Writers' Conference and School Visits

Busy, busy. I just attended the Austin Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators' (SCBWI) annual conference this past weekend. It was great, as usual. Picked up all kinds of new writing tips from the experts. Austin had agents, editors, and illustrators at the conference to provide information and to inspire us in our writing or illustrating or both. What is great about attending these conferences is that you get to meet these editors, etc., face to face. They are very accessible and easy to talk to. Another great thing is that as an attendee, you can submit your work to one of them or all of them, if you wish. They provide the guidelines and you just follow them. How great is that?

 

This morning, I did another elementary school visit, this time here in San Antonio. I had two sessions, back to back. At the end of the reading/presentation/writing process/interactive writing session, the students asked questions of the author. Here are some of them: Where do you get your ideas for a book? How much money do you make? Have you ever met a famous author? How long does it take you to write a story? What inspires you? Which is your favorite book that you wrote? Do ideas sometimes come to you in dreams?

 

Aren’t these all fabulous questions? That’s what inspires me to write—the students who get enthused about reading and books.

 

You’ve got to take a peek at this site called WriteTight. It’s got oodles (is that a word?) of writing tips to tighten your manuscript from bad adverbs to good verbs and other neat stuff. Go for it!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!

“Rivers are roads which move and which carry us whither we desire to go.” – Pascal

Writing Tips

I know. I know. You might say this is very basic info. But for those who might just be starting on a writing career, you might want to check out former literary agent and now author Nathan Bransford’s post as to how to format an e-mail query letter. And while you’re at it, here’s another link on the same blog on how to format your manuscript before you submit.
    

For more writing tips, go to: The 4 Traits of Successful Children’s Book Writers by Laura Backes on the Children’s Fiction Factor blog. I especially like the section where she writes: “Well-published authors don't limit themselves to one genre. They'll write picture books, novels, short stories for magazines, poetry, nonfiction, and material for adult markets such as parenting magazines or writing newsletters."

 

I’ve written and had published picture books, short stories, magazine articles, newsletters, and poetry. I am presently working on some middle-grade novels as well so I hope I’m on my way. So embrace your writing, believe in yourself, and keep writing!  

Texas Highway

 

Genre: Refers either to a general classification of writing, such as the novel or the poem, or to the categories within those classifications, such as the romance novel or the sonnet.--Writer's Digest Weekly Planner

2013 ALA Book Awards

It’s that time of the year again. My schedule for school visits is filling up. I always look forward to meeting students and librarians during these visits. I was in Austin last week and the fourth and fifth grade students in my session were enthusiastic, smart, attentive, and asked great questions. What more can an author ask for? My objective was to inspire them to read and write more and I hope I did that. Someday your book will be on one of those lists. Believe it!

 

By now the 2013 American Library Book awards are out. Here is a link to the list, which includes the Newbery, Caldecott, Pura Belpre, Coretta Scott King awards and many, many others.  

Sante Fe, NM

"Touch magic -- pass it on." -- Jane Yolen

Writing Short Stories

Do you like to write short stories? I came across an article a while back that addresses what the writer calls a “short story sweep.” I had not heard of it before now. Blogger Brian A. Klems’ article, “How to Broaden Your Short Story’s Scope,” written on the Writer’s Digest blog, goes into detail of what a “sweep” is. 

 

He writes: You may never have heard of the sweep; it’s not discussed in texts or fiction seminars and may sound a lot like background, setting, exposition or backstory. The sweep certainly incorporates elements of these (and, like them, can be used for effective foreshadowing), but it’s also more. The sweep encompasses grand events—physical, historical, generational, psychological, emotional—and involves a sense of time and distance, stretching the reader’s mind beyond the expected confines of the short story.

 

He goes on to show examples of what he’s talking about and these are pretty neat. I found his article fascinating and I think you will too. Next time I write a short story, I will refer to what he has written in his article. 

 

And if you’re having trouble coming up with ideas, try the Creative Writing Prompts blog that has hundreds of ideas to choose from. Good luck!

 

 

“Although there are no set rules on length, a short-short story usually runs 500-1500 words, a short story about 2,000-7,000, a long story about 8,000-15,000, and a novella about 20,000-50,000.”  Writing Tips from Reader’s Digest Weekly Planner

Book Contracts

Lucky you! The year just started and already you have a contract for your first book. Fantastic. If you have an agent, he/she should take care of all the legalities, but what if you don’t have one? What to do? There’s an article titled, “Book Contract: What’s Negotiable and What’s Not?”, written by Writer’s Digest online editor blogger, Brian A. Klems on this topic. It’s a very short article that also refers you to the Author’s Guild for more comprehensive details. 

 

If you’re a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (which you should be if you write for children), link to SCBWI for additional information on book contracts. A good book to have on hand as well is The Writer’s Legal Guide, which I have in my library.

Good luck with your book!

“I dive into a story the way I dive into the sea, prepared to splash about and make merry.” – E.B. White

2012 Children's Book Reviews

Publishers Weekly blog has published the reviews for the 2012 children’s books. Here is the long list.

 

You’re going to enjoy viewing these beautifully-organized-home libraries. Wish mine looked as neat as the ones on the apartment therapy. I guess that’s why they call it “therapy.” Those libraries look so cozy and warm. One can just imagine sitting there and reading all day. Some people are so darn creative. 

 

I absolutely plan to buy Ruta Sepetys’ new book, Out of the Easy, because I so enjoyed her previous one, Between Shades of Gray, (not the other one). I met her at one of the SCBWI-LA conferences. The historical fiction, Between Shades, is set in Lithuania during the war. Sepetys did a magnificent job on that book. I wish her the best with this new one. Here’s an interview with Sepetys on the Publishers Weekly blog.

Author and Sepetys

 

 Writing Tip: Professionalism is an attitude. For a writer, this means professional presentation of queries and manuscripts, a thorough study of the market, and the ability to deliver assigned work on time. – Writer’s Digest Weekly Planner

Writing in different genres

What if you’ve written in several genres, i.e., picture books, middle grade, and young adult, and are trying to find an agent? Do you submit queries to a different agent for the different genres? That is one of the questions asked on agent Mary Kole’s KidLit blog. In her article, Getting Agented in Multiple Categories, she addresses this topic plus many others. Find out more about agents and how to query.

 

And while we’re on the subject of writing, visit TheLatinoAuthor blog where they have tons of information on writing for children and other writing topics plus business tools you might want to know about.

 

“The longer you put off getting serious about writing, the longer you put off success. Procrastination is a writer’s biggest enemy.” – Barbara Seuling