback on a work in progress. Jeanette wrapped up the day with What Are You Giving? What Are You Getting? which illustrated the benefits of coaching, critiquing and editing.

In keeping with Austin tradition we had chocolate, snacks, drinks and wrap-up prizes to add the finishing touch to a successful day on craft. I must say Austin SCBWI rocks with their programs, but I guess I am a little biased being the ARA for the chapter. And I would highly recommend hiring those Texas Sweethearts who are also Scoundrels, too!